If there’s one person more iconic than anyone in the world of punk, metal and rock and roll, that person is Lemmy Kilmister. The Jimi Hendrix roadie turned Hawkwind member turned Motorhead bassist/frontman has forged his own path for the last 40 or so years. Now Lemmy is the subject of a documentary, making its world premiere tonight at SXSW. We caught up with co-directors Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver to talk to them about what making the film was like, what would surprise us about Lemmy, and their plans for the film.
What led you to make a film about Lemmy?
Wes: In the fall of 2006, I had gotten a hold of Fool’s Paradise, the record by The Head Cat, Lemmy’s rockabilly band, which also features Danny B. Harvey on guitar and Slim Jim from the Stray Cats on drums. I was addicted to it, and sort of fascinated by it. These are the songs that Lemmy grew up on, stuff by Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, etc., and they were all delivered with a noticeable sort of affection for the material. I had just interviewed him shortly before that, and had had a great chat with him. So when Greg and I sat down to brainstorm about the next documentary we were gonna start, Lemmy was the first thought I had. And of course, it was perfect. He’s a perfect subject.
Greg: Wes had the idea and I said ‘hell yeah!” The hardest part of good ideas is seeing them through to the end. Three years later and I’m damn proud that we pulled it off.
Was there an instant rapport between you and him, or did it take a while for him to let you in, so to speak?
Greg: He was very open in our interviews from day one. It was surprising at first, but then you realize that’s just how he is. He’s the exact opposite of a politician where you can see the wheels spinning in their head as they force out the most ridiculous non-response to an answer in an interview. Lemmy shocks you faster than most people can even think of what to say, so it has to be genuine
Was it hard to get him to focus?
Wes: Not really. If he didn’t want to be filmed, he let us know. If he’s gonna take the time to do something, he’s gonna do it right.
Greg: When we could pull him away from the video game at the Rainbow Bar & Grill he would focus for sure. The hard part is communicating with him when he’s playing the game or his fruit machine backstage. Its actually awesome to see how focused he gets on his games.
Iron Man 2 was already going to be a pretty metal-friendly block buster. First, Marvel Studios announced the Iron Man 2: AC/DC soundtrack. Then it was revealed that Lamb Of God will contribute a new song to Iron Man 2: The Video Game. Now it has been confirmed who will help contribute to the rest of the movie’s soundtrack: Tom Morello.
While AC/DC’s hits will be featured throughout Marvel Studio’s big summer flick, the Rage Against The Machine guitarist has been working with composer John Debney on the film’s additional score. “…Iron Man kicks my ass. I’m working on score for Iron Man 2. Rockin. Movie is awesome,” Morello confirmed via his Twitter page. The trailer for Iron Man 2 made the film look cool enough as it is. But now that Iron Man and The Wrestler (Mickey Rourke plays the villain) will be duking it out to the sounds of Morello, the movie will sound even better!
In addition to playing guitar on the first Iron Man score, Morello actually made a cameo in the film. Remember the scene in the cave where the first incarnation of Iron Man is killing terrorists? Morello played terrorist #87 (or what ever they called the first terrorist who got his ass kicked by Tony Stark). Morello has also performed on the soundtracks to Spider-Man, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7.
Behind The Suit and Tie, a long-in-the-making documentary on the metal industry, appears to finally be on the brink of release, as a six-minute trailer has been released:
The film features one-on-one interviews with many notable who’s whos of the metal scene (including many of our friends and participants in the No Label Needed series) discussing piracy, corruption and the future of the record label.
According to a press release, the 90-minute DVD will contain insight from:
Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records)
Jason Lekberg (Epic Records)
Doug Keogh (Roadrunner Records)
Carl Severson (Ferret Music)
Paul Conroy (Ferret Music)
Ray Harkins (Century Media Records)
Al Dawson (Earache Records)
Missi Callazzo (MegaForce Records)
Alan Becker (RED Distribution)
Burt Goldstein (Big Daddy Distribution)
Eddie Trunk (VH1 Classic, Q104.3, Sirius XM)
Pat Egan (Re Records)
Ralph Graupner (Indevent Music)
Gary Susalis (Music Choice)
Ged Cook (Demolition Records)
Bryan Mechutan (Demolition Records)
Lee Barrett (Ascendance Records)
Adam Watson (Plastic Head Distribution)
David Ellefson
Erik Rogers (Dangerous New Machine)
Tairrie B Murphy, Mick Murphy
Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (Mercenary Management)
Rayny Forster (Moshpit Tragedy Records)
Commented creator/producer Robert Bolger Jr., “Unlike most music documentaries, Behind The Suit and Tie will spend more time with the people behind the labels rather than the more musician-focused approach of most music documentaries to address piracy, corruption, manipulation issues and the future of a record label.”
