Billy Idol Should Be Dead, Fremantle’s biopic about punk rock legend Billy Idol, has been sold to international broadcasters worldwide, including Sky (U.K.), VRT (Belgium), Yle (Finland), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), COSMOTE TV (Greece), AMC Global Media (Spain and Portugal), SBS (Australia), RTV (Slovenia), and has also secured Japanese theatrical rights via Malibu Corporation (Japan).
The feature-length documentary is an all-access portrait of one of rock music’s most provocative and enduring icons. It features unprecedented access to Idol, his bandmates, family, and fellow music artists, including Miley Cyrus, Nile Rodgers, Guns N’ Roses musician Duff McKagen, The Who’s Pete Townshend, and Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
The announcement follows recent news that Idol will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. In March, the documentary premiered on Sky Arts in the U.K., ranking as the #1 show of the day. That same month it premiered on Hulu in the U.S., reaching #3 show a day after its release and sitting within the Top 10 titles that week.
Directed by multi-Grammy Award-winner Jonas Åkerlund, the film blends unseen archival footage with raw, revealing interviews to chart Idol’s journey from London’s anarchic punk underground to global MTV superstardom. Along the way, it confronts the chaos behind the image — excess, addiction, near-fatal accidents, and the moments when Idol came terrifyingly close to losing everything.
Billy Idol Should Be Dead is produced by Live Nation Studios. Michael Rapino and J. Ralph are the executive producers. Fremantle handles international sales (outside the U.S.).
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