Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan says Slipknot biopic is “most undoubtedly going to occur”, however not with Hollywood studio
In a brand new interview with NME, Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan mentioned the potential for the band’s story being was a biopic, revealing that he has a number of concepts for a serial undertaking of his personal.
The subject got here up when Clown stuffed us in on the forthcoming debut of Knotfest Australia, which he mentioned was one of many many new tasks that Slipknot have been engaged on. Having simply fulfilled the phrases of their contract with Roadrunner Information, the band can be totally impartial on the finish of subsequent March – which, Clown instructed NME, means they’ll have the ability to experiment with new artistic avenues (like a standalone single-based launch mannequin).
A few of the band’s future endeavours will embrace visible tasks helmed by Clown – he’s lengthy been concerned in filmmaking each in and outdoors of Slipknot, directing 17 of the band’s music movies and three of their documentaries, in addition to narrative movies like Officer Downe. When requested if he’d ever take into account helming a Slipknot biopic within the vein of Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, Clown revealed: “It wasn’t that way back that I used to be very pissed off with this kind of thought, as a result of the enterprise, if you’ll, was pressuring us for one thing like that.”
The artist (who doubles as Slipknot’s de facto “artistic director”) referred to as again to the 2015 movie Straight Outta Compton – a biopic concerning the origins of N.W.A – which he mentioned “made all of the enterprise folks suppose Bohemian Rhapsody was a fantastic thought”.
“The issue is,” Clown defined, “is that I watched Bohemian Rhapsody, and it’s strictly one-sided. And the folks that wrote it and stuff, they’ll let you know, ‘Oh, it’s supposed to be one sided.’ It’s simply concerning the star, you already know, it’s Freddie Mercury’s story – however I’m a Brian Could fan as properly, and I wish to know extra about him. However you possibly can’t do this in two hours, and the fits within the company world, who keep the [film industry], they don’t wish to do greater than two hours. That’s an excessive amount of of a threat for his or her enterprise, and sadly, they management how artwork is dealt with and will get to the vast majority of the human race.”
He assured followers {that a} narrative undertaking about Slipknot’s story is “most undoubtedly going to occur” sooner or later, however not beneath the helm of a significant Hollywood studio. Explaining why he refuses to humour any of their concepts, Clown mentioned: “It wasn’t that way back that folks wished to make motion figures of us, and so they didn’t even get to [the prototype stage] as a result of they wished to mock us up as grandiose and fantastical and superhero-ish. My philosophy was at all times like, ‘Don’t you suppose that the actual Slipknot is scarier than something [pretend] you can also make me into? The truth that I’m human, and that we deliver that kind of worry out of individuals?’
“I might by no means get anyone to create us, so I’m form of holding that to the movie. I’ve had so many concepts dropped at me, and there’s so many people who find themselves pissed off with me about it. They’ve really instructed me, ‘Perhaps it’d be higher in the event you’re not concerned.’ And I’m similar to, ‘Yeah, we’ll see how that works for you.’ As a result of if I’m not concerned, which means I’m not concerned. Meaning, ‘Good luck with regardless of the fuck you’re making an attempt to do, as a result of I’m not going to approve a phrase of it.’
“They push, however I’m not . As a result of that’s fucking cheese to its best, to make one thing simply so I can have all of the fits stroll out of it going, ‘That was actually good!’ It’s like, ‘You by no means performed with us within the band, you don’t know what the fuck you’re speaking about! You’re simply impressed that some putz director hit a mark in some visible means for theatres to promote popcorn. Get the fuck out of right here. That is my life.’”
Clown went on to say that initiatives like Web3 – which he’s personally concerned in by way of Knotverse and his personal NFT undertaking – are altering that. “Web3 is creating all types of conditions for youths that ought to be directing motion pictures, however by no means would’ve had an opportunity [in Hollywood] as a result of they don’t have a community or they’re not within the scene,” he mentioned. “I imply, the web is a superb place for expertise. So now, with all these youngsters taking on their very own destinies, if the correct folks approached me and wished to do [a Slipknot biopic], there could be a strategy to hash it out.”
As for the prospect of Clown taking the reins on a Slipknot biopic himself, he revealed that he has “some very insane concepts for the way to make it work”, however would want the help of “some very artistic folks” to show them right into a viable pitch. He defined: “I’m not a author. I can solely provide the tales. But when I sat down with some actually artistic [screenwriters], I’d have the ability to inform all of them these concepts and we might provide you with one thing that may make folks say, ‘Sure, we’ll provide the cash to make that.’”
Clown’s most important imaginative and prescient for such a undertaking, he mentioned, would take the type of a miniseries: “I really like True Detective, and that [first season] was eight episodes lengthy. I’m enthusiastic about eight-to-15 episodes. That means, you possibly can go prior to now and see [the late] Paul Grey enjoying a right-handed guitar when he’s left-handed; I can return to after I was a little bit child, and inform all of the tales concerning the loopy shit Joey [Jordison, Slipknot’s ex-drummer who died in 2021] used to do. I can paint all these footage that may make you go, ‘Oh, that’s why this fucking dude is who he’s!’
“I’m not making Bohemian Rhapsody, man. There’s loads of dudes [in Slipknot] that should be represented equally – not one is bigger than the opposite, and you may’t clarify the band with out explaining all of them. After which there’s our first supervisor [Sophia John], who handed away – that story must be in there – after which there’s a motley crew of a couple of dozen different motherfuckers… I imply, it’s an enormous story, man! It’s insane. So we’re gonna do it, however we’re gonna do it our means.”
In the meantime, final week it was introduced that Slipknot would headline subsequent yr’s Obtain Competition alongside Metallica and Carry Me The Horizon. The information got here after the band introduced the first-ever Knotfest in Australia, in addition to a nine-date European tour for subsequent June.
They’re presently touring on the again of their current seventh album, ‘The Finish, So Far’, which arrived again in September and featured the singles ‘The Chapeltown Rag’, ‘The Dying Tune (Time To Sing)’ and ‘Yen’. In a four-star evaluation of, NME’s Andrew Trendell mentioned it “could rattle lots of the metallic devoted, however for the prowess and lasting impression of this report alone, this can be a true Slipknot report”.