{"id":2008703,"date":"2026-06-24T14:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2008703"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:06:24","slug":"how-nirvanna-the-band-the-show-the-movie-remixes-reality-it-creates-this-delirious-feeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2008703","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019 remixes reality: \u201cIt creates this delirious feeling\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna_The_Band_The_Show_The_Movie.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-2947849\" class=\"post-2947849 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_71 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Features<\/span><span>Film Interviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_72 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_72\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">How \u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019 remixes reality: \u201cIt creates this delirious feeling\u201d<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_73 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_73\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol let us in on the secrets behind the mind-melting big-screen adaptation of their cult mockumentary sitcom <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_75 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_75\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Jordan Bassett<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-06-24T15:06:24+01:00\">24th June 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_77\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_78  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_80  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_81 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna_The_Band_The_Show_The_Movie-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna\" title=\"Nirvanna_The_Band_The_Show_The_Movie\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">&#8216;Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie&#8217;. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing UK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">I<\/strong>n 1896, pioneering French filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumi\u00e8re released <i>The Arrival Of A Train At La Ciotat<\/i>, a roughly 50-second clip of a steam engine pulling into a busy platform. The story goes that this cinematic feat was so novel that viewers initially leapt out of the way of the screen, terrified that they would be crushed under the great hulk of machinery.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Read more:<\/strong> The best films of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This often-repeated tale is almost certainly an urban myth, though it does speak to the power of the Lumi\u00e8re brothers\u2019 innovation. One hundred and thirty years on, viewers may have become more accustomed to the blurred lines between cinema and reality, but the medium still has the ability to perplex and bemuse. Just look at <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/i>, the audacious new big-screen outing for Canadian duo Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol\u2019s mockumentary web sitcom. Like the show, the movie combines improvised comedy with hidden camera footage involving unwitting members of the public.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>With a bigger (though still modest) budget, the set-up now includes a string of dizzying stunts; all of this leaves you scratching your head as to what\u2019s real and what isn\u2019t. The uncertainty fuels the comedy, explains Johnson, the film\u2019s director, who\u2019s chatting to <i>NME<\/i> over video call alongside McCarrol: \u201cIt creates a kind of delirious feeling of, \u2018I know this isn\u2019t real \u2013 but I\u2019m watching it. It <i>is<\/i> real.\u2019 There\u2019s something so pleasurable about having both of those things happen at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951954\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951954\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951954\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951954\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The pair play outsized versions of themselves as hapless wannabe musicians who dream of one day showcasing their dubiously named act Nirvanna The Band at legendary Toronto venue, the Rivoli. Little has changed since <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> launched in 2007, as each episode begins with \u2018Matt\u2019 devising a madcap scheme to try and pull off their goal. \u2018Jay\u2019 is a long-suffering stooge at his friend\u2019s beck and call. Together, they follow in a grand tradition of co-dependent comedy characters, which runs all the way from <i>Laurel And Hardy<\/i> to the gang in <i>It\u2019s Always Sunny<\/i> I<i>n<\/i><i>Philadelphia<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>As Johnson puts it: \u201cThey can\u2019t live without one another and yet really detest the way the other one is holding them back. That\u2019s the perfect recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movie sees Matt and Jay time-travel back to 2008 as part of a plot that\u2019s brazenly cribbed from <i>Back To The Future<\/i>. At one point, they interact with their younger selves, which was achieved through the fiendishly clever splicing of old and new footage. In a hidden camera skit, they visit a hardware store, where an employee tries to gently dissuade them from buying pliers to cut through safety harnesses and parachute from the top of Toronto\u2019s 1,815-foot CN Tower.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p>McCarrol notes that they approach these ruses gently, with the weirdness gradually escalating: \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re just looking for some pliers \u2013 would these cut through\u2026?\u2019 We\u2019re enunciating well and there\u2019s no issue yet. But as soon as they go a little bit deeper with us, then they\u2019re hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951958\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951958\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951958\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie4.