Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

"Ever since I was born, I was dope."

2016 1h 26m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

79%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 1,425🍅79%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 73,723

ComedyMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When his new album fails to sell records, pop/rap superstar Conner4real goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He'll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz.

“Ever since I was born, I was dope.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Andy Samberg
Conner Friel
Jorma Taccone
Owen Bouchard
Akiva Schaffer
Lawrence Dunn
Sarah Silverman
Paula Klein
Tim Meadows
Harry Duggins
Maya Rudolph
Deborah
Joan Cusack
Tilly
Imogen Poots
Ashley Wednesday

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Akiva Schaffer
Writers: Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Akiva Schaffer, shot by Brandon Trost. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Matthew Compton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stacey Schroeder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Akiva Schaffer directs. Brandon Trost behind the camera. Matthew Compton scores. Stacey Schroeder cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 10 years ago.
4212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Akiva Schaffer, shot by Brandon Trost. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Matthew Compton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Stacey Schroeder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Ever since I was born, I was dope.".
10IMDB entry: tt3960412 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Brandon Trost
Original score: Matthew Compton
Editing: Stacey Schroeder
Production design: Jon Billington
Costume design: Sophie de Rakoff
Makeup / hair: Michele Tyminski Schoenbach
VFX supervisor: David Niednagel
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $9,680,029
Return: 48% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 73,723 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 6 nominations total

Also by

Akiva Schaffer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Austin Singleton2016-08-11
This movie could have been hour HBO special and been just as good if not better but it's still a pretty funny movie! Read my full review here. http://www.hweird1reviews.com/allreviews/popstar-never-stop-never-stopping-review
Gimly2016-09-08
★ 4/10
Perhaps for someone who is more engrained in the pop culture of the day, this would be a success. It's not that I didn't understand the references, it's just that I didn't care. Final rating:★★ - Definitely not for me, but I sort of get the appeal.
Reno2016-10-04
★ 7/10
A fun film, but also very sensible. The title clearly says it is a parody of 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never'. I haven't seen that, but this film was so fun. Just like another 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'. If you like the combination of music and comedy, this is for you. I think the writing was the best thing, even the lyrics of the songs. The directors did their part very well, but in the end it was the actors who saved the film. Andy Samberg was splendid. The film was narrated in a documentary style like a series of interviews which also includes behind scenes, I mean unedited clips like the live recording. It is the story of three members of a famous band in America. When everything was going well for them, the split happens unexpectedly. So the main singer decides to go solo and sees some success. But he struggles through his girlfriend and their marriage plans, and also he finds some issue with his manager. You know the makeover begins, how he comes back to his normal life was the remaining film. It is not anybody's biography, but you should still watch it. The storytelling is not preoccupied with the drugs and sexes, though there are some amounts, which makes it is good viewing for the adults. Don't think it is some silly comedy, lots of things from it makes sense. You can enjoy the music and at a time you would have some laughs. Well balanced contents and overall it is a rare comedy. 7/10