This will be cool to see! Screaming Butterfly Entertainment, in partnership with Ellefson Films and BayView Entertainment, has announced a second event for the fully authorized Nick Menza documentary, “This Was My Life: Nick Menza’s Metal Memories With Megadeth And Beyond”!
The event is on Thursday, April 17 at Hawthorne Theatre, in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Members of the cast and crew will be on hand to answer a Q&A after the movie.
It’s doubtful anyone reading this article will be able to attend – but just in case, grab a ticket here.
The Los Angeles premiere of “This Was My Life: Nick Menza’s Metal Memories With Megadeth And Beyond” is Thursday, April 10 at the Laemmle Royal Theatre, at 11523 Santa Monica Boulevard. Members of the cast and crew will also be in attendance for this event.
“This Was My Life” was originally scheduled to have its premiere in February, but the screening was postponed because of the California wildfires.
BayView Entertainment VP of acquisitions Peter Castro said, “We are thrilled to work with Nick Menza’s estate, and with Dave Ellefson, Jeff Young and other former Megadeth members as well as other legendary metal figures to bring this release to worldwide audience. It is an honor to celebrate Nick’s legacy and help to carry it forward.”
Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson spoke to KNAC.com and talked about his involvement in the doc: “So I got asked to narrate this movie called ‘This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza’. And it’s his life story, from birth until he passed. And obviously, 10 years in there was with Megadeth, which is certainly one of the more public parts of his life as a professional drummer. So getting asked to narrate it, and then, like I always do — look, I’ve lived with Nick on the road; I spent 10 years in the yellow submarine with him, so I know a lot of that. I know a lot of people, obviously, to connect it. So when we did the interviews, reached out to people… (former Megadeth guitarist) Jeff Young actually really stepped in, too; he helped us get the facility where we filmed a lot of the interview footage. We were able to get with our other fallen brother, Bob Nalbandian, to get him to comment before he passed from cancer last year. Some crew members, tour managers — really, I think, a nice spread. His family, his mom, his dad. Nick’s dad, Don Menza, is a very, very well, highly esteemed woodwind player. I mean, first chair tenor sax for Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson. So when Nick was a kid, I think he was born in Munich, he was at these jazz festivals in Europe with his dad, and guys like Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson were handing him the drumsticks, going, ‘Have at it, kid. Hit the kit.’ So, Nick’s story is super colorful and very cool.”
When it was first announced that the trailer for “This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza” would premiere at NAMM, Ellefson released a statement, “After several years in the making, it’s a real honor to be able to give a sneak preview of what this film will ultimately look like. Nick had a storied career and an even more incredible life. I’m proud to be part of this documentary and very honored that we can utilize our booth during the NAMM show as the initial theater for fans to see this beautiful story unfold.”
Menza’s longtime personal manager, Robert Bolger, said: “Going through all of Nick’s personal and private VHS tape collection, photos and audio files was by far the best part of making this documentary. There’s so much material I went through, listening to all the unreleased drum tracks, gathering all the footage from the live shows, backstage, on the tour bus, in the studio, fans and the interviews was an absolute amazing task piecing everything together. What amazing life Nick lived and a legacy he left behind.”
The Menza family previously stated: “We are excited for the fans to see the life Nick lived before, during, and after MEGADETH, it was quite the journey. Stay tuned for an epic documentary. As Nick would say, ‘It’s gonna be RAD.”
“This Was My Life” includes interviews with the Menza family and close friends, and former Megadeth members Chris Poland, Jeff Young, former Lamb Of God / Megadeth drummer Chris Adler, former Megadeth tour manager Skip Rickert, Nick’s drum tech Rob Corsie, legendary rock and roll photographer Gene Kirkland, film director, late metal historian, journalist and filmmaker Bob Nalbandian, James Rota and Emily Burton of Fireball, Ministry, Terri Evans, Peter Flyn, John “Gumby” Goodwin, Bert Wolf, David Randi, Rob Schaefer, Juan “Nico” Alvarez, Robertino “Pag” Pagliari, Iki Levy of Soultone cymbals, and David Corral of L.A. Callling.
Sounds like one hell of a rock-doc! Can’t wait to see this tribute to one of the greats of metal drumming!