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951958\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like countless others, that scene works brilliantly because the man is so sweet and concerned, which Johnson believes sums up the temperament of Toronto residents: \u201cNobody wants to be bothered; nobody wants to get in anybody else\u2019s way. They just want to get about their day, but they\u2019re also extremely polite \u2013 which is a perfect recipe for Jay and I to go up to people with our problems and say, \u2018We need your help.\u2019 You instantly have this tension of: \u2018I don\u2019t wanna stay here and talk with you, but I <i>do<\/i> wanna help you because I\u2019m nice\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson and McCarrol, who are now both in their early 40s, have been pulling off these kinds of stunts since they met as teenagers in Mississauga, Ontario. They bonded over a shared love of \u201880s and \u201890s pop culture and started riffing through their own skits almost from the get-go. \u201cWe\u2019d be in McDonald\u2019s and pretend that we didn\u2019t know each other,\u201d McCarrol recalls. \u201cWe would have a dialogue that would have people around us raising their eyebrows, like, \u2018What is happening here?\u2019 We were both a little bit bold that way and got excited about mixing reality and comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Like their real-life counterparts, the onscreen Matt and Jay are music, film and TV obsessives, with the ultimate joke being that they\u2019ve unwittingly named their act after the most famous band of their generation, which they\u2019ve somehow never heard of. Have Johnson and McCarrol ever received word from the Nirvana estate over their misspelled use of the name? \u201cIt\u2019s been 20 years and we have literally never heard anything,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cI think that\u2019s probably for the best for their own sense of self-preservation. I imagine that Dave Grohl is like, \u2018I\u2019d better just not say anything because there\u2019s no winning.\u2019 I bet you he\u2019d love the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE Trailer | TIFF 2026\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vH2y2JNvzIk?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The duo often flirt with copyright issues on <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> \u2013 the fact that the new movie is adapted from the actual script of <i>Back To The Future<\/i> should be enough to give a showbiz lawyer the horn. Yet they work carefully with their own legal maestro to ensure that their references are defensible under fair use law. Instead of seeking permissions, Johnson writes pre-emptive essays explaining why each piece of copyrighted material they plunder is essential to the plot.<\/p>\n<p>This adds a frisson of punk energy to their endeavours, making it even more delicious that they\u2019re now becoming mainstream public figures. Johnson directed and co-wrote the well-received 2023 tech biopic <i>BlackBerry<\/i>, for which McCarrol composed the music. They\u2019re repeating this formula with the upcoming <i>Tony<\/i>, a coming-of-age tale about the early years of Anthony Bourdain. (Johnson had little knowledge of the rockstar food documentarian before taking on the project, a particularly punk detail that Bourdain himself would surely have enjoyed.)<\/p>\n<p>From 2017, two series of the show aired on the short-lived <i>VICE<\/i> TV channel Viceland, though a third was canned when the Canadian network abruptly shut down in 2018. Johnson and McCarrol are planning a new series on traditional TV, using movie outtakes and unseen material from that abandoned season, with a DVD also set for release this summer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951955\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951955\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie1.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951955\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In its core DNA, though, <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> is an online, DIY affair \u2013 and Johnson and McCarrol aren\u2019t the only self-published internet filmmakers who\u2019ve made the leap to the big screen lately. Just look at young YouTubers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, who\u2019ve hit big at the box office with <i>Backrooms<\/i> and <i>Obsession<\/i> respectively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing that filmmaking on the internet does,\u201d says Johnson, \u201cis that you make skit after skit after skit and you wind up training yourself, almost like a musician doing multiple rehearsals of the same song. All of these online guys, you go back and watch their early stuff and it\u2019s like, \u2018This is awful and this guy\u2019s going <i>nowhere<\/i>.\u2019 Then you do it a thousand times and it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God! I always knew he was gonna be great!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s a lesson in this current cinematic movement, he says, it\u2019s \u201cpractice \u2013 do not expect to be amazing the first time, which is what gives people paralysis towards making anything at all\u201d. Take it from a modern master of surprise, whose latest confounding creation is hurtling down the track.