Zappa Family Gives Access For New Frank Zappa Documentary

Documentary director Alex Winter has announced he will turn his attention to the life of iconic musician and artist Frank Zappa for his next project. Winter, who recently put together the critically acclaimed Silk Road doc Deep Web, has received approval and access from the Zappa Family Trust for the documentary which is due in 2017. You may remember Winter as the actor who portrayed Bill in the 1989 movie Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Winter is firm in stating that the film he is putting together about Zappa is not a standard music doc or biopic, but instead “an epic saga of a great American artist and thinker; a major event worthy of the scope of Zappa’s prodigious and varied creative output, and the breadth of his personal and political life.” The filmmaker adds, “There has yet to be a definitive, authorized documentary on the extraordinary life and work of Frank Zappa. I am beyond thrilled to be embarking on this journey.”

The Zappa Family Trust has given Winter and partner Glen Zipper exclusive access to the Zappa Vault; a vast collection of unseen visual and audio recordings, in addition to previously released video clips, interviews and concert recordings, with Winter noting that “our tale will be told primarily in Frank’s own words; he will be our guide through this journey.”

“We couldn’t be happier to be working with Alex, an extraordinary filmmaker in his own wright. With an advanced degree in Perfect Timing and a shared respect for ‘conceptual continuity,’ we feel it is our duty. We also like his attitudinal position -Gravity and Humor go a long way with us,” Gail Zappa said.

Frank’s son Ahmet Zappa added, “This is not an easy story to tell and we trust that Alex truly understands the complex and multi-faceted man that my father was.”