Alex Ross Perry Creates a Faux Pavement Biopic with Range Life Trailer

      After a six-year hiatus from solo directing features, following Her Smell, Alex Ross Perry has returned to the rock scene with Pavements in a markedly different fashion. This film serves as a tribute to Stephen Malkmus’ band, blending various genres such as band documentary, biopic (and the process of creating the biopic), Broadway musical, museum exhibition, and more, as it seeks to encapsulate the brilliance of this influential group. Following its premiere at a film festival, Utopia is set to release it this year, and they have now shared the initial trailer for the fictional biopic Range Life, which is featured within the film. The “film” showcases Joe Keery as the lead singer Stephen Malkmus, alongside Jason Schwartzman, Fred Hechinger, Tim Heidecker, Logan Miller, Griffin Newman, Nat Wolff, and others.

      In his review, David Katz remarked that “Perry’s film, one of his most successful and cohesive works to date, exists in both a past and conditional tense. It offers a brilliant summary of one of indie music’s most impactful artists: in its more traditional segments, it acts as a visual and critical biography that highlights their suburban and middle-American roots, their entry into “alt” culture and artistic life as students, and their sometimes affectionate, often hesitant relationship with the lucrative music industry of the 90s. However, after laying this groundwork of reality, Perry, along with his mock-documentary and realistic editor Robert Greene (who plays a significant creative role here), crafts highly imaginative fictional segments that, while not necessarily plausible, carry a convincing and satirical tone that feels slightly out of tune with reality.”

      You can view the trailer below.

      Additionally, Alex Ross Perry is debuting another film this year; his captivating three-hour homage to video stores, Videoheaven, recently premiered at Rotterdam, and the first poster has been unveiled.