As we wrote earlier this week, mockumentaries are having a bit of a moment, and nowhere is that more evident than on IFC with the comedy series “Documentary Now!” The show stars Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, with each new episode giving a parodic touch to famed and acclaimed documentaries like “Grey Gardens,” “The Thin Blue Line,” “War Room,” and “Jiro Dreams Of Sushi.” This week, the duo tackled Jonathan Demme‘s iconic concert documentary “Stop Making Sense” in the episode titled “Final Transmission,” and they had some help from an unlikely voice.
If you kept your eyes glued to the credits, you will have seen none other than Paul Thomas Anderson credited for his cameo turn as Harrison Renzi. That’s the stand-in for Jonathan Demme, director of “Stop Making Sense,” who the makers of the show actually wanted to land instead of PTA.
“We would have loved the idea of Jonathan Demme doing it, but couldn’t get in touch for whatever reason,” “Documentary Now!” director and co-creator Rhys Thomas told The A.V. Club. “And who knows if he would have wanted to?”
In the end of though, they managed to land PTA thanks to actress Maya Rudolph, his wife, who also appeared in the episode, and helped Armisen, Hader and co. reach out and see if he would take the role. And being a huge Demme fan, he said yes. And this isn’t the only time “Documentary Now!” has riffed on Demme this season: earlier this season the show delivered “Park Gail’s Location Is Everything,” a riff on “Swimming To Cambodia” (though I suppose it’s equally having fun with Spalding Grey).
The second season of “Documentary Now!” continues on IFC.
