BALTIMORE—Director Brady Corbet announced a new David Byrne film today that contains zero musical performances. The 70mm project features the art-pop icon staring at brutalist post-war municipal buildings. Corbet captured the footage during Byrne's recent tour stop in Maryland. The highly anticipated David Byrne film promises to challenge traditional notions of the concert documentary format.
A Monumental Vision
"We wanted to strip away the distraction of melody," said Corbet. He spoke from a dark room while wearing a heavy wool trench coat. "David’s body movement is inherently architectural. Why ruin that with a rhythm section?" Corbet shot the entire three-hour epic on vintage celluloid. The director previously explored historical trauma in his acclaimed drama The Brutalist.
The new David Byrne film features long, unbroken takes of the singer standing near concrete drainage ditches. Critics expect the film to sweep major European festival categories next spring. Fans of the Talking Heads singer expressed mild confusion at the teaser trailer. The clip consists entirely of a low-frequency hum over footage of a grey parking garage.
The Science of Boredom
"This project represents a major shift in audience endurance testing," said Dr. Helene Vasquez-Thorne. She serves as Lead Researcher at the Center for Studies That Confirm What You Already Suspected. "Our data shows that indie rock fans will watch literally anything if it is projected in 70mm. You could show them a blank screen for three hours. They will still call it a masterpiece."
The distribution company plans to release the project in select museum basements this winter. Audience members must sign a waiver promising not to tap their feet. The theatrical cut will feature a mandatory intermission where patrons can discuss the despair of modern urban planning.
At press time, Corbet was reportedly editing out a three-second clip where Byrne accidentally hummed a C-major chord.
