Photo: Wenn
Green Day have announced details of a new documentary film, Hand Like A Hand Grenade - about the making of their seminal album, American Idiot.
It may be over a decade since the pop-punk heroes dropped the career-saving LP, but now a movie about the making of the record is finally set to hit cinemas next month.
"More than 10 years after the release of American Idiot, 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Green Day present Heart Like A Hand Grenade,” say the band in a statement. “This time capsule rock doc takes us inside the songwriting and recording process of their Grammy Award winning punk rock opera.”
Director John Roecker added: “I told [Billie Joe Armstrong] he should document the recording of the album and he said they had tried and it never worked. I suggested that he set up tripods around the studio and just have cameras run so it would not be too invasive of the process of the recording (I was hoping he would get my hint!). Then I got a phone call on a Friday night and he said he and the band will be in Los Angeles on Monday and why don’t I be the tripod. Thus began my nine months with Green Day.
“I would have total access to the band and could film everything. During this time Metallica released their film Some Kind of Monster – a film that showed a band on the verge of artistic collapse and infighting. I told Billie about the film and he thought because there was no drama going on with the band I did not want to continue with the film. I was thinking the opposite. This film does not contain high drama or fighting. It shows a band on top of their game creating incredible music. It is a film that inspires. It is also a very small film. All it took was a box of tapes and one camera. Going back to the D.I.Y. Ethic that I was raised with. It was also a risk for the band because this album was either going to take them to a higher level or sink them. Either way I was going to document it.
“After the recording was finished they booked a small theatre and performed the album in its entirety, which is included in the film (Fun fact! This was eleven years ago folks and the camera phone was not invented so this is the only way you can see this legendary concert!) This movie is like a fly on the wall art house piece. It is the first time Green Day allowed someone into the studio to film them. I am so happy I answered Billie’s phone call. This was eleven years ago and the film you are about to see has never been seen. It became a lost film, an urban legend in some ways. Some fans thought it was not real that it was some sort of prank the band and I created. And finally the little film that could is being released.”
Hand Like A Hand Grenade will hit cinemas on 15 October.
Meanwhile, the band have been hard at work on their next record - with producer Rob Cavallo saying that Billie Joe is 'on top of his game' and that new songs are 'amazing', with Armstrong saying that he is making sure that 'every moment is inspired'.
