Kamis, 07 Mei 2009

Iron Maiden: Truth or Dare with bigger hair



When Iron Maiden's tour manager asked filmmaker Scot McFayden for his influences during an informal interview to see if he could film the band's reunion tour, McFayden gave the snarling Brit a surprising answer: Truth or Dare.

"After assuring him I didn't want either Warren Beatty or nudity, he began to understand I wanted the viewer to go on a journey," says McFayden, 40, in his two-storey Toronto office, which looks more like a design firm than Canada's headquarters of heavy-metal lore. "We wanted a film that didn't only show the band live, which is awesome, but let you know who they are. That's why Madonna's film works. It shows the circus of life on tour."

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 showcases a band in their late fifties as they tour 13 countries in 45 days in a plane piloted by the group's singer. Less Anvil! The Story of Anvil and more Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, the film portrays the seasoned group - with albums such as Number of the Beast and Dance of Death to their credit - as grounded, likable schlubs.

"There's no chicks in hotel rooms, no binges, no trouble," says Sam Dunn, 35, McFayden's long-haired co-writer and director, familiar to anyone who caught Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005) or Global Metal (2008), which Dunn narrates as a wide-eyed fan. "This wasn't Some Kind of Monster [the 2004 Metallica film that prominently employed a ‘performance-enhancing coach']. Iron Maiden doesn't need therapy."

In their new picture, the filmmakers wanted to get away from Dunn's narration and let the visuals speak for themselves. With a crew of seven, the filmmakers recorded the band on- and offstage (where they could often be found playing golf), as well as the group's rabid audience. In places such as Costa Rica and India, the band ran the risk of being overshadowed by the colourful people who bring a near religious fervour to the show.

"We didn't want to do Behind the Music or reality TV," McFayden says. "We wanted to show what it feels like to be a fan."

Of course, after making three films that explored the metal genre, the friends have pretty much carved out their niche. But although they have a Fubar poster and picture of Voivod nestled on the wall of their office between their Geminis, they're looking to broaden their reach.

"I don't think you can make 15 metal films that are engaging, and that's coming from a pretty big metal fan," Dunn says.

"We're comfortable moving away from it," McFayden adds. "The question is - if the people who finance us are."

For now, the pair is hard at work on a Rush documentary and a series about the sub-genres of heavy metal for VH1. Ultimately Dunn and McFayden may wind up changing their subject matter without changing their tone: speaking to the fringes of popular culture, without making fun of its stars.

"There are a lot of people out there who love Wayne's World and Spinal Tap, but don't identify with that," McFayden says. "People want something intelligent that's also entertaining and, if you're a metal fan, it's nice every once in a while when someone isn't taking the piss."

- Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is playing tonight at Empire Theatres across Canada. See empiretheatres.com for details.

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