Rob and Michele Reiner

[Guy Rowland]

This one has hit very hard.

Rob Reiner has been a hero of mine for decades. His name was almost never raised in "greatest director" lists and yet for me he was always at the top, and there is really no-one else quite like him. Many are now pointing out what an extraordinary run this was:

This Is Spinal Tap
The Sure Thing
Stand By Me
The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally
Misery
A Few Good Men

What is so remarkable, almost every one of this films is a different genre and are considered classics of that genre. He was a supremely gifted storyteller who wasn't big or showy, just made outstanding movies. He was also a true humanitarian and - by all accounts - a fantastic guy.

So I am heartbroken. May whatever this act of hatred was that ended his life and that of his beloved wife - they met on the set of When Harry Met Sally after he hadn't dated for a decade - never crush the joyful, exuberant spirit that lives on in the legacy of his work.

[wst3]

for reasons I don't completely understand, "Princess Bride" stands at the front of that list for me.

I can't begin to imagine a reason to end his and his wife's lives.

Not sure I even want to know...

[Guy Rowland]

I've probably told my Princess Bride story but what the hell.

I can't remember now what film we went to see back in 1987 in Beckenham, SE London. All I know is that either we were late or it was sold out or the ceiling had caved in or some such reason for why we couldn't watch whatever it was we had gone to see. It was a 3 screen cinema, and we kicked our heels wondering what to do.

Screen 2 had this lame girls / kids film adventure called The Princess Bride. The poster looked awful. But I scanned the credits and saw comedians Mel Smith and Peter Cook were in it, and thought - oh what the hell, we're here now let's give it a go.

And so it was we were 5 of probably only 100 people in all of England who saw The Princess Bride at the cinema. For years it was "my" film because it was clearly the most wonderous work of genius and no-one else had heard of it, still less seen it.

I think everyone else has pretty much caught up now.

To this day there isn't really another film with the same tone.

[Piet De Ridder]

And as if it isn't horrible enough already:

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/1 ... h-00690682

__

[scherzo]

Wow, that's... pretty bad even by his standards.

I was just getting geared up for a Spinal Tap marathon during the holidays too. Never seen the others, but now I want to.

Very sad.

[Guy Rowland]

And as if it isn't horrible enough already:

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/1 ... h-00690682

__

In the interests of balance, here is what that awful ex-president Barack Obama had to say.

[Guy Rowland]

And because Rob was a proud progressive and a Democrat and because he is dead and because he loathed Trump, I'm going to post a few responses to the President's "tribute" (all, needless to say, with colossal support).

Will Stancil
Genuinely think our society is lost if we can’t find a way to start caring that the ostensibly most powerful man in the world acts like this.

Neera Tanden
We have never had a person of worse character as President of the United States. It's mortifying how this great country chose to do this to itself.

zoë rose bryant
i don’t even have the words. hell isn’t hot enough

George Conway
I know I've been beating this drum for over seven years now, but @realDonaldTrump is a very and truly sick man who should be in a mental or penal institution and certainly not the White House.

Nick Cohen
What a piece of shit that man is

Adam Kinzinger
The most classless human on the planet ladies and gents

Chris D. Jackson
The damage this man has done to the character and soul of this country is almost impossible to measure. And it doesn’t end when he’s gone. He poisoned the well, and we’re going to be dealing with it for a long time.

Keith Edwards
I'm at a loss for words. This is disgusting.

Russell Moore
How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized in the United States is something our descendants will study in school, to the shame of our generation.

Thomas Massie
Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.

Call To Activism
I would like to say FUCK YOU to the following people in ADVANCE for your defense of this bullshit in the the next day or so:
1) Karoline Leavitt
2) Scott Jennings
3) Mike Johnson (who is going to say he didn’t read the post).
You are all complicit pieces of shit cowards.

Illia Ponomarenko
I'm being totally honest now - I never knew people could ever be like THAT


....and breathe.

I'd like to believe this will prove to be defining moment. Now that WOULD be a decent tribute to the great man.

