Paramount+ has announced that it will premiere its feature-length Ozzy Osbourne documentary on 7 October.
Ozzy: No Escape From Now will launch in the US and around the world excluding Japan.
The news comes after the BBC delayed its own documentary, Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home. The broadcaster has confirmed that the project, which was originally due to air mid-August, will now air on 2 October.
Directed by Bafta winner Tania Alexander and produced in collaboration with the Osbourne family, the two-hour film will focus on the final six years of the Black Sabbath frontman’s life.
Ozzy, his wife/manager Sharon and their three children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, all appear in No Escape From Now. As well as Ozzy’s health issues, many of which stemmed from a fall he suffered at home in February 2019, it follows the production of his final two solo albums; 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9.
Fans will be able to get a behind-the-scenes look at the build-up to Ozzy’s homecoming performance in Birmingham at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The film also charts his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the planning for the Black Sabbath farewell concert, Back to the Beginning – where he was reunited with co-founders Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – at Birmingham’s Villa Park in July.
Other stars to feature in the Paramount+ documentary include Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns N’ Roses fame, Metallica’s Rob Trujillo and James Hetfield, Billy Idol, and Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Paramount’s description of its documentary says: “This is Ozzy like you’ve never seen before; an honest, warm and deeply personal portrait of one of the greatest rock stars of all time, detailing how the singer’s world shuddered to a halt six years ago, forcing him to contemplate who he really is, confront his own mortality and question whether or not he can ever perform onstage for one last time.
“Addressing his health issues and impact of his Parkinson’s diagnosis, the film showcases the central role music continues to play in Ozzy’s life, also proving his mischievous sense of humour remains resolutely intact despite it all.”
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In a trailer, Ozzy is shown talking about how he was at peace with the prospect of dying: “If my life is coming to an end, I really can’t complain,” he said. “I had a great life.”
He said his 2019 collaboration with Post Malone had helped rejuvenate him: “I had a blast,” he said, beaming. “That was the best medicine I ever had. I’m not good at being sick. I belong up there.”
Sharon added: “He had a brilliant career, and it ended in a brilliant way.”
Ozzy died aged 76 at home of a heart attack on 22 July, just weeks after the farewell show. A funeral procession took place in Birmingham before he was laid to rest in a private service, with Sharon and their children laying flowers at the Black Sabbath Bridge in Broad Street.
The BBC said in August that it was delaying Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, out of respect to his family’s wishes. The one-hour film will now be shown on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm BSt on 2 October.
It covers the final three years of the rock star’s life as he and Sharon return to the UK from Los Angeles, and his “heroic” battle to return to the stage one last time.
The film is “a moving portrait of a couple whose five-decade-long relationship has defied the odds, at a pivotal moment in their lives”, the BBC’s synopsis said.
“Pulling off either the move or the gig will be a phenomenal achievement, and son Jack is worried about the toll of relocating to a country that his parents have barely spent time in over the last two decades, as well as the impact on such close-knit family dynamics.
“But Ozzy has never been a man to take no for an answer, and with Sharon’s support he sets about achieving his goals with the determination, blistering honesty and razor-sharp sense of humour that have endeared him to millions for over 50 years.
“He will stop at nothing to make his body work as well as it used to, with the film capturing remarkable levels of resolve.”
