44-511: All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles ) is a 1978 television film that traces (in mockumentary style) the career of a fictitious English rock group called the Rutles . As TV Guide described it, the group's resemblance to the Beatles is "purely – and satirically – intentional". The film was co-produced by the production companies of Eric Idle and Lorne Michaels , and it
88-592: A Hells Angel ; and Mick Jagger , Paul Simon , and Roger McGough as themselves. Innes, a former member of the English musical comedy group Bonzo Dog Band and an associate of the Monty Python troupe, became acquainted with the Beatles when the Bonzo Dog Band had a cameo appearance in the film Magical Mystery Tour , in which they performed " Death Cab for Cutie ". Paul McCartney had also produced
132-399: A commentary by Idle. The full-length version replaces a spoof newsreel voiceover by Idle with an American-sounding announcer. In 2013, the show was given a Blu-ray release in the form of a double pack with "The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch", once again in including All You Need Is Cash in its original 76-minute version. The soundtrack was reissued on CD. It included additional tracks from
176-500: A drummer. Fataar emigrated to Australia in 1978 where he recorded with and co-produced albums for Tim Finn , played the drums on the Split Enz song "Message To My Girl", and also worked with Crowded House , Jenny Morris , Peter Blakeley , and Wendy Matthews as well as various other artists. In 1979 Fataar was introduced to Bonnie Raitt , and recorded on her Green Light album. In 1990, he joined up with Raitt, and has been
220-464: A fictional genre in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to depict real events. Nor should either of those be confused with docufiction , a genre in which documentaries are contaminated with fictional elements. They are often presented as historical documentaries, with B roll and talking heads discussing past events, or as cinéma vérité pieces following people as they go through various events. Examples emerged during
264-612: A live version of the previously unreleased Chaplin/Fataar/Love collaboration "We Got Love", which was originally intended to be released on the Holland album, but was removed from the running order to make way for single "Sail On, Sailor". Both Fataar and Chaplin would later depart the band, with Fataar only appearing on the tracks " It's OK " and "That Same Song" off the Beach Boys' next studio album, 1976's 15 Big Ones . In March 2019, Big Noise's Al Gomes and Connie Watrous presented
308-470: A long-term liberal incumbent played by Gore Vidal . Man Bites Dog is a 1992 Belgian black comedy crime mockumentary written, produced, and directed by Rémy Belvaux , André Bonzel , and Benoît Poelvoorde . In 1995, Peter Jackson and Costa Botes directed Forgotten Silver , which claimed New Zealand "director" Colin McKenzie was a pioneer in filmmaking. When the film was later revealed to be
352-519: A mockumentary about the survival of the megalodon . The Canadian series Trailer Park Boys and its films (1998–present) were one of the first mainstream examples of Canadian mockumentaries. Popular examples in the US include sitcoms The Office (2005–2013), Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), and Modern Family (2009–2020); the American improv comedy Reno 911! (2003–2009); Derek (2012–2014);
396-415: A mockumentary refers to films, while the term comedy verite refers to TV series, though term is widely used here. The series Documentary Now! (2015–present) on IFC , created by Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader , Fred Armisen , and Seth Meyers , spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style and subject of each documentary. Hight argues that television is a natural medium for
440-456: A mockumentary, Jackson received criticism for tricking viewers. Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan from 2006, and its 2020 sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm , are two controversial yet successful films that use this style, as does Brüno , a similar film from 2009 also starring Sacha Baron Cohen . Sony Pictures Animation released their second animated feature, Surf's Up in 2007, which
484-449: A mockumentary, as it provides for "extraordinarily rich sources of appropriation and commentary". In 2018, the BBC released the series Cunk on Britain created by Charlie Brooker and starring Diane Morgan about British history with Philomena Cunk, an extremely dim-witted and ill-informed interviewer, asking various experts ridiculous questions. The follow-up Cunk on Earth featuring
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#1732775415477528-461: A musician, developing musical scores for both film and television. An example includes the composition of the score for an Australian film Spotswood . Working in his capacity as producer, Fataar has produced the music for various films that include High Tide and Les Patterson Saves the World . Fataar has worked as a session musician , notably for Ian McLagan as well as other artists, as