The DVD package is expected to be released some time in June on a label to be announced.
Big summer blockbuster films using classic rock as a soundtrack isn’t anything new. It is still pretty cool though to hear that Marvel Studio’s Iron Man 2 will be using AC/DC’s music exclusively throughout the film.
However, here is where it gets a bit unusual: Columbia will be releasing an all-AC/DC official Iron Man 2 soundtrack to coincide with the film’s release. Which basically means they are putting out an AC/DC greatest hits album, which the Australian group has notoriously avoided (they’d rather you buy each and every one of their catalog albums instead).
There’s also an official video for the 30 year-old track “Shoot To Thrill,” comprised of footage from the band’s recent set in Argentina and clips from the film:
Rumors have been swirling around the internet about rock band Muse potentially scoring Warner Brothers’ new Clash Of The Titans remake. This past week, director Louis Leterrier confirmed to MTV that they were originally in talks with Muse vocalist/guitarist Matt Bellamy to provide music for the film as a solo artist. However, Bellamy had to back out due to touring commitments. Sure, Muse isn’t exactly metal, but Bellamy’s involvement would’ve made the film’s soundtrack pretty epic. Additionally, this comes five months after Mastodon revealed plans for scoring Legendary Picture’s new comic adaptation, Jonah Hex.
With all of these reports about rock acts scoring films, could we be seeing a new trend in Hollywood? Well-known bands scoring movie soundtracks isn’t a new concept; we’ve seen it plenty of times over the years, from Queen’s Flash Gordon to Korn’s Jonathan Davis composing for Queen Of The Damned. Yet it is rare to see newer and more diverse rock acts given a shot at a major studio film’s score. Could this be a sign of Hollywood acquiring more cool rock acts to score films?
Showtime’s David Duchovny comeback vehicle Californication has been a favorite of mine since the series debuted in 2007, and I’ve always appreciated creator Tom Kapinos’ subtle homages to metal.
Duchovny’s character, Hank Moody, is a modern-day Charles Bukowski with a severe case of writer’s block following the massive success of his third novel, God Hates Us All. Yes, just like the Slayer album. One could chalk it up to coincidence until it’s revealed later in the series that his first two novels are titled South Of Heaven and Seasons In The Abyss.
So, cool, Kapinos is a Slayer fan. Lots of people are. Does that make him legit metal? I’m sure he is now, after last week’s episode saw Moody name-check one of his favorite author’s novels, Crack The Skye. Nice!
In related news, Simon & Schuster has published a ghost-written version of the previously fictional God Hates Us All under the Moody name. Which begs the question, how many longhairs accidentally picked it up?
UPDATE: Thanks to reader J. Doom for pointing this out! What other metal easter eggs might we find?
in addition to a bunch of less-than-tr00 metal tidbits from last season, i distinctly recall 1 episode where the daughter was wearing a Darkthrone t-shirt.
The “short list” of films being considered for Best Documentary nominations for the Academy Awards has been released, and somewhat surprisingly, Anvil! The Story Of Anvil has been left off (along with Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story) despite massive critical acclaim (and not just in the metal circles – everywhere).
It’s a shame on two levels, because I’m always for metal being presented to a larger audience in a real and honest way where it isn’t a caricature. And while I didn’t love-love-love the film like others, I thought it was a very unique look into a world unseen by not only most people, but even metal fans. It’s brutal and tough seeing a band so down on its luck and blindingly dedicated. It does have quirky Spinal Tap-ian moments, and it is uplifting and inspiring to see two dudes extremely dedicated to each other and their passion.
A word of advice if you haven’t seen it, though. Don’t be like the blindly “fuck the world” metal dudes yelling at the movie during the screening I attended. No, the guy’s sister who has supported him numerous times both morally and financially for decades and now ponders if it’s time to give up is not a “cunt”, she’s being a reasonable adult. While the film is fun and inspiring and a testament to dedication, it should also be a cautionary tale. I call it Anvil! The Story Of Why You Need To Get Out Of This Business Just Before You Become A Joke. Everyone has an expiration date, and unfortunately some don’t have the self-awareness to know theirs came a long, long time ago.
It’s certainly a must-watch for not only metal fans, but anyone who’s stayed their course after many, many failures.
