EXCLUSIVE: Alliance Films Picks Up Theatrical Rights to 'Satan' Documentary

Heavy metal chroniclers to probe the Prince of Darkness' role in popular culture.

TORONTO -- The Devil made them do it: Canadian filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn are set to shoot Satan, a feature length documentary about the Prince of Darkness for Alliance Films.

Fresh from a Grammy nomination for their latest theatrical documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, McFadyen and Dunn are also returning to their roots in chronicling the hard rock/heavy metal music genre with the TV series Metal Evolution: The Series for VH1 and CTV.

At the same time, with heavy metal music long linked to Satanism, the Canadian duo will also stay in the theatrical world with a close-up of Beelzebub from Banger Films, their production shingle.

With more than a quarter of Americans believing the Devil is real, the Canadian documentary aims to explore the historical origins and transformation of Satan as a symbol of evil, and his significance in contemporary art and popular culture. No word on whether the Canadian documentary is part of Satan’s plan, but Tricon Films & Television, which handled Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, have snapped up the international TV rights to Banger Films’ latest theatrical film.

The critically-acclaimed doc about Rush, the iconic Canadian rock band, has also prompted calls from music acts like Alice Cooper and Aerosmith to have their stories similarly told on the big screen by the Canadian filmmakers.

Tricon is also distributing Banger’s Metal Evolution: The Series, which is slated to hit VH1 Classics in spring 2011. The 11-part one hour series will build on McFadyen and Dunn’s debut documentary, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, in portraying the history and myths about heavy metal, complete with interviews with around 200 artists.