572-530: A plaque from Roger Williams University to Fataar in Providence, RI at a sold-out Bonnie Raitt / James Taylor concert. The plaque commemorates the Beach Boys' 22 September 1971 concert at The Ramada Inn in Portsmouth, Rhode Island , now Roger Williams University's Baypoint Inn & Conference Center. The concert was the first-ever appearance of Fataar as an official member of the band, essentially changing
616-417: A similar plot was released by BBC Two in 2022 and is available on Netflix . The BBC series People Like Us was first produced for radio in 1995 before a television version was made in 1999. Kay Stonham 's Audio Diaries was a similarly short tenured radio mockumentary that premiered the year after People Like Us 's run on Radio 4 ended. Ricky Fataar Ricky Fataar (born 5 September 1952)
660-422: A sketch on Idle's programme Rutland Weekend Television in 1975. The film has many cameo appearances by both English and American comedians, including alumni of Monty Python , Saturday Night Live , and Rutland Weekend Television . George Harrison has a cameo role as a television journalist conducting an interview outside the headquarters of Rutle Corps, oblivious to the stream of people coming out of
704-411: Is a 1978 television film in mockumentary style about The Rutles , a fictional band that parodies The Beatles . The Beatles' own 1964 feature film debut, A Hard Day's Night , was itself filmed in mockumentary style; it ostensibly documents a few typical (and highly fictionalized) days in the life of the band as they travel from Liverpool to London for a television appearance. Since the beginning of
748-703: Is a Cold-War era American "mockumentary" film that made use of archival government footage from the 1950s. Woody Allen's 1983 film Zelig stars Allen as a curiously nondescript enigma who is discovered for his remarkable ability to transform himself to resemble anyone he is near, and Allen is edited into historical archive footage. In 1984, Christopher Guest co-wrote and starred in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap , directed by Rob Reiner . Guest went on to write and direct other mockumentaries including Waiting for Guffman , Best in Show , and A Mighty Wind , all written with costar Eugene Levy . In Central Europe,
792-592: Is a South African musician of Malay descent who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash , a spoof on the Beatles , in which he performed as a member of the Rutles . He was also a member of the Beach Boys between 1971 and 1974, and has been the drummer for Bonnie Raitt for the last 35 years. Fataar is also a record producer, and has worked on projects scoring music to film and television. Fataar's first childhood band
836-499: Is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music . They commenced in 1987. Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week . The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. Fataar has also combined his talents as an actor and
880-461: The 1950s when archival film footage became available. A very early example was a short piece on the " Swiss Spaghetti Harvest " that appeared as an April Fools' prank on the British television program Panorama in 1957. Mockumentaries can be partly or wholly improvised . Early work, including Luis Buñuel 's 1933 Land Without Bread , Orson Welles 's 1938 radio broadcast of The War of
924-405: The 1980s, the mockumentary format has gained considerable attention. The 1980 South African film The Gods Must be Crazy (along with its 1989 sequel ) is presented in the manner of a nature documentary , with documentary narrator Paddy O'Byrne describing the events of the film in the manner of a biologist or anthropologist presenting scientific knowledge to viewers. In 1982, The Atomic Cafe
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#1732775415477968-627: The Beach Boys' live and recording line-up into a multi-cultural group. In 1978, Fataar starred in All You Need Is Cash , a mockumentary film known more commonly as The Rutles , a spoof on the real life history of the Beatles , which was a follow-up to a Saturday Night Live television sketch. The Beatlesque music for the Rutles was written by Neil Innes , formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and musical collaborator with Monty Python . Fataar's character
1012-507: The Beach Boys, in March 1972. Fataar was asked to play drums for the band after drummer Dennis Wilson suffered a debilitating hand accident. The duo recorded two albums with the Beach Boys, and began touring with them in 1971. The 1972 Beach Boys album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" featured musical and vocal contributions from Chaplin and Fataar. It also included two songs written by
1056-582: The Bonzos' 1968 hit single, I'm the Urban Spaceman , composed and sung by Innes. Fourteen of Innes's songs were released on a soundtrack album (the CD version added six songs omitted from the original vinyl album) named The Rutles . The album was both critically and commercially successful and was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording of the year. The orchestrations and arrangements for
