TOMMY LEE Says Success Of ‘The Dirt’ Movie ‘Brought In A Newer Audience’ For MÖTLEY CRÜE

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Tommy Lee says that 2019's Netflix biopic "The Dirt", about MÖTLEY CRÜE's formative years, sparked a renewed interest from younger fans who wanted to see them live, contributing to the band's decision to renege on its infamous "cessation of touring" contract. After vowing in 2015 never to play together again, CRÜE announced last December that they would be touring in 2020 with fellow hard rock veterans DEF LEPPARD and POISON. Speaking to Australia's Triple M about how the success of "The Dirt" affected the CRÜE's planned comeback as part of "The Stadium Tour", Lee said: "I think that definitely spiked and maybe had some effect on the sale of 'The Stadium Tour', because I really believe it invigorated or brought in a newer audience also that maybe hadn't — obviously maybe heard about us, but had never been to a show or never really knew our story. And I know for a fact, 'cause people have written to me about it, going, like, 'Dude, I can't even believe that's what it was like in the '80s. Fuck! Nothing is like that anymore. It was, like, anything goes.' And I believe a whole younger generation of kids are, like, 'Oh, I've gotta see this.' I mean, it was such a fucking awesome time that I think a lot of kids are bummed that they missed out on that, they didn't get to experience it. So maybe now is their chance to come and give it a taste. Who knows? I'm just guessing. But I know for a fact a lot of kids are, like, 'Dude, man, that's crazy you guys are even alive. Woah!'" "The Dirt" currently has a 38% critic score from 71 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the online review aggregation service that allows both critics and the public to rate movies. The same site has an 94% audience score for "The Dirt" from 6,661 reviews. The movie, which was helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, was picked up by Netflix after being previously developed at Focus Features and before that at Paramount. "It is really crazy, man," Tommy told Triple M about the film. "And I'm grateful that the movie even got made, for one, and how Jeff Tremaine, the director, packed in years of mayhem into an hour and a half — whatever it was; close to two hours — into that amount of time. How he did that is beyond me. It's just fantastic — fucking fantastic." Earlier in the month, MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS announced the rescheduled dates for their "The Stadium Tour". "The Stadium Tour" was slated to kick off on June 18 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida and run through September 5 in Los Angeles. The bands reportedly also booked time at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville to rehearse for the tour. As of January 30, "The Stadium Tour" had already grossed $130 million from one million tickets sold, plus another $5 million worth of VIP seats, according to Billboard. Tickets ranged from $150 to $400, not counting some varied pricing that reflected demand as part of "dynamic pricing." When it happens, "The Stadium Tour" will mark the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.