Lemmy Gave Documentary Directors Almost Unlimited Access

When 'Lemmy' makes its debut on Tuesday,March 16 at the SXSW festival, it will be the culmination of three years of work for co-directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski. The documentary about the iconic Motörhead frontman spanned continents, with everyone from Dave Grohl to Billy Bob Thornton offering testimonials and sharing anecdotes with and about Lemmy Kilmister. But none of it would have happened if the film's subject didn't want it to.

"He let us in and accepted us right off the bat," Orshoski tells Noisecreep. "Management had told us that there were four or five people who had tried to do the same thing over the previous two years, and each one of those people were shot down. Honestly, I'm not sure what it was about us that he liked, [but] the night that he gave us the green light, we met at the Rainbow to discuss business -- the three of us, plus management. We spoke about five minutes of business and just hung out drinking and eating pizza for four hours. When Lem excused himself, his manager, Todd Singerman, said that that was the longest he's ever sat in a business meeting."

And once the filming started, the directors say they had almost unlimited access to Kilmister. "He was absolutely gracious with the access he gave us," Olliver says. "There were definitely times he would tell us to screw off with the cameras, and of course we were hurt or angry at that time, but when you stop to think about it, it must absolutely suck to have two guys like us following him around with cameras asking questions. I would hate it ... I give Lemmy big props for tolerating us!"

'Lemmy' makes its world premiere on Monday, March 15 during South by Southwest at the Paramount Theater at 6:45 PM. It will be followed by a Q&A with Lemmy, Olliver and Orshoski. There will be a repeat screening on Friday, March 19 at 9:15 PM at the Paramount Theater, followed by another Q&A with the filmmakers and Lemmy.