Motley Crue Biopic Puts A Jackass In The Director's Chair

From Bad Grandpa to Dr. Feelgood. Jeff Tremaine, who recently helmed the chart-topping Bad Grandpa with Johnny Knoxville in the lead, is turning his attentions to an adaptation of Dirt, the story of legendary rock band Motley Crue.

As Deadline reports, Tremaine will work off of The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band, an autobiography published in 2001 that was penned by members of the band (but aided by New York Times writer Neil Strauss … because honestly, after this, what do the members of the Crue remember?)

What these clips prove, however, is that the Crue story has been told – in various formats – time and again. Thanks to channels like VH1 and Palladium, classic rock acts like Motley often sit down in front of a camera to relive the "glory days," so Tremaine faces an instant challenge of tackling recognizable musicians and putting a fresh spin on their story so that it can be interesting for an audience member. Too often with musician biopics, the people on screen are having a lot of fun, but it doesn’t end up being as much fun for the folks sitting in the theater following along.

Then again, as Deadline notes, Tremaine has earned his living helping huge crowds laugh at a bunch of Jackass kids on screen, so maybe he’s the perfect person for the Dirt gig. He’s been helming Jackass movies since 2002, when the show was on MTV. He branched out with a 30 for 30 documentary The Birth of Big Air, and he once directed a music video for the band Turbonegro. Will Dirt look anything like this?

Tremaine said he has been circling this Dirt adaptation ever since the book dropped. He said that he and the Jackass kids admired the road stories of the guys in Motley Crue, and when elaborating on his approach to the movie, says:

No word on when Dirt will reach theaters, but we’ll keep you posted as the story develops.