Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt arrives on Netflix this month, and singer Vince Neil thinks it came out better than he expected.
“I was really pleasantly surprised because I didn’t know if it was gonna be this really low-budget film,” he told Finland’s Kaaos TV (via Blabbermouth). “Because you can make really bad films very easily. But after the first 10 minutes of watching the movie, I forgot it was about us and I just was enjoying a really good film.”
Neil also had no problem watching Australian-born actor Daniel Webb play him in the film, which is based on the band’s 2001 biography.
“It wasn’t me that was nervous; it was actually the guy that played me who was nervous,” he said. “He wanted to make sure he did a really good job. And he did. I think each guy that played each of the band members pulled it off — I mean, exact. You get everybody’s personalities right there on film. It’s pretty neat to watch.”
The Dirt starts streaming on Netflix on March 22. The soundtrack will include several Mötley Crüe hits as well as a handful of new songs created just for the film.
The first of the new tunes, “The Dirt (Est. 1981)”, a collaboration with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, was released in February. Machine Gun Kelly plays drummer Tommy Lee in the film, Douglas Booth plays bassist Nikki Sixx, and Iwan Rheon plays guitarist Mick Mars.
The Dirt was developed at Paramount and Focus Features.
And while Mötley Crüe quite touring over three years ago, Neil insists the band isn’t disappearing.
“Just because we stopped touring doesn’t mean we broke up,” he noted. “We just decided not to tour anymore. We still do things with the band. We’re still gonna put out music, we’re still gonna put out merchandise, we’re still gonna do things as Mötley Crüe— except for tour. That’s really it.”
And the release of The Dirt hasn’t made him nostalgic for another Mötley Crüe tour.
“The movie’s just another cool Mötley Crüe thing, and it kind of really has nothing to do with touring,” he explained. “It’s a movie. Who knows? In another four or five years, maybe we’ll put something else out. I don’t know. We’re just gonna have to wait and see. Because I’m busy touring right now. I know the other guys have different projects too. And we’ll see if we can fit in people’s schedules whatever else comes up.”
Mötley Crüe completed its final tour in 2015, playing 164 shows in 72 markets and grossing over $100 million. The members of the group all signed a “cessation of touring” contract, agreeing never again to tour under the Mötley Crüe name.
