‘Jackass’ Man To Direct Motley Crue Film: ‘It’s A Cross Between Goodfellas And Boogie Nights’

The forthcoming Motley Crue biopic will be helmed by director of the Jackass movies, Jeff Tremaine, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Anyone with a passing acquaintance with the Motley Crue story will know it’s an unending and unnerving catalogue of depravity, and as such, has always courted a lot of Hollywood interest.

Written by former Rolling Stone writer Neil Strauss, The Dirt, which takes the form of an oral history, is one of the most acclaimed and shocking autobiographies ever put to paper. The pages of the book positively reek with a supercharged decadence that taints everything it comes in to touch with.

In the book, even the band’s manager, Doc McGhee, struggles desperately to find something kind to say about his unruly and immoral clients.

“Motley Crue are savages with cash who care nothing about nobody, even each other.”

The good news is that the New York Times bestselling The Dirt has been picked up by Focus Features, the arthouse arm of NBC Universal, and the arch adventures of Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Nikki Sixx in the heady heydays of hair metal will soon be coming to a cinema near you.

With Jackass man Jeff Tremaine directing and a screenplay written by Rich Wilkes and Tom Kapinos, the Crue biopic promises to be an outrageous, larger-than-life depiction of the band’s high (and low life.)

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2011, the Crue’s Nikki Sixx explained how he had high hopes for the movie adaptation of The Dirt.

“I’ve always believed that it’s a cross between Goodfellas and maybe Boogie Nights.”

Following a script reading with Tremaine, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee could barely conceal his excitement.

“Can I tell you it was the most f**king insanely surreal experience I’ve ever sat through, y’know. I sat through probably two hours of literally watching people act and play through 30 years of your life. I was just like, ‘What the f**k?! That’s insane. This movie is insane.’ Even just the way the movie starts, you’re like, ‘How the hell are we gonna rate this thing, triple R?'”

Although after years of speculation and false starts, the film will finally be made, Lee explained the movie will not feature household names.

“We’re going with all unknowns. I think that’s crucial here, too. Getting known actors would not do anybody or the film or the band or any of that stuff justice. I think watching a well-known actor play Vince or myself or Nikki or Mick would be weird, because all of those other movies they’ve done would be attached to that character, and it would be real hard to remove those.”