Billy Idol has never exactly felt like an artist built for a quiet ending, and now his story is getting the full cinema treatment.
The feature length documentary ‘Billy Idol Should Be Dead’ has officially had its theatrical rights acquired by Evan Saxon Productions, setting the film up for a cinema release later this year.
The documentary screened at Tribeca Festival last year and followed up with an awards qualifying run, and now it’s heading for the kind of big screen rollout that suits Idol’s larger than life mythos.
As reported by Variety, the film is directed by Jonas Åkerlund and produced by Live Nation Studios, and it’s pitched as a deep dive into Idol’s full journey, from grimy punk beginnings to pop cultural fixture status.
According to the release details, it includes never before seen archival footage and new personal interviews with Idol, his family, and key collaborators.
Idol’s legacy
For anyone who’s somehow forgotten the scale of his legacy, Idol first made noise as the frontman for British punk band Generation X, before going solo in 1981 and becoming one of the defining faces of the MTV era.
Tracks like ‘White Wedding’, ‘Rebel Yell’, and ‘Eyes Without a Face’ weren’t just hits, they were part of the blueprint for how punk attitude got dragged into mainstream pop culture without losing all its teeth.
Evan Saxon Productions founder Evan Saxon called the project a major moment, saying:
“Billy Idol is a larger-than-life artist who changed the face of pop culture and music history during his 50-year career,” adding, “From Generation X to now, he’s still selling out arenas around the globe. We are honored to work with Another Planet’s Laurence Freedman and Live Nation to bring the powerful and heartfelt documentary ‘Billy Idol Should Be Dead‘ to his fans on the biggest cinema screens worldwide.”
The film also features an original Idol song co-written with J. Ralph titled ‘Dying to Live’, which reportedly plays over the closing coda sequence alongside archival and animated images from across his life, the track was also shortlisted for Best Song at this year’s Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, Idol’s latest album ‘Dream Into It’ is out now via Dark Horse Records, proving he’s still moving forward instead of just polishing up the past.
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