1100-501: The Money and Run (1969), The Clowns (1970) by Federico Fellini (a peculiar hybrid of documentary and fiction , a docufiction), Smile (1975) , Carlos Mayolo 's The Vampires of Poverty (1977) and All You Need Is Cash (1978). Albert Brooks was also an early popularizer of the mockumentary style with his film Real Life , 1979, a spoof of the 1973 reality television series An American Family . Woody Allen 's Take
1144-427: The Money and Run is presented in documentary style with Allen playing a fictional criminal, Virgil Starkwell, whose crime exploits are "explored" throughout the film. Jackson Beck , who used to narrate documentaries in the 1940s, provides the voice-over narration. Fictional interviews are inter-spliced throughout, especially those of Starkwell's parents who wear Groucho Marx noses and mustaches. The style of this film
1188-486: The Rutles recordings were made by film composer John Altman . John Halsey , Ricky Fataar , and Neil Innes performed their own respective musical and vocal parts, but Eric Idle 's vocals were sung [slightly sped up] by Ollie Halsall , who also played the lead guitar parts. The show has been released on DVD, originally in a 66-minute version incorporating cuts for syndication , later in a "special edition" restored to its full length of 76 minutes and with extras including
1232-537: The United Kingdom. On one of their tours, they were spotted by a founding member of The Beach Boys , Carl Wilson . He was impressed by their talent and offered to sign them to the Beach Boys new record label, Brother Records . The band moved to Los Angeles and they recorded and released their 1970 album The Flame with Carl Wilson producing the album. The Flames disbanded in late 1970, and Fataar and his former Flame bandmate Blondie Chaplin were recruited by
1276-437: The World ". The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour (1970–1971) also featured mockumentary pieces that interspersed both scripted and real-life man-in-the-street interviews, the most famous likely being "The Puck Crisis" in which hockey pucks were claimed to have become infected with a form of Dutch elm disease . All You Need Is Cash , developed from an early series of sketches in the comedy series Rutland Weekend Television ,
1320-551: The Worlds , various April Fools' Day news reports, and vérité -style film and television during the 1960s and 1970s, served as precursor to the genre. Early examples of mock-documentaries include various films by Peter Watkins , such as The War Game (1965), Privilege (1967), and the dystopic Punishment Park (1971). Further examples are " The Connection " (1961), A Hard Day's Night (1964), David Holzman's Diary (1967), Pat Paulsen for President (1968), Take
1364-534: The building carrying items stolen from the office; this is a reference to the Beatles' famously plundered Apple Boutique and Apple Headquarters, where even the ceiling lining was looted. The interview ends abruptly as the microphone is stolen out of his hand. The film also features cameos from Idle's fellow Python Michael Palin ; several SNL cast members including Gilda Radner , John Belushi , Bill Murray , Dan Aykroyd , Al Franken , and Tom Davis ; Bianca Jagger as Dirk McQuickly's wife Martini; Ronnie Wood as
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1408-685: The comedy series The Muppets (2015); People Just Do Nothing (2011–2018) and the Australian Chris Lilley shows Angry Boys , Summer Heights High , We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year , Ja'mie: Private School Girl , Jonah from Tonga and Lunatics . Shows currently running in this format include What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present) and Abbott Elementary (2021–present). Strictly speaking,
1452-501: The duo, "Here She Comes" and "Hold On Dear Brother". On the band's next album, Holland , released a year later, both musicians recorded, and provided backing vocals, including the hit single " Sail On, Sailor ", on which Chaplin sang as lead vocalist. They also collaborated with Carl Wilson and Mike Love on the song "Leaving This Town". 1973 saw the first live album The Beach Boys in Concert , upon which Fataar performed. It featured
1496-699: The fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics ), and W1A , which follows the main characters of Twenty Twelve as they start work at the BBC, as well as The Office (2001) and its many international offshoots , and Come Fly with Me (2010), which follows the activity at a fictional airport and its variety of staff and passengers. British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French often presented short mockumentaries as extended sketches in their TV show French & Saunders . Discovery Channel opened its annual Shark Week on 4 Aug 2013 with Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives ,
