Beastie Boys Story is a 2020 American biographical documentary film, directed, produced, and written by Spike Jonze, alongside Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. It was filmed at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York and adapted from Beastie Boys Book (2018), a memoir of the Beastie Boys written mainly by Diamond and Horovitz. Jonze reunited with the remaining Beastie Boys for the project after having directed several music videos for them in the past, including "Sabotage" in 1994. It features archival footage of Adam Yauch, whose death in 2012 led to the band's dissolution.
It was scheduled to be released in a limited cinema release on April 3, 2020, followed by digital streaming on April 24, 2020, by Apple TV+. The limited cinema release was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cast Michael Diamond as himself Adam Horovitz as himself Adam Yauch as himself (archival content) Bill Hader as Crazy Shit Voice Michael K. Williams as Bob Dylan Ben Stiller, David Cross and Steve Buscemi as themselves - audience members
Release Beastie Boys Story was scheduled to have its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 16, 2020, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was also scheduled to be released in a limited cinema release on April 3, 2020, in selected IMAX cinemas, but it was pulled from the schedule due to cinema closures that started in mid March because of the pandemic restrictions. Digital streaming was made available on Apple TV+ on April 24, 2020.
Reception Critical reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 84 reviews. The website's critical consensus, which is a reference to the 1986 Beastie Boys song "Paul Revere," reads, "Here's a Beastie Boys Story they had to tell, about three bad brothers you know so well. It started way back in history -- and for new or old fans, it's a must-see." It has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, a site that aggregates a normalized rating, indicating "generally positive reviews".
Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+ and criticized it for poor pacing and lacking fun. His review concludes: "There's not a lot of new insights or Criterion Collection-worthy film-making on offer, but for fans, the documentary will be a reminder of why they got into Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D in the first place. It's all there in the outtakes: The Beastie Boys story is simply too big, too strange, too unwieldy for Beastie Boys Story to contain it."
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Hollywood Critics Association Best Documentary Film Beastie Boys Story Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsSeptember 14, 2020–September 17, 2020 Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction SpecialJason Baum, Amanda Adelson, Spike Jonze, Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Dechen Wangdu-Yauch and John Silva Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming Jeff Buchanan and Zoe Schack Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) Martyn Zub, Paul Aulicino and Pernell Salinas Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) William Tzouris, Jacob Feinberg and Martyn Zub Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Spike Jonze Online Film & Television Association Best Reality or Non-Fiction Program Beastie Boys Story Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards Best Music Documentary Beastie Boys Story Hawaii Film Critics Society Best Documentary Beastie Boys Story International Documentary Awards Best Music Documentary Beastie Boys Story Grammy Awards Best Music Film Beastie Boys Story Golden Reel Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary Martyn Zub and Paul Aulicino American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical) Jeff Buchanan and Zoe Schack Cinema Audio Society Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music Series or Specials Jacob Feinberg, William Tzouris and Martyn Zub
References
External links Beastie Boys Story on Apple TV+