TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR
DIO: DREAMERS NEVER DIE
FILM EVENTS IN CINEMAS WORLDWIDE SEPT 28 & OCT 2
AT WWW.DIODREAMERSNEVERDIE.COM
17 UK INDEPENDENT CINEMAS CONFIRMED, WITH MORE TO FOLLOW
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL ‘DIO: DREAMERS NEVER DIE’ TRAILER
BMG & TRAFALGAR RELEASING PRESENT FILM HONOURING THE LIFE OF LEGENDARY HEAVY METAL SINGER RONNIE JAMES DIO.
Tickets for a career-spanning documentary on the life and times of legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio, DIO: Dreamers Never Die, go on sale at www.diodreamersneverdie.com.
Presented in more than 500 cinemas worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing and BMG for two days only on Wed Sept. 28 and Sun Oct. 2, DIO: Dreamers Never Die explores Dio’s incredible career with his early bands, to his days in Elf and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and finally cementing his status as a legendary metal icon with his own band, DIO. The film incorporates never-before-seen footage, personal photos, and scenes with his closest peers, family, and friends, including Wendy Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk, and Jack Black. View the official trailer (HERE).
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 that will only be shown at these screenings to create an exclusive experience for fans in attendance.
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 1950s 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 popularising 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 is fully authorised by the artist’s estate, was financed solely by BMG, 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 Dio’s widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio for Niji Productions and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG.
Rhino/WMG will release the soundtrack from DIO: Dreamers Never Die in the autumn. View a clip for the making of DIO’s ‘Last In Line’ video (HERE), a clip about Holy Diver’s album art (HERE), and a clip about the making of ‘Hear N’ Aid’ (HERE).
To discuss the film itself I was fortunate to be allowed the opportunity to have a chat with Ronnie’s wife, Wendy, who is doing her best to promote and highlight the enduring magic of her former husband.
Having last year bought the “Rainbow in the Dark “book into which she had input I wondered how within a short period of time there was also a film. Wendy explained to me that during the two-year global pandemic period she had a lot of time on her hands. The idea of a film about Ronnies life had been suggested to her several times over the years but until now she felt that it just wasn’t the right time. Obviously following her personal bereavement, she needed time to grieve and fully appreciate her own close personal loss. In addition, she also needed time to ensure that it was the right fit in terms of the production company and directors who came on board with the project. It took a little time for her to personally trust them as she explained that initially, she released limited archives of Ronnie to them until she became more comfortable with their creative process. Initially, she stated that she was also very involved in each stage of the filmmaking process but again as she started to become more trusting and comfortable, she was able to give them more material and she started to take more of a backseat role allowing the director team of Don Argott and Demian Fenton to weave their own magic to bring the process to fruition.
Wendy explained that it wasn’t all smooth sailing however as with the difficulties imposed by the pandemic it was hard to get the contributions of some major players in Ronnies life-Tony Iommi and Rob Halford to record their own input into the story. I asked – having not viewed the film myself – if there would be fan contributions as I personally could add to the many anecdotes of a Ronnie James Dio meeting. Instead, Wendy said that she had preferred that the film would focus more on the contributions of people that had played a part in his own personal musical legacy. She did however agree when I recounted my own personal tale that he always made time for his fans and genuinely valued their opinions when he took the opportunity to spend some time actually with them.
I suggested that the whole process must have been a bittersweet experience for her personally when she viewed it -conveying both happy and sad memories of her husband. Wendy shared that on viewing the first cut of the film she was handed a box of tissues to watch it. Believing that she would not actually need them at all, suffice to say that the same box of tissues had been emptied by its conclusion. The final cut however she was more than pleased with believing that it was a true testimony to her husband. She explained that the film itself would have two world premieres in Los Angeles and also in London UK before its strictly two-day showing in cinemas. Wendy would be attending the Los Angeles one immediately the day after I spoke to her and then flying over to attend the London event. I asked Wendy if there were any plans to further extend the film’s shelf life beyond the two-day cinema viewings. Wendy shared that there were some plans to release a film soundtrack and possibly eventually a DVD/CD release. However, the film showings would include some outtakes footage that would only be seen at those and not distributed thereafter. Wendy stated that the idea was that the cinema showings would be like a special Dio concert rather than just a regular cinema viewing.
In recent years there have been some musical releases from the Dio archives. Recently a double Dio Live at Donington and last year some album reissues. I was curious as a long-standing fan if there still lay unreleased musical gems from the man himself. Wendy explained that there was a total of five unreleased Dio songs including one that former Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich was in possession of. Wendy was however keen to emphasise that it simply isn’t a case of just rushing releasing them out to the world. As always, the integrity of his name and legacy had to always come first. I then suggested that it would be a good idea to preserve his legacy by having a Dio Museum or some form of travelling exhibition containing stage clothes, handwritten lyrics, etc. To that end, she shared that steps had been taken in that direction. In Los Angeles with the modern knocking down of many buildings, there had been conversations taken with the mayor towards establishing some form of rock and roll museum in which obviously Ronnie James Dio would play a part, in addition to also being included in the rock and roll hall of fame in the town itself.
After sharing my personal story of that one time that Ronnie shared some of his time with me following a Belfast show Wendy asked if I was going to be attending the London premiere, after sharing that I hoped to be able to attend she thanked me for chatting and that she would like to meet me at that event personally. I thanked her for preserving the legacy of her husband and that I was eagerly anticipating seeing the film itself next week. 
UK SCREENINGS CONFIRMED TO DATE
- Everyman, Edinburgh
- The Cameo, Edinburgh
- Everyman, Leeds
- Contemporary Arts, Dundee
- Electric Cinema, Birmingham
- Mockingbird, Birmingham
- Filmhouse, Northampton
- QUAD, Derby
- Showroom, Sheffield
- Broadway Cinema, Douglas Isle of Man
- Picturehouse, Bromley
- Picturehouse at FACT, Liverpool
- Scott Cinemas, The Central Cinema, Barnstaple
- Lighthouse Cinema, Newquay
