Zappa filmmaker tells of debt to singer's wife Gail

The man behind the upcoming Frank Zappa film says he is grateful that he got “amazing” interview footage with the music icon’s wife before her death.

Alex Winter has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund Who The F*@% Is Frank Zappa for which he has been given full access to the Zappa family vaults.

But he says he wouldn’t have been able to carry out the project without speaking to Zappa’s widow Gail, who died in October of last year.

The Lost Boys and Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure actor Winter tells Billboard: “Gail Zappa – Frank’s wife and the formidable front end of the Zappa Family Trust – was especially supportive. She told me that she had refused a lot of people who approached her about his story in the past, asking for access to the family and Frank’s personal archive and unreleased material.

“But even though Gail gave me her blessing, she also knew her time was limited. Tragically, Gail had already been diagnosed with terminal cancer. So, once she decided to let me make this film, I started filming interviews with her right away.

“I’m glad to say that we got some amazing footage before she passed away in October of 2015, because there’s no way we could tell Frank’s whole story without her.”

The Kickstarter campaign has already exceeded its $500,000 goal and currently sits at $568,000.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.