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019 is in UK cinemas from July 3, with previews in selected locations from July 1<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_content td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row tdc-element-style\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td-block td-a-rec td-a-rec-id-custom-spot tdi_92 td_block_template_2\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_93\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_94  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_96  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_98  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_100  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_102 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_103 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_103\">\n<div id=\"tdi_103\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Billy Corgan promises \u201ctwo LPs\u201d of unreleased Zwan songs on the way \u2013 with 60 unheard tracks in the vault<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Phoebe Bridgers announces new album \u2018Lost Weekend\u2019 and release of first single<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Reviews<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">\u2018Life, Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness: An Almost History Of America\u2019 review: curb your enthusiasm for Larry David\u2019s return<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Watch Babymetal join Bring Me The Horizon on stage for \u2018Kingslayer\u2019 at Graspop Metal Meeting<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Chelsea Wolfe shares two new songs \u2018The Dark\u2019 and \u2018Death Is Not The End\u2019, and announces US and European tour<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Check out the epic orchestral parts being recorded for Muse\u2019s new album \u2018The Wow! Signal\u2019 at Abbey Road<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_104\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_105  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_107  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_109 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">I<\/strong>n 1896, pioneering French filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumi\u00e8re released <i>The Arrival Of A Train At La Ciotat<\/i>, a roughly 50-second clip of a steam engine pulling into a busy platform. The story goes that this cinematic feat was so novel that viewers initially leapt out of the way of the screen, terrified that they would be crushed under the great hulk of machinery.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Read more:<\/strong> The best films of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This often-repeated tale is almost certainly an urban myth, though it does speak to the power of the Lumi\u00e8re brothers\u2019 innovation. One hundred and thirty years on, viewers may have become more accustomed to the blurred lines between cinema and reality, but the medium still has the ability to perplex and bemuse. Just look at <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/i>, the audacious new big-screen outing for Canadian duo Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol\u2019s mockumentary web sitcom. Like the show, the movie combines improvised comedy with hidden camera footage involving unwitting members of the public.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>With a bigger (though still modest) budget, the set-up now includes a string of dizzying stunts; all of this leaves you scratching your head as to what\u2019s real and what isn\u2019t. The uncertainty fuels the comedy, explains Johnson, the film\u2019s director, who\u2019s chatting to <i>NME<\/i> over video call alongside McCarrol: \u201cIt creates a kind of delirious feeling of, \u2018I know this isn\u2019t real \u2013 but I\u2019m watching it. It <i>is<\/i> real.\u2019 There\u2019s something so pleasurable about having both of those things happen at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951954\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951954\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951954\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951954\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The pair play outsized versions of themselves as hapless wannabe musicians who dream of one day showcasing their dubiously named act Nirvanna The Band at legendary Toronto venue, the Rivoli. Little has changed since <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> launched in 2007, as each episode begins with \u2018Matt\u2019 devising a madcap scheme to try and pull off their goal. \u2018Jay\u2019 is a long-suffering stooge at his friend\u2019s beck and call. Together, they follow in a grand tradition of co-dependent comedy characters, which runs all the way from <i>Laurel And Hardy<\/i> to the gang in <i>It\u2019s Always Sunny<\/i> I<i>n<\/i><i>Philadelphia<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>As Johnson puts it: \u201cThey can\u2019t live without one another and yet really detest the way the other one is holding them back. That\u2019s the perfect recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movie sees Matt and Jay time-travel back to 2008 as part of a plot that\u2019s brazenly cribbed from <i>Back To The Future<\/i>. At one point, they interact with their younger selves, which was achieved through the fiendishly clever splicing of old and new footage. In a hidden camera skit, they visit a hardware store, where an employee tries to gently dissuade them from buying pliers to cut through safety harnesses and parachute from the top of Toronto\u2019s 1,815-foot CN Tower.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p>McCarrol notes that they approach these ruses gently, with the weirdness gradually escalating: \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re just looking for some pliers \u2013 would these cut through\u2026?\u2019 We\u2019re enunciating well and there\u2019s no issue yet. But as soon as they go a little bit deeper with us, then they\u2019re hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951958\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951958\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951958\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie4.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951958\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like countless others, that scene works brilliantly because the man is so sweet and concerned, which Johnson believes sums up the temperament of Toronto residents: \u201cNobody wants to be bothered; nobody wants to get in anybody else\u2019s way. They just want to get about their day, but they\u2019re also extremely polite \u2013 which is a perfect recipe for Jay and I to go up to people with our problems and say, \u2018We need your help.