Lerner Who documentary to premiere on VH1

[Brian Cady]

A press release at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060428/nyf095.html?.v=33

And the Beat Goes on With 'VH1 Rock Docs'
Friday April 28, 1:07 pm ET  
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 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
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

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