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Huge film about Ozzy Osbourne’s life ‘on the way’ – and son Jack vows it will be ‘raw’ and ‘not pull any punches’
FANS might never see Ozzy on stage again – but his son Jack has promised that a big-screen biopic about the rock legend’s life is not far off.
Speaking ahead of his dad’s farewell show, Jack said: “We have the film on the way. We have a lot of good momentum on the Ozzy biopic.
“We have a director attached now, and the script is done, and Sony Studios is going to be producing it.
“It is about to go through a script rewrite.
“It’s going to be raw.
“We are not pulling any punches, we are really laying it all out.”
Jack revealed a top team is working on the film, adding: “The director is absolutely phenomenal.
“I can’t say who he is, but we are very lucky to have him and he is a die-hard fan.
“If the evil overlords of Hollywood give us the green light, we could be filming in the spring, so maybe it will be out by the summer of 2027.”
Hailing his dad’s incredible 55-year career, Jack said: “His contribution to music is bigger than his faults.
“This whole weekend has been emotional.”
Jack also paid tribute to Ozzy and his struggles following a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019, saying: “He has become a source of inspiration for a lot of people with this disease.
“He is an incredible man.”
I’ll say.
Ozzy’s epic farewell show wows 40k fans
★★★★★
IT was the day heavy metal royalty returned to the Midlands – and fans welcomed back Brum’s No1 son, Ozzy Osbourne, with open arms.
“Put your f***ing hands up,” roared the Prince of Darkness as his bat-throne rose through the floor of the stage.
Black Sabbath’s epic Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham’s Villa Park was a remarkable return to form for Ozzy.
The last time I saw him in person was when he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for the second time in Cleveland, Ohio, last October. And back then, he was struggling with his health.
But clearly the thought of playing with his peers to a huge crowd of devoted metalheads — with another 5.8million watching Saturday’s live stream at home — spurred him on.
Armed with a spray for his throat and eyeliner so thick Claudia Winkleman would be jealous, Ozzy worked his way through a 20-minute solo set, before returning to perform alongside his original Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler for the final time.
Ozzy’s set was born out of his Eighties solo hits, with Mr Crowley leaving him visibly emotional as he heard the 40,000-strong crowd chanting his name.
“It’s so good to be on this f***ing stage,” Ozzy told us.
“I don’t know what to say.
“I’ve been laid up for six years.
“You have no idea how I feel.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Ozzy — who has sold more than 70million records worldwide with Sabbath — may have remained on his throne throughout, but it didn’t mean he’s lost his natural showmanship.
He pulled faces for the crowd, clapped his hands above his head and gleefully pulled the trigger on a powerful water jet, which drenched front row fans who had held their positions for eight hours to get the best view of the performers.
“Go f***ing crazy for me!” Ozzy bellowed, before singing Crazy Train — with the entire stadium getting to their feet.
“That is the best thing I’ve ever done,” Ozzy told us, before he was whisked away to prepare for his last ever set with Sabbath.
This show was the first time the heavy metal pioneers had performed together since 2017.
But they have a magic the sands of time can’t dull — and fans went nuts for War Pigs, N.I.B., Iron Man and Paranoid.
The poignancy of this final show was not lost on anyone.
And I watched grown men and women wipe away tears when fireworks lit up the sky over the stadium.
As Anthrax’s frontman John Bush put it, while joining acts including Metallica, Guns n’ Roses and Slayer in performing tributes to Ozzy during their killer sets: “All of us in this stadium plays for one f***ing reason.
“And that’s to celebrate the music Black Sabbath gave us.
“We’re not here to say goodbye.
“We’re here to say thank you.”
OZZY’S band have been awarded the Freedom of Birmingham, with the tourist board declaring this the “Summer of Sabbath”.
And wandering through the city at the weekend, there were tributes everywhere.
Outside New Street train station a huge 36m mural has been painted of the band, while fans flocked to the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street for pictures.
If you’re in town and haven’t caught the mural yet, it’s quite a sight.
Ozzy’s son Jack told me: “It has been insane to be here.
“Every street I’ve gone down it was Ozzy and Sabbath everywhere.”
SHE is the business mastermind behind Ozzy’s epic career and has stuck by him through thick and thin over the decades.
But now Sharon Osbourne has revealed she’s ready to take a step back.
She said: “I’ve been doing this since I was 15, and I’m done.
“We just want to live our life and do what we want to do and not have to follow an itinerary any more.”
Of the reunion, Sharon added: “This is what we thought would be the best way to do it.
“It’s a celebration of Ozzy and Sabbath and the music.”
LZZY HALE proved punk can be pretty as she rocked out with her band Halestorm.
In a laced-up leotard, leather gloves and thigh-high boots, she belted out Ozzy’s hit Perry Mason with her US band.
Then the stunning strummer was back alongside Faith No More’s Mike Bordin, guitar whizz Nuno Bettencourt, ex-Megadeath bassist David Ellefson, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and one-time Ozzy bandmate, Jake E Lee for a rendition of The Ultimate Sin.
They were just one of the supergroups put together by US rocker Tom Morello to honour legend Ozzy on the day.
Luckily Lzzy could more than hold her own.
DOCU WITH SERIOUS BITE
CELEBRATIONS included a world film premiere of The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne, at Birmingham’s Millennium Point on Friday.
In the documentary, which is available now on Prime, Ozzy opens up about the now-infamous time, at a 1982 concert in Iowa, when he unwittingly bit the head off a dead bat.
He said: “People would once throw sheep testicles at me, live snakes and dead rats on stage.
“Someone threw a frog and it was the biggest one I have ever seen.
“And someone threw a bat.
“I thought it was a rubber bat and crunched down and realised it was real.
“Bats are the biggest carriers of rabies in the world and I had to go to hospital and get my rabies shots.”
Blud’s up for salute
A SURPRISE appearance from punk rocker Yungblud, who came out on stage to pay tribute to Ozzy, stole the show.
The metalheads in the crowd may not have known his music before but I bet they’ll be looking him up today after his incredible rendition of Sabbath’s 1972 hit Changes.
Yungblud’s vocals were outstanding and the passion in his performance stopped the 40,000-strong crowd in their tracks – with the whole stadium singing along with him.
“God bless Black Sabbath and God bless Ozzy Osbourne,” Yungblud said before he left the stage.
Yungblud’s short but sweet appearance was one of the highlights of the night – with Steven Tyler and Ronnie Wood’s performances also going down a storm.
‘YOU’RE KNOT FOR KELLY’
CONGRATS to Ozzy’s girl KELLY and her fella SID WILSON, who topped a tremendous day by getting engaged.
Kelly has two-year-old son, Sidney, with the SLIPKNOT DJ, and now they’re making it official.
She shared a video online of the cute moment Sid popped the question, and wrote: “Oh and this happened yesterday!”
In the tape, Sid gets down on one knee and says: “Kelly, you know I love you more than anything else in the world.”
Ozzy then jokes : “F**k off, you’re not marrying my daughter!”
The week in bizness
TODAY: Billie Eilish brings her Hit Me Hard And Soft tour to the UK for two nights at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, with 12 further concerts in London, Manchester and Dublin.
TOMORROW: Kendrick Lamar and SZA begin the UK leg of their Grand National tour at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, ahead of dates in Birmingham, Cardiff and London.
THURSDAY: A newly imagined musical version of Burlesque opens in London’s West End, with The Voice Kids champ Jess Folley – now all grown up – taking the lead role of Ali.
FRIDAY: Superman, starring David Corenswet, is sure to top the box office as it hits cinemas nationwide.