\u2019 You instantly have this tension of: \u2018I don\u2019t wanna stay here and talk with you, but I <i>do<\/i> wanna help you because I\u2019m nice\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson and McCarrol, who are now both in their early 40s, have been pulling off these kinds of stunts since they met as teenagers in Mississauga, Ontario. They bonded over a shared love of \u201880s and \u201890s pop culture and started riffing through their own skits almost from the get-go. \u201cWe\u2019d be in McDonald\u2019s and pretend that we didn\u2019t know each other,\u201d McCarrol recalls. \u201cWe would have a dialogue that would have people around us raising their eyebrows, like, \u2018What is happening here?\u2019 We were both a little bit bold that way and got excited about mixing reality and comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Like their real-life counterparts, the onscreen Matt and Jay are music, film and TV obsessives, with the ultimate joke being that they\u2019ve unwittingly named their act after the most famous band of their generation, which they\u2019ve somehow never heard of. Have Johnson and McCarrol ever received word from the Nirvana estate over their misspelled use of the name? \u201cIt\u2019s been 20 years and we have literally never heard anything,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cI think that\u2019s probably for the best for their own sense of self-preservation. I imagine that Dave Grohl is like, \u2018I\u2019d better just not say anything because there\u2019s no winning.\u2019 I bet you he\u2019d love the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE Trailer | TIFF 2026\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vH2y2JNvzIk?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The duo often flirt with copyright issues on <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> \u2013 the fact that the new movie is adapted from the actual script of <i>Back To The Future<\/i> should be enough to give a showbiz lawyer the horn. Yet they work carefully with their own legal maestro to ensure that their references are defensible under fair use law. Instead of seeking permissions, Johnson writes pre-emptive essays explaining why each piece of copyrighted material they plunder is essential to the plot.<\/p>\n<p>This adds a frisson of punk energy to their endeavours, making it even more delicious that they\u2019re now becoming mainstream public figures. Johnson directed and co-wrote the well-received 2023 tech biopic <i>BlackBerry<\/i>, for which McCarrol composed the music. They\u2019re repeating this formula with the upcoming <i>Tony<\/i>, a coming-of-age tale about the early years of Anthony Bourdain. (Johnson had little knowledge of the rockstar food documentarian before taking on the project, a particularly punk detail that Bourdain himself would surely have enjoyed.)<\/p>\n<p>From 2017, two series of the show aired on the short-lived <i>VICE<\/i> TV channel Viceland, though a third was canned when the Canadian network abruptly shut down in 2018. Johnson and McCarrol are planning a new series on traditional TV, using movie outtakes and unseen material from that abandoned season, with a DVD also set for release this summer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951955\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951955\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna-The-Band-The-Show-The-Movie1.jpg\" alt=\"Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie interview\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951955\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019. CREDIT: Vertigo Releasing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In its core DNA, though, <i>Nirvanna The Band The Show<\/i> is an online, DIY affair \u2013 and Johnson and McCarrol aren\u2019t the only self-published internet filmmakers who\u2019ve made the leap to the big screen lately. Just look at young YouTubers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, who\u2019ve hit big at the box office with <i>Backrooms<\/i> and <i>Obsession<\/i> respectively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing that filmmaking on the internet does,\u201d says Johnson, \u201cis that you make skit after skit after skit and you wind up training yourself, almost like a musician doing multiple rehearsals of the same song. All of these online guys, you go back and watch their early stuff and it\u2019s like, \u2018This is awful and this guy\u2019s going <i>nowhere<\/i>.\u2019 Then you do it a thousand times and it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God! I always knew he was gonna be great!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s a lesson in this current cinematic movement, he says, it\u2019s \u201cpractice \u2013 do not expect to be amazing the first time, which is what gives people paralysis towards making anything at all\u201d. Take it from a modern master of surprise, whose latest confounding creation is hurtling down the track.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019 is in UK cinemas from July 3, with previews in selected locations from July 1<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/film-interviews\/nirvanna-band-show-movie-interview-matt-johnson-jay-mccarrol-3951953&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nirvanna_The_Band_The_Show_The_Movie.jpg&#8221;] FeaturesFilm Interviews How \u2018Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie\u2019 remixes reality: \u201cIt creates this delirious feeling\u201d Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol let us in on the secrets behind the mind-melting big-screen adaptation of their cult mockumentary sitcom By Jordan Bassett 24th June 2026 &#8216;Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie&#8217;. CREDIT: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2008703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2008703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2008703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2008703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2008703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}