1540-605: The fictional Rutles story, closely following the chronology of the Beatles' career. The film was co-written by Eric Idle and Neil Innes. The music and events of the Rutles paralleled that of the Beatles, parodying many of the latter's career highlights. For example, the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine became the Yellow Submarine Sandwich , and the song " Get Back " became "Get Up and Go". The Rutles were played by Eric Idle , John Halsey , Ricky Fataar , and Neil Innes . The band originally appeared in
1584-527: The film (David Koechner, Eric Roberts, Chaz Bono, Ed Begley Jr.), performing arts (Ja Rule, Billy Morrison), and TV (Lindsey Shaw, Pierson Fode, Johnny Bananas) to play fictional versions of themselves. In television, the most notable mockumentaries in the 2000s have been ABC Australia 's The Games (1998–2000), the Canadian series Trailer Park Boys (1999–present), the British shows Marion and Geoff (2000), Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) (which follows
1628-485: The first time that viewers were exposed to mockumentary was in 1988 when the Czechoslovakian short film Oil Gobblers was shown. For two weeks, TV viewers believed that the oil-eating animals really existed. Tim Robbins ' 1992 film Bob Roberts was a mockumentary centered around the senatorial campaign of a right-wing stock trader and folksinger, and the unsavory connections and dirty tricks used to defeat
1672-408: The original television sessions remixed in stereo by Neil Innes. Innes, Fataar and Halsey returned in 1996 to record The Rutles Archaeology , but without the involvement of Eric Idle. Mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of mock and documentary ) is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary. The term originated in the 1960s but
1716-542: Was the Flames , a band from his birthplace of Durban , South Africa. He joined the band at the age of nine. The band made several recordings as well as touring all over southern Africa and before long they became quite popular in South Africa. By the time he was twelve years old he had already won the honour of being voted as the "Best Rock Drummer in South Africa". In 1968, the band moved to London and began touring in
1760-1367: Was Stig O'Hara, the band's guitarist (analogous to George Harrison ). He speaks no dialogue in the film, being sent up as "the quiet one" in it. Fataar's then wife, Penelope Tree , also appeared in All You Need Is Cash , as Stig's wife, Penelope. The band's two records, The Rutles and Archeology , featured him playing guitar, bass, sitar, drums, and singing. He would also go on to record a single with Eric Idle as 'Dirk & Stig' titled, "Mr. Sheene" / "Ging Gang Goolie". With Ryan Adams With David Cassidy With Peter Cetera With Crowded House With Tim Finn With Tim Hardin With Steve Harley With Etta James With Elton John With Wendy Matthews With Delbert McClinton With Jenny Morris With Keb' Mo' With Anne Murray With Robert Palmer With Carrie Rodriguez With Boz Scaggs With Broderick Smith With Phoebe Snow With Pops Staples With Bonnie Raitt With Jennifer Warnes With Dennis Wilson With Womack & Womack The ARIA Music Awards
1804-458: Was directed by Idle and Gary Weis . It was first broadcast on 22 March 1978 on NBC , earning the lowest ratings of any show on American prime time network television that week, though those who did watch it gave almost unanimously good reviews. It did much better in the ratings when it premiered in the UK on BBC2 on 27 March 1978. All You Need Is Cash is a series of skits and gags that illustrate
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1848-477: Was popularized in the mid-1990s when This Is Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner used it in interviews to describe that film. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues in a satirical way by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. While mockumentaries are usually comedic , pseudo-documentaries are their dramatic equivalents. However, pseudo-documentary should not be confused with docudrama ,
1892-563: Was the first of its kind to incorporate the mockumentary style into animation. REC , a 2007 Spanish film by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, uses journalism aesthetics to approach a horror universe set up in a real building in Barcelona . The film was remade in the United States as the 2008 film Quarantine . Ivo Raza's 2020 mockumentary Reboot Camp is a comedy about a fake cult that uses an ensemble cast of celebrities from
1936-408: Was widely appropriated by others and revisited by Allen himself in films such as Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), Zelig (1983) and Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Early use of the mockumentary format in television comedy can be seen in several sketches from Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974), such as " Hell's Grannies ", " Piranha Brothers ", and " The Funniest Joke in
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