And the Beat Goes on With 'VH1 Rock Docs'
VH1 Expands Rock Docs Franchise to Include Eight Additional Music-Based
Documentaries Covering Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, Classic Rock and More
NEW YORK, April 28 -- VH1 will expand its documentary
series "VH1 Rock Docs" to include eight new high-end feature-length
programs. Each of the documentaries will reveal an untold story in the
history of rock and hip-hop music, combining never-before-seen footage with
a unique and unconventional narrative approach. The documentaries will tell
some of the most unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of
genres, styles, and musical perspectives.
For this new slate, which includes internally-produced and acquired
projects, VH1 builds on the previously announced "Rock Docs" "DMC: My
Adoption Journey," "Heavy: The Story of Metal," "The Last Days of Left Eye"
and "The U.S. vs. John Lennon."
THE DRUG YEARS
VH1, in association with Sundance Channel, has produced the original
documentary series "The Drug Years," a four-part look at the rise of
illicit drug use and its cultural impact in the second half of the
twentieth century. Spanning the 1950's to the present, "The Drug Years"
explores the development of a commercial drug culture in America, using
archival footage, never-before-seen film and interviews to illustrate how
popular culture -- including music, movies, comedy, television, and theatre
-- both shaped and reflected public perceptions of illicit drugs. "The Drug
Years" also looks at how drugs became part of the nation's political
landscape, from the youth rebellions of the 1960's to the War on Drugs and
beyond.
MY GENERATION: WHO'S STILL WHO (Spitfire and VH1)
Authorized by The Who and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Murray
Lerner, "My Generation: Who's Still Who" is the definitive audio-visual
record of the legendary British rock band, The Who. Produced by Spitfire
and VH1, (Spitfire's last project was the Peabody Award winning documentary
"Bob Dylan: No Direction Home") and making its television premiere on VH1,
"My Generation: Who's Still Who" moves from the group's origins as a 1960s
schoolboy R&B cover band, through their meteoric rise and artistic
breakthroughs. The film also documents the infighting, the breakups and
reconciliations, and the untimely deaths of drummer Keith Moon and bassist
John Entwistle. In addition to never-before-seen private materials released
by the group and its fans worldwide, the film includes interviews with
prominent witnesses and personal friends. Rare and unreleased concert
footage and outtakes are also featured. After its premiere on VH1, the
documentary will also air on VH1 Classic.
TUPAC RESURRECTION
Making its network window premiere on VH1, Lauren Lazin's Academy-award
nominated portrait of Tupac Shakur, "Tupac: Resurrection" explores Tupac's
life viscerally and dramatically-through his own words and music, and
through vivid images of the world as he experienced it. The first-ever
documentary about Shakur's life created in collaboration with his mother,
Afeni Shakur, and Amaru Entertainment, "Tupac: Resurrection" features
never-before-seen concert footage, excerpts from his poetry and journals,
and private home-movie material. The documentary features a soundtrack of
Shakur's best-selling music, as well as the music he loved and was inspired
by. Not merely a celebration of his life and artistry, "Tupac:
Resurrection" explores honestly and openly Shakur's many complexities,
examining his artistic gifts, passions and conflicts.
METAL: A HEADBANGER'S JOURNEY
Making its television premiere on VH1, "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey"
follows 30-year old anthropologist Sam Dunn, who has decided to study the
plight of a different culture, one he has been a part of since he was a
12-year old: the culture of heavy metal. Sam sets out on a global journey
to find out why this music has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and
condemned and yet is loved so passionately by its millions of fans. Along
the way, Sam explores metals' obsession with some of life's most
provocative subjects -- sexuality, religion, violence and death -- and
discovers some things about the culture that even he can't defend. Shot on
location in the UK, Germany, Norway, Canada and the US, this documentary is
the first of its kind. It is both a defense of a long-misunderstood art
form and a window for the outsider into the spectacle that is heavy metal.
AWESOME; I F**KIN' SHOT THAT! (thinkfilm)
Making its television premiere on VH1, "Awesome; I F**kin' Shot That!"
is an innovative feature film experience. The Beastie Boys handed out 50
cameras to audience members at their sold-out performance in New York's
famed Madison Square Garden in October 2004. These 50 different passionate
perspectives shot from the point of view of the audience take the viewer
deep inside the world of a live Beastie Boys show, prismatically and
kinetically capturing the experience of a live musical performance like no
film has ever done.
FADE TO BLACK
Making its network window premiere on VH1, "Fade To Black" offers an
intimate look at hip-hop artist Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter, that reveals the
multiple Grammy Award winning artist as never before. From his background
and rise to fame to the recording of his last album, the film chronicles
the legendary concert of Jay-Z's performance at Madison Square Garden in
November 2003. In an unprecedented event, a hip-hop artist sold out an
arena in only two hours. The event was a spectacular culmination of Jay-Z's
recording career prior to his self-proclaimed retirement from solo
performing. Yet this one night also defined a musical generation,
showcasing the evolution and reach of the world's most popular music genre.
Viewers get the rare glimpse of Jay-Z's creative process as he searches for
inspiration, poetry, and perfection in his songs. Narrated by Jay-Z, this
documentary takes on reflections of his entire musical career and his
journey that led to this one astounding, fabled evening -- rightfully
called "Fade To Black."
BOB DYLAN: NO DIRECTION HOME (Spitfire)
Martin Scorsese's Peabody Award winning, definitive documentary of the
legendary singer, Bob Dylan is the first feature length film biography done
on the artist. The two-part film, which focuses on the singer-songwriter's
life and music from 1961-1966, includes never-seen performance footage and
interviews with artists and musicians whose lives intertwined with Dylan's
during that time. The film also features previously unreleased footage from
Bob Dylan's groundbreaking live concerts, studio recording sessions and
interviews. After its premiere on VH1, the documentary will also air on VH1
Classic.
NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (Paramount Classics)
Jonathan Demme's highly-regarded documentary making its network window
premiere on VH1. Legendary singer/songwriter Neil Young is filmed on the
occasion of the world premiere of Young's "Prairie Wind" concert at
Nashville's hallowed Ryman Auditorium. Young's music provides an
emotionally rich view into this unique artist's relationship to family,
friends, mortality, and the passage of time. Young is accompanied onstage
by many long time musical companions, including country star Emmylou
Harris, Neil's wife Pegi Young, and bandleader/steel guitarist Ben Keith.
The documentary will also air on VH1 Classic.
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter
to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content
and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 87 million households
in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1
Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at http://www.VH1.com.
VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom
International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures,
licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be
seen worldwide.
*all times ET/PT
SOURCE VH1
Web Site: http://www.vh1.com/
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