First Ronnie James Dio Career-Spanning Documentary in the Works
The Ronnie James Dio estate has authorized the first-ever career-spanning documentary to focus on the former Black Sabbath and Rainbow frontman's life.
The as-yet-untitled film will be based on Dio's unfinished autobiography, and will include rare footage and photos from his personal archives. Don Argott and Demian Fenton (Framing John DeLorean, Last Days Here and Believer) will direct.
"I am very excited to be working with BMG on Ronnie's long-awaited documentary," Wendy Dio, his former wife and manager, told Variety. "Ronnie loved his fans, and I hope they will enjoy this trip through Ronnie's life."
Dio also led his own eponymous group, and fronted both Elf and the Sabbath offshoot band Heaven and Hell over a career lasting more than four decades. He was stricken with stomach cancer and died at age 67 in 2010. The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded in his honor, and has since raised more than $2.5 million for research.
BMG will release a newly remastered collection of Dio's 1996-2004 studio albums later this week, with rare and unreleased bonus tracks and live recordings. Their recent music-related film projects include the Grammy-nominated David Crosby: Remember My Name, the Joan Jett documentary Bad Reputation and Echo in the Canyon, one of 2019's top-grossing documentaries.
"We are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with artists to tell their stories on the big screen," BMG executive producer Kathy Rivkin Daum told Variety. "Dio, a larger-than-life rock hero, whose music means so much to millions of fans worldwide, deserves nothing less. The story behind his passion, ambition and the highs and lows of success, in the rock and metal worlds, is something audiences have never seen before and won’t soon forget."