Sacha Gervasi is a British director, screenwriter, and journalist. His screenwriting credits include The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg. Gervasi’s directorial debut, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a documentary about an aging Canadian metal band for whom he was a roadie in the early 1980s, is being released on DVD tomorrow.

TMN: What caused you to reunite with Anvil and decide to make a film?

Sacha Gervasi: Some of my best memories as a teenager were the time that I spent with Anvil, but as I grew up we fell out of touch. I always wondered what happened to the guys and just decided one day to do a search for them on the internet. I was amazed to see that the band was still together, still playing, and still recording albums (they had recorded 12 at that point). I was able to get in touch with Lips through their web site, and before I knew it he was on a plane to visit me in Los Angeles. When I picked him up at the airport it was as if no time had passed at all. And when I saw that Lips still had the same passion and drive for Anvil as he did 20 years ago, I knew there was a story that had to be told.

TMN: The film comes across as so much more than a music documentary. Do you flinch at people referring to it as a rockumentary, and comparing it to Spinal Tap?

SG: No, not at all. It’s a natural comparison. In fact, Spinal Tap is Anvil’s favorite movie!

TMN: What makes you irrationally angry?

SG: The first Duran Duran album.

TMN: Has the success of the documentary bought a new level of success for the band? Was this your hope when you began filming?

SG: The great thing about the film is that it has given a whole new generation of people the opportunity to discover Anvil for the first time—and now things are really taking off for the band. They recently opened three shows for AC/DC! I always hoped that the movie could bring some new success for Anvil, but I never could have anticipated that it would reach this level.

TMN: In one of the finest moments of reflection, after tour disasters in Europe, Lips remarks, “at least there was a tour for it to go wrong on.” Was this sense of optimism something you were keen to highlight?

SG: Absolutely, it’s what keeps Lips and Anvil going. They have this unbelievable ability to look at things in a positive light no matter how dire the situation, and I think that’s something we can all learn from.

TMN: What is your favorite object in your office/workplace?

SG: I think this photo speaks for itself.

TMN: I understand you’re working on a biopic of Hervé Villechaize—the French actor who played Mr. Roarke’s assistant, Tattoo, in the television series Fantasy Island. Will it have a similar feel to The Story Of Anvil in the way that you present an untold story?

SG: It is obviously a very different story, but I think there will be similarities in the raw nature of the story and because it is based on fact. It is a side of the Herve Villechaize story most people don’t know and I’m excited to start making the movie!