Red Carpet: Tenacious D

Stars Jack Black and Kyle Gass broke out the regal threads last night, both pacing the red carpet dressed in robes and crowns. The fellas spent a good hour in the nippy London night, striking poses and signing anything the mosh pit of fans slapped in front of them.

Once inside, it became clear that these guys weren’t in the mood to answer serious questions, so… we didn’t ask them any.

“Jack is the king of rock,” Gass told TF, shoulders back, chin up, sweeping a gold sceptre in the direction of his nodding co-star. “I am the king of roll. When you put us together, we make… a wonderful dessert pastry.”

The flick hits cinemas on 24 November and follows the tale of JB and KG (genius), two rockers with a one-man fan club and a bad case of writer's block. In order to win a talent contest, they set out to find the pick of destiny, the mystical guitar pick that shaped rock music.

So… what does the D stand for?

“Don’t tell them!” Jack screeches at Kyle, before leaning in and suggesting, “It’s donkey. Really, it’s Tenacious Donkey.”

Jack’s father in the movie is played by flouncy-shirted rock god Meatloaf. “He was a very strict father, he was a hard-ass,” Black says with a look of mock-bitterness spread across his mug. “Thank goodness I never took his name, that’s all I can say. I’d be Jack Loaf.”

So, what do the greatest rock band of all time have on their backstage rider? Well, as you can imagine, it’s not exactly practical.

“Well, we have three Colombian whores,” Gass quips, looking Total Film in the eye, “an eight-ball of cocaine, an ounce of your best marijuana and some houmous.”

Bless ‘em. With that the two Kings swagger towards their adoring subjects for another round of flesh-pressing.

As ACDC once said… for those about to rock, we salute you.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.