As a palette cleanser, a few genuine tributes and responses:

Stephen King
I’m horrified and saddened by the death of Rob Reiner and Michele. Wonderful friend, political ally, and brilliant filmmaker (including 2 of mine). Rest in peace, Rob. You always stood by me.

Eric Idle
Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his Dad's in 1975. He was telling me about fiming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.

Cary Elwes
No words…

Neil deGrasse Tyson
In a world where fewer and fewer people concern themselves with the plight of others, the loss of Rob Reiner, who cared deeply about humanitarian causes, feels that much more devastating. RIP: 1947-1925.

John Cusack
At a loss for any words that make sense - RIP Rob and Michelle.

Jerry O'Connell
Love you, Rob. Sincerely.

Maria Shriver
I loved Michele and Rob Reiner. They were among my closest friends. We raised our kids together, from mommy and me on up. We laughed together, we cried together, we played together, we dreamed together. We had dinner this past week, and they were in the best place in the their lives: loving one another, loving their friends, their family, their country. They never gave up on our country. They wanted to make it better. They always, always wanted to make our world better, and they were willing to fight to make it the country they loved.

I loved them, and I knew they loved me, for any friend like that is such a gift. They gave me and all their friends that gift all the time. They loved their kids so much, and they never stopped trying to be really good parents. My love is with their family. I’m so sad for them. I’m devastated, gutted, shocked, stunned, and so deeply saddened, as are all of the people who loved them and who they loved. I hope people remember them as two deeply talented, kind, fun, loving, good, patriotic people who loved each other deeply.

I’ll miss you, Michele. I’ll miss you, Rob. I love you both. Thank you for your friendship. God bless you both. Life will not be the same without you here, that’s for sure.

[scherzo]

In the interests of balance, here is what that awful ex-president Barack Obama had to say.

See? Both sides are equally bad!

I suppose nothing should surprise me at this point, but I'm really struggling to comprehend the levels of narcissism and pettiness it must take to be reading about someone else's tragic death and immediately think "hey, I wonder how I can make this about me?".

[wst3]

There are times when I think "well that's that then - he has finally sunk to the absolute lowest possible level. Even he can't go any lower."

I'm not going to say that again, probably ever. There is no limit to the man's depravity.

Rest in Peace Rob and Michele Reiner. You made the world a better place!

[Guy Rowland]

For one day in one thread, for the wonderful Rob who gave the world characters such as Derek Smalls, Wesley, Harry and Sally.... this is open season.

The thing is - maybe you think Trump's politics are right and great. Maybe you think tarrifs work. Live and let live and all that.

But the MAN. This character.

Pretend - oh sweet pretend - this was a fictional world called Planet Urth. A beloved man has died in a great country, the whole nation is in mourning, and the president that country wrote those words. Without knowing ANYTHING ELSE about him, unless he were under some kind of evil magic spell or the influence of hard drugs, he could not be anything other than a terrible person.

You can't write Donald Trump as a character and have him not be awful. It's just not possible.

[Lawrence]

I had an employer who was so awful that I referred to him as “The Devil.” My wife hated him. I described him to others as having “snakes in his head.”

I feel the same way about Trump. His endless starvation for approval, his bullying, his lack of empathy all come from a deep sickness, a cancer of the soul.

It’s cold comfort, but this is not a happy, secure person. This is a monster who was loathed (mother, father?) and loathes himself despite the clownish braggadocio.

[Geoff Grace]

RIP, Rob and Michele Reiner.

Both All in the Family and This Is Spinal Tap had a big impact on me when I was young; and neither would have been the same, or perhaps even possible, without Rob Reiner. I also enjoyed a lot of his other work. Today is a very sad day.

At this point, I'd like to veer off topic briefly to revisit our forum policy about political discussion. Rob Reiner was a multifaceted artist and political activist. It makes sense to discuss his accomplishments as an artist in The Arts forum of The Sound Board site. However, his legacy as an activist and the reactions of the political world, while worthy of discussion, would be better served in a different venue, such as the BWW.