We ran into Howard Stern Show producer and Charred Walls of the Damned/Iced Earth/Death drummer Richard Christy at a screening of Zombieland a few weeks ago. We thought the movie, which comes out tomorrow, was amazing, and one of the funnest and funniest moves we’ve seen all year. But don’t take our word for it. We also got Christy to weigh in on it. Here’s his exclamation point-filled take:
I’m going to keep this short and sweet because I don’t want to take up too much of your time saying how much I freaking loved this movie! You just have to go see for yourself! This movie kicks total ass, it’s scary, has awesome gore, Woody Harrelson rules in it and most of all, it’s funny as hell! Mixing horror and comedy can be really tough but Zombieland does it perfectly in my opinion. I’ve seen it twice already and can’t wait to see it again! It’s the perfect time of the year to see this movie too, it doesn’t get any better than horror movies in October! Trust me, see Zombieland, it RULES!
Check out the trailer after the jump. Also, go to Christy’s Web site, www.richardchristy.com to get info on the Charred Walls, his latest movie Albino Farm, his appearance at Fangoria’s Las Vegas Halloween convention, and more. Read more »
According to Ain’t It Cool News, Mastodon is working on scoring their first movie, Jonah Hex, an adapation of the DC Comics horror western. To this, we can only say “amazing!” The band has gotten more atmospheric with every album, and instrumentally, they’re an interesting enough band that Crack the Skye even came in a special edition without vocals. And if there’s one metal band that should be able to pull if off, it’s Mastodon. You just have to listen to the chicken pickin’ that Bill Kelliher does in “Megalodon” and the surf tones of the first half of the solo on “Diviniations” to know that they’ll be able to tackle some country-ish atmospheres. The movie, scheduled to come out in 2010, stars Josh Brolin and Megan Fox.
Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe (excuse me, “D. Randall Blythe”) will be making his acting debut in the forthcoming independent horror film The Graves. You really just need to watch for yourself, but it looks bad. Seriously, hold out for the gory second half. It’s on an Evil Dead level of bad acting and corny gore, but as far as i can tell, without the self-awareness.
I’m just teasing. Check out the film’s pitch, it just screams arthouse darling:
Present day. Arizona. Megan and Abby Graves are inseparable sisters that couldn’t be less alike. Megan just graduated ASU with a marketing degree. She’s a self-assured, naturally attractive rock chick with a black belt that she likes to use. Abby just barely graduated high school. She’s a cute, Hot Topic Goth who’s caustic and afraid of her own shadow. They share one thing: a life-long obsession with comics and pop culture. Simply put, they are beautiful geeks. In a few days, Megan will start a new job at in New York. To send her off in style, the sisters go on a wild, pop culture bender that includes a trip to uncharted Arizona in search of a kitchy roadside attraction. Instead, Megan and Abby happen on Skull City Mine, a weather-beaten, abandoned mine town converted into a self-guided tour. But Skull City harbors terrible, vexing secrets. It appears to be haunted. Its caretakers are murderous. Victims’ souls are ripped from their bodies right before their eyes, and that’s only the beginning. When Megan suffers a near mortal wound, Abby must save her sister, but to do so, she must unlock the mystery of Skull City alone. Can Abby defeat the threats of Skull City and rescue Megan or are they doomed like all the other tourists before them?
Who’s that I hear knocking at the door? Could it be our good friend Oscar? Video of Randy discussing the role after the jump.
If there’s one person more iconic than anyone in the world of punk, metal and rock and roll, that person is Lemmy Kilmister. The Jimi Hendrix roadie turned Hawkwind member turned Motorhead bassist/frontman has forged his own path for the last 40 or so years. Now Lemmy is the subject of a documentary, making its world premiere tonight at SXSW. We caught up with co-directors Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver to talk to them about what making the film was like, what would surprise us about Lemmy, and their plans for the film.
Big summer blockbuster films using classic rock as a soundtrack
Rumors have been swirling around the internet about rock band Muse potentially scoring Warner Brothers’ new Clash Of The Titans remake. This past week, director Louis Leterrier 
The “short list” of films being considered for Best Documentary nominations for the Academy Awards 
We ran into Howard Stern Show producer and Charred Walls of the Damned/Iced Earth/Death drummer Richard Christy at a screening of Zombieland a few weeks ago. We thought the movie, which comes out tomorrow, was amazing, and one of the funnest and funniest moves we’ve seen all year. But don’t take our word for it. We also got Christy to weigh in on it. Here’s his exclamation point-filled take:![jonah-hex[1]](http://www.metalinsider.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/jonah-hex11-202x300.jpg "jonah-hex[1]")
According to 
Posted by Bram Teitelman on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Austin We Have A Hearing Problem, Cinemetal, SXSW