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Tomáš Hodan pitches “The Stones Are Rolling to Prague” at Karlovy Vary Industry Days, casting the 1990 concert as a post-Velvet Revolution comedy
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jul 6, 12:09 PM EDT

Tomáš Hodan pitches “The Stones Are Rolling to Prague” at Karlovy Vary Industry Days, casting the 1990 concert as a post-Velvet Revolution comedy

The Czech writer-director Tomáš Hodan is developing a period comedy about a politically backed bid to bring the Rolling Stones to Czechoslovakia in 1990, shortly after the Velvet Revolution. The project was presented Monday at Karlovy Vary’s Central Stage showcase for established directors.

3 min readEditor-approved Apex article

A Czech filmmaker has pitched a new period comedy built around one of the most unexpected rock events in post-Communist Europe, a proposed Rolling Stones concert in Prague in 1990. Writer-director Tomáš Hodan is developing The Stones Are Rolling to Prague (Kameny se valí do Prahy), a project he brought to the second edition of the KVIFF Central Stage Industry Days showcase during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Set in the spring of 1990, the film centers on four friends who previously organized underground concerts of banned acts during the Communist era. As the country moves from long-suppressed dissent into the instability and promise that followed the Velvet Revolution, the group receives an offer they cannot refuse: help arrange a Rolling Stones concert in Czechoslovakia after a mission involving President Václav Havel.

The project’s synopsis frames the effort as both a cultural scramble and a bureaucratic obstacle course. Hodan’s account, as described by the trade publication, depicts the work of translating the band’s rider using dictionaries, sending faxes from the President’s office, and attempting to assemble what the synopsis characterizes as the unprecedented sum of $1 million to make the show possible.

Hodan’s draft story ties its preparations to a specific concert date and venue. It describes an Aug. 18, 1990 appearance at Strahov Stadium in Prague, with Mick Jagger arriving and addressing the crowd in Czech, “Ahoj Praha,” at a moment the synopsis portrays as emotionally charged for a crowd of 100,000 rock fans.

The Hollywood Reporter also placed the project within a broader film tradition of Rolling Stones-related storytelling, noting that the band has inspired earlier works spanning concert documentation and feature films. It cited examples that include Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light (2008) and the Maysles Brothers’ Gimme Shelter (1970), the latter associated with the documented chaos of the band’s 1969 U.S. tour and its culminating events.

Hodan is positioning the new film as a punk-leaning comedy rooted in a “true story,” with the trade publication characterizing it as a “wild ride” about translating the practical requirements of staging a global act into the reality of a newly reorganizing political system. The framing emphasizes the collision between high-level political support and on-the-ground problem solving, from paperwork to logistics, rather than relying on fictionalized backstage outcomes.

Industry presentations at KVIFF’s Central Stage are designed to spotlight feature projects from established directors with festival pedigrees, and the trade publication described Hodan as part of that lineup. The developer has previously worked on the historical drama The Last Race (2022) and on Film Adventurer Karel Zeman, The Hollywood Reporter said, providing additional context for why the project is being introduced at Karlovy Vary’s industry-focused program.

While Hodan’s pitch establishes the premise, it does not, in the reported account, specify attached cast, a distribution plan, or a production start date. The next public steps for the project will depend on the typical outcomes of festival industry markets, including potential financing, casting, and the eventual confirmation of a release strategy.

Why It Matters

  • The project spotlights a specific moment when cultural restrictions gave way to rapid political change, using the staged concert effort as a lens on how institutions and citizens adapted after the Velvet Revolution.
  • By grounding the comedy in a reported true-story framing that includes a named political figure and a specific concert date, the film’s development could draw attention to how post-1989 history is being retold in European genre filmmaking.
  • A Prague stadium-scale concert deal, described as requiring a large, time-sensitive budget in the synopsis, underscores the economic and logistical realities behind major live-music events even when political support is available.
  • The choice to pitch at Karlovy Vary’s industry showcase reflects how festival markets continue to serve as a pipeline for financing and partnerships for feature films aimed at international audiences.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Writer-director Tomáš Hodan is developing The Stones Are Rolling to Prague (Kameny se valí do Prahy), described as a period comedy about the 1990 Rolling Stones concert in Prague.
  • Hodan pitched the project Monday at the second edition of KVIFF Central Stage during Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Industry Days.
  • The film is set in spring 1990 and follows four friends who previously organized underground concerts of banned bands during the Communist era.
  • The synopsis says the group is tasked by an offer connected to President Václav Havel to organize a Rolling Stones concert in Czechoslovakia.
  • The project’s reported synopsis includes logistics such as translating the Rolling Stones rider and assembling a $1 million sum.
  • The account ties the story to Aug. 18, 1990 at Strahov Stadium, including Mick Jagger’s entrance and a crowd described as 100,000 rock fans.
  • The Hollywood Reporter cited Hodan’s prior credits, including The Last Race (2022) and Film Adventurer Karel Zeman.
Tomáš Hodan pitches “The Stones Are Rolling to Prague” at Karlovy Vary Industry Days, casting the 1990 concert as a post-Velvet Revolution comedy | The Apex Times