If we’re serious about growing this site, I think public political discussion could alienate some musicians who might be on the fence about joining TSB and instead, attract people who might rather discuss politics than music.

I recommend that we keep this thread alive for discussion of Rob Reiner the artist and also create a Rob Reiner political activist thread in the BWW for the other posts here and additional similar discussion.

Best,

Geoff

[Piet De Ridder]

I don’t mind alienating whoever feels alienated by threads such as these, Geoff. If trying to grow TSB would mean being careful NOT to alienate those people, I’d rather stay small.
(And this has also got nothing whatsoever to do with politics, in my view.)

But you’re right that we do have a more suitable area for conversations such as these, especially if the thread continues in the direction it’s taken these last few posts. If no one minds, we can move it there. Let me know.

_

[Guy Rowland]

Honestly - I think keep it here.

The discussion here is about Rob Reiner, his work, his character and the fallout of his and his wife's murder. President Trump made his intervention. The responses to that are not about politics - in fact I specifically made that point. It is about Trump's humanity, comparing with Rob. It is specifically about ability - other otherwise - of moments like this to transcend politics.

If we get involved in ICE and tarrifs, by all means let's have a spin-off BWW thread. I vote this one stays as is.

[Lawrence]

It seems to me that the politics in BWW itself was alienating members and potential members, so it seems it wouldn’t matter where you moved it if people are prone to being offended by (sometimes rancorous) debate.

The matter became so divisive it seemed that the entire future of TSB depended on BWW becoming moribund as indeed it seems to have become. I stopped posting there.

Dunno if there’s actually a place here to discuss much of anything outside of music and entertainment. I thought that was what was desired? Color me confused.

[Guy Rowland]

Suspecting all this has just killed the thread stone dead (as indeed the BWW has been killed stone dead), a few more thoughts from me on Rob's incredible run.

This Is Spinal Tap
This, of course, invented the mockumentary, giving rise to countless other movies and TV shows, most notably The Office. Full a bazillion muso-friendly jokes, my own favourite is Jeanine Pettibone looking at the marquee at the Themeland Amusement Park's Theatre to see Puppet Show / Spinal Tap - "Oh, no! I told them once, I told them a hundred times: put "Spinal Tap" first and "Puppet Show" last!"

The Sure Thing
I always get this mixed up with Say Anything, which I think is the better film. BUT The Sure Thing was first and thus gave the world John Cusack. A ribald premise, IIRC it becomes rather sweet. One of Rob's most conventional films, but probably worth a revisit for the 80s nostalgia.

Stand By Me
This is the film that made the film-watching world (certainly including me) realise Stephen King was more than horror. A bone fide coming of age classic, male bonding without relentless machismo, it shows Reiner was unafraid to leave pure comedy. Indelible images walking along the train tracks and then running along them full speed across the bridge in that awesome long lens shot with the steam train looking like it was inches from them. Reiner would go on to produce The Shawshank Redemption through his company, the Stephen King-theme-named Castle Rock.

The Princess Bride
One of the (many) charming things about The Princess Bride is how so many of the exteriors look like sets and how cheap so much of Mark Knopfler's score sounds. Somehow it adds to the magic - this is theatre with a glint in its eye.
Buttercup kisses the elderly king on the cheek.
The King: What was that for?
Buttercup: Because you've always been so kind to me, and I'll never see you again because I'm killing myself as soon as we reach the honeymoon suite.
The King: (smiles) Won't that be nice. She kissed me!!!

When Harry Met Sally
I think I have this as my favourite romcom, certainly the funniest. Handles the age jumps perfectly, and makes you love two ridiculously flawed characters. The orgasm scene works so brilliantly for Rob's direction - while Meg is funny she is also absurdly OTT, and thus it is the reaction shots on Billy that make it endlessly rewatchable. I saw it at the cinema, and I will never forget the reaction to "I'll have what she's having", delivered impeccably by Rob Reiner's mum. I noticed on a rewatch that Rob and his editor wisely just had beauty shots and music for the next 30 seconds after that line, correctly figuring no-one would hear any dialogue for a while after that.

