Ronnie James Dio Gets His Heavy Metal Moment In Dreamers Never Die Doc – CB

Ronnie James Dio, the person who’s single handedly chargeable for creating steel horns, has offered over 50M albums and fronted a number of the world’s largest heavy steel bands together with Rainbow and Black Sabbath.

Whereas he’s usually on the checklist of best heavy steel singers, as a result of he was not identified for raucous conduct in the way in which a lot of his friends had been – there have been no cocaine binges, wild strip membership nights or by no means landed in jail – his story has been considerably handed over.

Till now, hope administrators Don Argott and Demian Fenton, who’re behind Dio: Dreamers By no means Die, a rock doc launching at SXSW.

Argott informed CB that the singer doesn’t have the “archetypical” rock n roll story. “He’s principally had three unbelievable careers that, frankly, any artist can be fortunate sufficient to have a type of careers. From a storytelling standpoint, we checked out the way you inform that story and never make it really feel prefer it’s the identical story again and again. Historical past presents its personal group of challenges that it’s a must to overcome. It’s a bit refreshing to not be the everyday Behind the Music, by the numbers rock documentary the place every thing is fairly anticipated,” he added.

Fenton added, “It’s a narrative that I really feel like we simply want now, it’s so stunning that you simply’re taking a look at this heavy steel dude and also you suppose you recognize the story stuffed with darkness however it’s actually a narrative of righteousness and perseverance and packaged on this attention-grabbing world.”

Dio, who died in 2010, began life as a crooner within the Nineteen Fifties as a member of the Vegas Kings. Within the late 60s, he shaped Elf after which he joined Rainbow with Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, earlier than changing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1979 after which occurring to kind his personal band Dio, which offered over 20M albums.

The pair stated that Dio is actually a Heavy Steel Mr. Rogers. Nonetheless, as an alternative of carrying a sweater and instructing children with puppets, he fights 30-feet tall animatronic dragons on stage.

The pair used archival pictures and VHS video clips to piece collectively Dio’s story – as in the event that they had been metalheads hijacking the high-school AV room – in addition to handwritten messages. The movie additionally features a vary of speaking heads, together with Dio superfan Jack Black, former bands members corresponding to Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, Rob Halford, The Runaways’ Lita Ford and writer Mick Wall.

Argott and Fenton are the right duo to tackle the movie. They’re metalheads who’ve cornered the marketplace for attention-grabbing documentary tales within the style, having directed movies corresponding to Final Days Right here, the story of Pentagram lead singer Bobby Liebling and his makes an attempt to beat drug dependancy, and As The Palaces Burn, a wild movie about Lamb of God lead singer Randy Blythe, who’s arrested on manslaughter fees within the Czech Republic on account of a deadly incident involving a fan at a live performance.

So, you may think about they had been after they acquired a notice from BMG Movies chief Kathy Rivkin Daum, who had seen their movie Believer, asking in the event that they’d be eager to speak a few Dio doc.

“Kathy had pitched us a few tasks, they usually had been cool however none of them had been able to go. Then I received an e-mail late on a Friday and the topic was Dio. Any curiosity? I believed, ‘Holy f*cking shit’. It was the right e-mail on the good time to the right folks,” says Argott.

Then the pair met with Dio’s widow Wendy, who oversees the Dio property. “Clearly to make a Dio documentary, it’s a must to have her blessing, as a result of she’s accountable for Ronnie’s legacy and it’s crucial to her. However BMG and Wendy had been palms off to the purpose the place we made the entire movie they usually didn’t actually see a body,” says Argott.

The pair subsequently flew to LA to display the movie and on their approach to the screening room, purchased a field of tissues as they knew it’d carry just a few tears.

The top of the movie does carry just a few tears, even to its hardest edge steel contributors. However it additionally frames Dio’s legacy in a brand new mild. “The one individuals who don’t love Ronnie is as a result of they haven’t encountered him,” says Argott. “My mother is aware of about Ozzy, however she doesn’t find out about Ronnie but.”

Fenton provides that it’s not like Dio feels like Napalm Demise.

Submarine is promoting at SXSW and the hope is that with the increase in music documentaries, significantly throughout streaming providers, is that it’s going to discover a good residence. “I really feel assured that it’ll discover a residence. However it’s nonetheless nerve racking as filmmaker. We’ve been doing it for a very long time however you continue to should get requested to the dance,” says Argott.

Dio: Dreamers By no means Die is directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton and produced by Argott and Sheena M. Joyce. Wendy Dio and Kathy Rivkin Daum are exec producers. It premieres at SXSW on March 17 at 4pm CT.