Talking Heads to reunite for “Stop Making Sense” Q&A with Spike Lee at Toronto film fest

Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” publicity photo

The members of Talking Heads have had one of the more rancorous post-breakup experiences, but they’re coming together next month to share a stage again for the first time in 21 years — not to perform, though, but to answer Spike Lee’s questions.

The quartet — David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison — will appear at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11 for the premiere, on IMAX, of A24’s new 40th anniversary, 4K restoration of the band’s Jonathan Demme-directed concert film “Stop Making Sense.”

Following the screening, all four Talking Heads will participate in a Q&A moderated by Lee, who directed the film version of Byrne’s “American Utopia” Broadway production. The Q&A session will be the band’s first public appearance together since their 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and performance.

The whole event — the film and the Q&A — will be live-streamed to select IMAX movie theaters around the world that night. Head over to stopmakingsense.imax.com for location information and tickets.

Following two screenings at the Toronto film festival, A24 will release the new edition of “Stop Making Sense” in IMAX theaters beginning Sept. 22 and then all theaters beginning Sept. 29.

In conjunction with the theatrical re-release, Rhino Records this week is putting out a new 18-track Stop Making Sense: Deluxe Edition in both a limited-edition 2LP vinyl pressing and digitally, along with a Dolby Atmos mix of the full concert mixed by the band’s Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren. The digital release and vinyl edition can be pre-ordered now via Amazon.

The expanded version of the soundtrack will feature “Cities” and “Big Business/I Zimbra,” performances that were included on the original home video release of “Stop Making Sense,” but then removed and relegated instead as bonus tracks in the 1999 re-release and subsequent DVD and video releases. They didn’t appear on the original truncated soundtrack or the 1999 expansion.

Here’s the trailer for the new edition of “Stop Making Sense”:

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• Hear “Cities” off Talking Heads’ upcoming expanded reissue of “Stop Making Sense”
• Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” to get 4K theatrical run, expanded vinyl reissue
• Watch: David Byrne puts on hot dog fingers to perform “This Is a Life” at Oscars
• Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew expand their Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” tour
• Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’
• David Byrne performs ‘Once in a Lifetime’ and ‘Toe Jam’ on SNL, joins ‘Airport Sushi’ sketch
• Watch David Byrne induct a band named after a Talking Heads song into the Rock Hall

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