Misery
I'm not a horror fan, though this is more tense thriller with odd moments of pure horror. I've never seen THAT shot - Rob gave those of us of a sensitive disposition a very clear warning in the shot before to LOOK AWAY NOW if you want to. Oddly enough it is the comedy that I remember in that film more than anything, just a few perfectly judged moments that add to the whole. The William Goldman / Rob Reiner pairing really was a dream team.

A Few Good Men
I remember this at the cinema too. 1992 was, for me, a pretty dry year in the cinema and we watched it on New Year's Day 1993 (which would turn out to be a spectacular year in film AND I got married). Half way through we had a power cut, and so we all shuffled out and got free tickets for another screening. I remember so vividly enjoying that first half more than any film I had the previous year. A classic old-school star-studded vehicle inside the fascinating world of military courts. "You can't handle the truth" my be cliche now, but god it worked.

Incidentally, the film that broke the run was North. I remember being the only person on the planet who liked it, but I'm scared to rewatch it in case I realise everyone else was right all along.

Finally, if you've never seen it, this is the joyous 4 minute Spinal Tap promo Rob made for theater distributors. It contains not a single second from the actual movie, but you'll recognise Harry Shearer, Mike McCean et all - somehow they found time to film this nonsense as well as the movie.



God we miss you, Rob.

[wst3]

I think the discussion belongs here, as a way of honoring the Reiners, and expressing our disgust with anyone so loathsome that they have anything negative to say about the man and his wife. Criticize his acting and/or directing decisions (go ahead, good luck with that), maybe even comment on their politics, although I have a difficult time finding fault with their activism, even if I didn't always agree (and mostly I did).

But to attack him personally, well, that is just beyond understanding! I've heard "beneath contempt and beyond redemption", and everytime someone mentions our president that's what I think.

While I'd love to see TSB continue to grow, I don't want it to grow at the expense of our humanity.

And no Guy - this thread is very much alive, or at least I hope it is.

[Ashermusic]

I am with pretty much everyone. If his politics puts you off being able to be horrified at his death and praising his work, I don’t want to be on a forum with you.

[Geoff Grace]

Sorry if I upset anyone. I respect everyone’s wishes.

Best,

Geoff

[Ashermusic]

Sorry if I upset anyone. I respect everyone’s wishes.

Best,

Geoff

I am not upset, Geoff, nothing wrong with raising the issue,

[Geoff Grace]

Sorry if I upset anyone. I respect everyone’s wishes.

I am not upset, Geoff, nothing wrong with raising the issue,

Thanks, Jay.

Best,

Geoff

[Guy Rowland]

Please don't worry Geoff. Totally get the sensitive issues here, we're all muddling our way through!

[Geoff Grace]

Please don't worry Geoff. Totally get the sensitive issues here, we're all muddling our way through!

Thanks, Guy.

Best,

Geoff

[GR Baumann]

My opinion on the matter is known.

I wonder, ever since the changes, how many more subscribers did the forum attract compared to earlier times with the at times lively BWW section? Perhaps @tack has some numbers?

As for Trump and his ilk, all empires fall!

Wishing everyone peaceful holidays, and a healthy 2026.

[wst3]

While I genuinely want the forum to prosper and grow, it is probably well known that I've not been the biggest fan of BWW.

Which is odd, since when it first started I learned so much about the rest of the world from many of you that live outside the US. And i really did appreciate that. In fact for a while, in spite of the ugliness that reared its ugly head, I continued to peruse the section. I haven't visited it recently, except in my capacity as a moderator.

I am all for free speech, and if some folks enjoy debating current events there I'm all for it. I'd just rather read about theory, composition, arranging, orchestration, etc, and yeah, sometimes about cool new toys - I mean tools - to help me in my efforts.

Which is to say, I guess, that I am less interested in traffic there. I find the rest of the forum to remain informative, and I like the pace.

Happy Holidays and a better 2026 to all!!