Pop-punk originals Green Day have released the trailer for its new documentary film Heart Like A Hand Grenade, directed by John Roecker. Heart Like A Hand Grenade is all about the making of the album American Idiot, which is arguably the band's greatest accomplishment. The documentary was filmed to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the LP, which was released Sept. 20, 2004.
"The film does not contain high drama or fighting," director John Roecker told SPIN, "It shows a band on top of their game creating incredible music. It is a film that inspires. It is also a very small film. All it took was a box of tapes and one camera. Going back to the DIY ethic that I was raised with."
The production of Heart Like A Hand Grenade was reported by Rolling Stone as being the first time that the band has allowed someone to film them, and contains multiple in-studio clips as well as a rare performance video of the album in a smaller, more intimate theatre, which occurred soon after the recording sessions.
"This movie is like a fly-on-the-wall art house piece," the director wrote in a statement posted to the Green Day website. "Later I had met Billie Joe Armstrong the lead singer of Green Day and a friendship began. We would speak on the phone exchanging thoughts and ideas... and he was going to embark on a new musical journey. I told him he should document the recording of the album and he said they had tried and it never worked."
Obtaining exclusive footage of a band without accusations of invasive tactics is a challenge for any filmmaker. It is a feat that Roecker accomplished this by setting up movable tripods in the studios and letting the cameras roll incessantly, which created the aforementioned "fly-on-the-wall" effect. The documentary will premiere at California film festivals (Oct. 8 and 13) and will be available in theatres nationwide mid next month (Oct. 15).
