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Hulu's new documentary 'McCartney 3, 2, 1' offers
a deep dive into the famous Beatle's life.

By Robert Edelstein in TV Guide

  cant' read music -- or write it," admits Paul McCartney, one of the great songsmiths of the past century. So, how did the Beatle and leader of Wings become an incomparable artist? "It means that it's here ," he tells nine-time Grammy-winning producer Rick Rubin in the new Hulu docuseries McCartney 3, 2, 1, pointing to his head, "not on a bit of paper."

Therein lies the great charm of this three-hour deep dive into the Fab Four legend's life, covering the seeds of his creativity and his musical relationships. Hatched from a conversation between Rubin and fellow exec producer Jeff Pollack about their biggest dream interview, the six-episode docuseries was filmed during the pandemic last summer on an intimately lit set with little more than a few instruments and a producer's mixing board. There, Rubin -- having secured, in a rare feat, original master tapes from Abbey Road Studios -- plays McCartney some favorites. Rubin's questions lead to joyous revelations (McCartney mishearing the words "salt and pepper" inspired the album title Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ) and remarkable insight. "Paul is a great universal artist," Pollack says. "Imagine being in a position to ask Mozart, 'When you were writing The Marriage of Figaro, why did you do this or that?' That's what was so exciting about this." 

More McCartney & Co.

The Beatles: Made on Merseyside
Far from overnight sensations, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr played unpaid gigs before hitting it big. This 2018 documentary tracks their rise. Available now

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week
Let Ron Howard's Emmy-winning 2016 doc take you back to the 1960s: He captures the thrill of Beatlemania as the Fab Four go on tour. Available now

The new documentary 'The Sparks Brothers' details the
strange story of the underappreciated L.A. band.

By Entertainment Weekly

n October 2017, directors Edgar Wright ( Baby Driver ) and Phil Lord ( 21 Jump Street ) attended an L.A. show by Sparks during which longtime fan Wright bemoaned that the band was not more popular. "I said, 'Someone needs to make a documentary about them,'" recalls Wright. "Phil said, ' You should.' And I said, 'Okay, I will !'" The result is The Sparks Brothers (out June 18), which details the strange story of the even stranger band's sibling founders Ron and Russell Mael via vintage footage, animation, and interviews with the brothers, their collaborators, and celebrity fans like Flea and Jason Schwartzman. "Edgar spent three years, off and on, traveling with us," says Russell. "It's way beyond what we expected." The doc chronicles the cult band's triumphs (1994's hit "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way,'" their work on the upcoming film Annette ) as well as their torments (periods of commercial failure, aborted movie projects with Jacques Tati and Tim Burton). "I think it was good that Edgar chose not to try to shape it into something where everything's been rosy," says Russell. The Sparks Brothers was ecstatically reviewed when it premiered at this year's Sundance festival and, at time of this writing, has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- a point higher than Citizen Kane, as it turns out. "The numbers don't lie," insists Ron. 

Edgar Wright's 3 Essential albums for the Sparks fan An intro to the work of Ron and Russell Mael

Kimono My House 1974

No. 1 in Heaven 1979

Lil' Beethoven 2002

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