Ozzy Osbourne has become one of the most unlikely media stars thanks to the surprise success of the MTV docu-series The Osbournes. Now it looks like we are going to get another take on life inside this outrageous family, as there’s going to be a biopic based on the early lives of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
It looks to be another major boost for the Osbourne brand name. Recently we have seen Ozzy Osbourne appearing on mainstream TV programmes like Michael McIntyre’s Big Show. The rock star seems to be having a knack of coming up with attention-grabbing material. Not only did he became the face behind a metal-themed online casino brand, but he also went on to license an official slot game bearing his name and unique style, currently featured at UK slots sites. And in the wake of the current crisis, the Black Sabbath singer started selling anti-coronavirus themed merch, where a portion of the sales will go to several Parkinson’s-related charities and foundations.
It seems like Ozzy is never out of original ideas, but let’s see what can expect from this cinematic outing from the legendary rock icon?
Ozzy’s first rock biopic
Although details are still scarce about the biopic, a recent interview with Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, stated that things are definitely in motion. One thing’s for sure, and that’s that you won’t be seeing the actual ‘prince of darkness’ in this movie. This is because it’s going to be a rock biopic, and so there will be a cast of actors playing Ozzy, Sharon and all other members of the family.
As a result, it might not feature too much of the actual music of Ozzy, so you’d probably be better off watching the recent Black Sabbath: The End DVD if you want to hear classics like Iron Man, Paranoid and War Pigs.
But it promises to be another hard-hitting rock biopic that documents earlier incarnations of Ozzy before he became a mainstream TV star. As such, many metal fans will be hoping that it could be the best rock biopic to hit our screens since The Dirt gave us such an entertaining and fascinating insight into the career of Motley Crue.
Who will play Sharon and Ozzy?
The 2019 Motley Crue biopic, The Dirt, featured Tony Cavalero playing Ozzy at the height of his 1980s excess, but the Ozzy movie will reportedly focus on the rock star’s antics from the age of 20 onwards.
This would mean that casting directors would probably be looking for a younger star to play the rock legend. Plus in a 2019 interview with Variety, Sharon Osbourne admitted that they would prefer to cast a ‘completely unknown’ to be Ozzy in the movie.
The film is reported to be focussing on Sharon’s early life as she deals with a tumultuous childhood and it would follow the events up until the point when the pair got married in 1982. All of which hints at the fact that we could expect to see some relatively unfamiliar faces playing the parts of rock’s most infamous couple.
Why is an Ozzy biopic being made?
While Ozzy is no stranger to fame, it’s evident that the star can be more than a little picky when it comes to how he is portrayed on the screen. Ozzy reportedly left the room numerous times during a screening of edits made to the Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne documentary that’s due for release on the US TV channel A&E later this summer.
But it seems that efforts to cement Ozzy’s legacy in musical history are going strong, especially as it was revealed that the singer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in February 2019.
There’s certainly no shortage of outrageous incidents in Ozzy’s life to create an eye-opening biopic. From urinating on the Alamo to snorting ants, his life story is sure to be memorable viewing. But with reports that this biopic will focus on Sharon’s efforts to work as a woman in the male-dominated world of music management, it seems that we could see a different side of Ozzy in this movie.
Header image (c) Kevin W Burkett / CC BY-SA 2.0
