Be Excellent To Each Other!
If you can hear those words and not immediately think of a time-traveling phone booth with two of the coolest guys of all time in it…you’re really missing out! BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is the movie we didn’t know we needed, but now that it’s almost here, generations of fans are wondering how we’ve lived without it. Excellent Adventure was perfect, Bogus Journey was beyond fun; that would have been enough, it could have been enough, but instead, in this crap year that is 2020 we’re getting a true gift from Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Ed Solomon, and Chris Matheson. We get to Face the Music!
Comic-Con@Home brought us ‘Bill and Ted Face The Music: A Most Excellent SDCC 2020 Panel’ moderated by filmmaker Kevin Smith, who you could tell from the start is a serious Bill And Ted fan. He’s made no secret over the years that Bill and Ted are in the DNA of Jay and Silent Bob. Also joining the panel were director Dean Parisot alongside writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, plus cast members Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and William Sadler.
Kevin Smith tells us that he’s seen the movie, and it was funny, nostalgic, and extremely emotional. And as a long time fan, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear! He calls the movie “adorable” as in “to be adored” and getting to watch the reactions from Keanu and Alex when he’s talking about it is one of the reasons we all love Comic-Con panels so much! Being able to experience the emotions and feelings of the people who make the movies we love is what makes these panels so special. Well, that, and all the awesome behind the scenes stories we get to hear; and there were plenty! Everything from how Ed and Chris were the first ones to actually play Bill and Ted, to Keanu and Alex’s audition process for the first movie, to a fated moment in McDonald’s…long time fans like myself got a heaping helping of hilarious nostalgic stories.
On the other side of the Circle K parking lot, learning about how the “new kids” took on their rolls was pretty cool too. Neither Samara nor Brigette had seen the original movies before this, although Samara’s husband is a huge fan, so they had a fresh perspective on the characters and were perfect for the new generation. I loved listening to Brigette talk about how she studied Alex’s facial expressions and physicality but still made the character her own and not a copy, which is a direction it could have easily gone in.
And as if all of that wasn’t enough, as if this movie wasn’t enough of a gift, we also got William Sadler! I was SO EXCITED when I found out he was going to be reprising his role of Death in the movie. To have him on the panel, and get to hear him talk about the first scene they filmed together in Face The Music, how great it was to be reunited, and to see them get emotional…well, that’s the magic of Comic-Con isn’t it? That’s why we go every year and wait in line. Or, in this case, why we block out a whole weekend to tune in; because for just a few minutes, we the fans get to be a part of those moments with the cast and crew, and it’s truly excellent!
BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC will be released on demand and in theaters on September 1, 2020.