The official trailer for the first-ever career-spanning documentary on the life and times of legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio is available below. Executive-produced by Dio‘s widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio and fully authorized by the artist’s estate, “Dio: Dreamers Never Die” delves deep into the singer’s incredible rise from a ’50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in ELF and Ritchie Blackmore‘s RAINBOW, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH, and finally cementing his rock star status with his own band, DIO. The film incorporates never-before-seen footage and personal photos, as well as offering intimate scenes with his closest peers, family, and friends, among them Wendy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk and Jack Black, as they bring viewers inside the life of one of rock and roll’s true heroes and one of the most beloved figures in rock.
Tickets for “Dio: Dreamers Never Die” go on sale today (Wednesday, August 24) at www.diodreamersneverdie.com. The film will be presented in more than 500 cinemas worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing and BMG for two days only on Wednesday, September 28 and Sunday, October 2.
In addition to the feature-length film, this special cinema event will also include a hand-picked selection of outtakes from the cutting room floor, creating an experience that is exclusive only to fans in attendance.
“We are excited to be partnering with BMG and Wendy Dio to present ‘Dio: Dreamers Never Die’ in cinemas worldwide,” said Kymberli Frueh, SVP for programming and content acquisitions for Trafalgar Releasing. “Ronnie James Dio has and continues to influence the heavy metal movement. This cinema event will take fans on a big screen journey into the creative and personal life of this notable frontman.”
Ronnie James Dio, who died of gastric cancer in 2010, reigns as one of the most influential rock artists of all time and one of the greatest vocalists ever. With an illustrious recording career spanning from the 1950’s through to the 2000s, the documentary follows his trajectory from sideman into singer, songwriter and frontman of not one, but three of rock’s internationally renowned, multi-platinum-selling arena attractions: RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO. Famous for popularizing the ‘devil horns’ hand gesture that is now synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal music, Dio was known for not wavering in his pursuit of his rock and roll dreams and continues to influence a new generation of music artists. His fans the world over remember him not only for his massive talent, but for his kindness, resulting in millions of dollars raised for cancer research in his memory.
“Dio: Dreamers Never Die” was financed solely by BMG and was directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton (“Framing John DeLorean”, “Believer”, “Last Days Here”),produced by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce for 9.14 Pictures, and executive-produced by Wendy Dio for Niji Productions and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG.
Argott and Fenton said: “People who have conviction, talent and heart like Ronnie James Dio are in short supply these days. It is refreshing to share his inspiring story of believing in yourself and chasing your dreams. As lifelong Dio fans, it is incredibly humbling to bring Ronnie‘s journey to the screen and we can’t wait to share it with audiences.”
Rhino/WMG will release the soundtrack from “Dio: Dreamers Never Die” in the fall.
Ronnie James Dio‘s wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio spoke to Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the status of “Dio: Dreamers Never Die”, the career-spanning documentary on the life and times of the legendary rock icon, which received its world premiere this past March at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. She said: “We did a lot of different film festivals. You go to film festivals to get a buyer for the film. And we have secured a buyer. And it will come out at the end of summer in theaters; it’ll be in theaters the end of summer.”
At this year’s SXSW Film Festival, several music personalities who were involved in the making of the film — Wendy, Butler and Bach — took part in a panel, “Dreamers Never Die: The Enduring Power Of Metal” panel, hosted by SiriusXM‘s Eddie Trunk at Austin Convention Center. Video of the discussion is available below.
Wendy recently told Argentinian journalist Lucas Gordon about “Dio: Dreamers Never Die”: “I saw the first cut of it. It was very emotional. It’s very different from [Dio‘s autobiography]. ‘Cause the book finishes in 1986, with Ronnie playing Madison Square Garden. But the documentary goes all the way through his life till the end. And it was very emotional. I was watching it with my publicist and a person from BMG, who are funding the documentary. And we all cried. It was very emotional. But it’s really interesting and really good. Rob Halford is great in it, talking about stories. Lita Ford [and] Jack Black [are also in it]. Eddie Trunk and Mick Wall [author of Dio‘s autobiography] both kind of narrated it and everything. I’m very pleased with it.”
In August 2021, Wendy told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” about what fans can expect to see in the documentary: “There’s a bunch of stuff from [old] Super 8 [tapes] and some other stuff. There’s fantastic interviews with all kinds of different people about when they were working with Ronnie or what they were doing at the time, maybe supporting Ronnie. It’s totally different to the [recently released Dio] book.”
Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.
Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.
Dio‘s autobiography, titled “Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography”, was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press.