A NEW DESTINY- A Sequel to Tenacious D’s “The Pick of Destiny?”

So, the other day, I posted about another dynamic duo… Bill and Ted and our third time travel trip with the most bodacious time travelers ever! PS, on a side note, I just read how they are going to deal with Rufus’ (George Carlin) death and it’s amazing what they have up their sleeve… Let’s just say, there was a LOT of footage that was never used/cut from the original and they are going to utilize the many feet of film George was in that never saw anything but, the cutting room floor. I guess that’s why we never got alternate cuts of the film or alternate scenes, which have been rumored to exist for years and even ended up on YouTube back in the day. And then prior to THAT, I talked about ANOTHER INTERGALACTIC DUO, HAN AND CHEWIE! So, since it’s been the theme the last few days, I’m going to wait to finish my Cobra Kai tv show review/thoughts and kick it with one more movie couple that has and hopefully will, once again, rock your socks off!

I’m talking about the “D!” TENACIOUS D that is!

Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny was released in 2006 and completely bombed at the box office. On a 20 million dollar budget, it grossed less than 14 million to date and sequel talk died very quickly. The musical comedy featured appearances by many of Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ friends such as Tim Robbins (a friend of the two since their beginnings with The Actors Gang in Los Angeles), Amy Poehler, Ben Stiller, Paul F. Tompkins, Amy Adams and John C. Reilly. It also featured a great line-up of musicians including Meatloaf, Ronnie James Dio and Tenacious D’s studio drummer, David Growl as the Devil himself. I, personally, enjoyed the movie, having been a fan of the band since they had their own brief run on HBO with the show, “Tenacious D,” from 1997-2000.

After having been cast in the popular comedy series, Mr. Show (also on HBO) prior to the Tenacious D program, Jack Black impressed the show runners and developed the short lived series with them. Mr. Show’s writers, executive producers and creators, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, continued their involvement with Tenacious D by producing three half-hour shows based on the band. It premiered on HBO in 1997, immediately following an episode of Mr. A total of three episodes consisting of two shorts each, ten to twelve minutes in length, were produced, only the first was aired that year; the final two episodes didn’t air until the summer of 2000.

According to Gass, the series was cancelled after HBO wanted ten episodes with the stipulation that he and Black would have to give up their respective roles as executive producers and only write songs. Black and Gass walked due to creative differences and the fact that HBO was trying to screw them.

After the series aired, the band continued to perform live. At a show at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, they met Dave Grohl, who was impressed with their performance which led to their cameo in the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly" music video. The popularity of Tenacious D further increased as they began to open for high-profile acts, including Beck, Pearl Jam, Tool and Foo Fighters.

In 2001, they released their first studio album, produced by The Dust Brothers, under the Epic Records label and by November 2005, the self titled album had reached platinum status. With Jack Black acting in many high profile movies, it helped with the Epic Records deal and they went on to record their first album with some amazing talent in the studio, though they usually were just a duo, especially on the HBO series, their recording band consisted of Dave Grohl on drums and guitar, keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish, guitarist Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals and Oingo Boingo, and bassist Steven Shane McDonald of Redd Kross. According to Black, they chose to use a band because "no one's ever heard us with a band.”

In October of 2003, Black announced that a screenplay for “The Pick of Destiny,” a fictional portrayal of how Tenacious D was formed,—had been completed. They worked with with director Liam Lynch who had been their director on the HBO series. After a series of delays such as production issues, mediocre script changes and Black being cast in Peter Jackson's big budget remake of King Kong, the filming was delayed for over a year. The band started recording songs for the soundtrack, their second studio album, The Pick of Destiny. Dave Grohl again played drums, and lent vocals to "Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)" as well as acting in the film, as Satan.

The film had its premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on November 9, 2006 and was released worldwide on November 22. The soundtrack had been released just over a week earlier, on November 14. Financially, it is regarded as a box office bomb but, the soundtrack reached #8 on the Billboard 200 in the US as well as topping the iTunes chart, and #10 in the UK. The film was released globally on DVD on February 27, 2007. In an interview on the Daily Show, Black admitted the film had "bombed" but, has said DVD sales have shown that the film has picked up a cult following.

On May 7, 2018 Jack Black broke the news of a sequel during the band’s performance at Shaky Knees Music Festival. He announced that it will be released in October 2018. Black was quoted as saying, “I don’t know where you’ll be able to see it, but we have decided that it’s happening and it’s coming out.” Some say it’s an animated film that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and Tenacious D’s rock is the only source of salvation. Animated or not, I’m excited to see what they do.

I’m looking forward to something new for the “D” as their third studio album was lackluster. in my personal opinion, though there were a few great tracks. I have always loved the duo and their music and hope that the new film will bring us back to the band and its fun origins like the series they created so long ago. Pick of Destiny was definitely a love letter to their fans, especially those fans who watched the film with the “green enhancements.” I’m talking about pot, folks. They LOVE this movie but, it’s not for everyone. It isn’t surprising the film has reached a cult status and I’m sure it and the films/albums/shows/appearances that follow will hold their fan base now and into the POST-APOCALYPTO!

LONG LIVE THE D!

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