Story by Jordan West
Purple Carpet Photos by Joe Schaeffer
For the release of the film that documents the late Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance, a gala premiere was held at the majestic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, and I was lucky enough to attend. Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning celebrates the last wishes of the late singer, and his desire to perform for an audience in his hometown of Birmingham UK, along with the original members of his band Black Sabbath and a host of friends. The concert, which took place on July 5, 2025, at Villa Park in Birmingham, sold out in minutes, and was a fitting farewell for the singer, who passed away just weeks later, on July 22.
The film has been directed for screen by Ben Wainwright-Pearce (Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, George Michael: The Faith Tour), with the live concert directed by Tim van Someren, and produced by Jim Parsons, Jamie Silk, and Dan Seliger. It has been crafted specifically for cinematic presentation, designed to immerse audiences in both the scale of the stadium production and the intimacy of the final performance. Presented in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound, the film has been engineered to deliver a fully immersive audio-visual experience, bringing audiences into the heart of the performance with unprecedented clarity and power.
A pre-screening “Purple Carpet” event brought out many of the featured players, led by Ozzy’s wife Sharon Osbourne and her family, and included Black Sabbath members Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, as well as many of the artists who played at the show. Others who walked the carpet included Kiss founder Gene Simmons and his wife, Shannon Tweed, producer Andrew Watt, guitarists Slash and Jake E. Lee, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and his family, and well as members of Armored Saint and Quiet Riot, among many more.
I was herded into the Broadway Bar, which adjoins the Orpheum Theatre for a gala VIP pre-party with an open bar and hors d’oeuvres, and chatted with many members of the rock community, including a host of my fellow music media friends and many of the musical acts who had performed in Birmingham, such as the members of Halestorm, drummer Chad Smith, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez, Geezer Butler, and many others. It seemed like every publicist and writer that I know was there, as well as a ton of photographers and fellow music related journalists.
I spoke with Jack Osbourne for a bit and I asked him, being a film maker himself, who produced the wonderful 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne about his father, if he was involved in this film’s production. He told me that with Ozzy &Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning, he had a “hands off” approach.
“I trusted the film’s producers, and let them do what they do,” he told me, “But, of course, my family and I had final approval.”
He was very pleased with the results. He and Sharon greeted the crowd onstage before the film began, and thanked all for coming, and gave props to all that were involved in its making.
That said, the film is outstanding. For most of us, who were not fortunate to be in Birmingham that day, fear not. The film makers truly make you feel as if you were there, taking part in the festivities. Various camera angles, from the audience’s point of view and onstage, bring the experience directly to your senses. The editing of an 11-hour event to bring to a two-hour film must have been incredibly painstaking, and was done with exceptional care.
There were many moments in the film that caught Ozzy Osbourne at just the right time. Smirking at something that was said onstage, giving the finger to a photographer, sharing a laugh with his bandmate Tony Iommi, his expressive face and mannerisms of joy in his “happy place” are captured for all to see.
The filmmakers showed all the onstage action, and edited it without any drastic cuts in performance, and even spliced in some older footage at times. The show itself was hosted by actor Jason Momoa with Tom Morello serving as Musical Director for Back To The Beginning.
The event included sets from Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Gojira, Guns N Roses, Halestorm, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Metallica, Pantera, Rival Sons, Slayer, and Tool, along with all-star segments with special guests Adam Wakeman, Andrew Watt, Billy Corgan, Chad Smith, David Draiman, David Ellefson, Jake E. Lee, KK Downing, Mike Bordin, Nuno Bettencourt, Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Ronnie Wood, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Sleep Token II, Steven Tyler, Travis Barker, Vernon Reid, Whitfield Crane, and Yungblud. Bravo to Tom Morello, for assembling this cast and really choosing the right musicians for the right songs, which must have been a huge chore.
Watching this film was quite an experience as well. I can’t recall ever watching a concert film in a theater, where the audience sang, yelled, and applauded every song like it was an actual live performance. I have been to many concerts at the Orpheum, and this screening audience, which included many of the people that were onscreen, was as loud as any show that I have attended. It was as if we were all included in the film.
Credit the great film makers and production team for that. The fact that Ozzy is and was such a beloved icon, it was natural to feel his presence and see his last wishes brought so lovingly to a screen for all to see.
Purple Carpet Photos
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