The official Judas Priest documentary, “The Ballad Of Judas Priest,” recently made its North American debut at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto. Following the screening on Sunday, April 26, co-director Sam Dunn participated in a Q&A session, offering insights into the production of the film.
One of the major topics discussed was the decision to include former guitarist K.K. Downing. Sam Dunn, who co-directed the project with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, explained the hurdles they faced in getting the estranged musician on board.
“The big one for Tom was getting K.K. Downing involved. It was tricky at first attempt, because, obviously, he’s not in the band [anymore],” Sam Dunn stated, according to Now Toronto. “There’s still some animosity there, and, genuinely, it took some work to get K.K. on board. Frankly, I don’t know if Morello, if he hadn’t have been there, it might have been a much, much bigger challenge. Tom Morello‘s a massive fan of the band, a big fan of K.K.‘s playing, so he really connected with K.K. and got him over the line. So, that’s a whole other story that wasn’t in the film.”
He further elaborated on the cautious approach required due to the ongoing rift between the guitarist and his former bandmates.
“There’s still outstanding legal issues with K.K. and the band. This is the honest answer,” he continued. “And, so there’s a lot of caution exercised on both sides around what got said. We had to move through it without digging into all the details because it’s still fresh, still raw.”
Sam Dunn was also asked if the production team approached former singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, who fronted the band from 1996 to 2003 during Rob Halford‘s absence. The director confirmed that the singer was not asked to participate, citing the difficulty of condensing a 50-year career into a single feature film.
“No. Controversial response, Judas Priest fans. Again, so much story,” he explained. “We wanted to obviously reference Tim, but it’s tricky. Not to get in the weeds, but in a story of this scale, when you’re into the second, third, or third quarter of the story, it’s like what to [include] and what not to [include] become big questions. The exploding heart, [Priest guitarist] Richie Faulkner‘s heart exploded on stage [in 2021], and he almost died. We were, like, ‘Okay, that’s pretty interesting, pretty dramatic, but no.'”
Downing famously left the British heavy metal institution in 2011, citing mismanagement and declining live performance quality, and was subsequently replaced by Richie Faulkner. The split turned deeply acrimonious, fueled by a scorching second resignation letter and later comments in his 2018 autobiography. The tension culminated in Downing being passed over when Tipton stepped back from touring duties. However, the ice thawed briefly in 2022 when Downing joined his former bandmates on stage for a three-song medley during their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
“The Ballad Of Judas Priest” celebrated its world premiere earlier this year at the 76th Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival in February.
Produced by Banger Films, the documentary features Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn as producers. Executive producers include Tom Morello, Rick Krim, Sheila Stepanek, and Jayne Andrews. Representing Sony Music Vision, Tom Mackay, Krista Wegener, and Abby Davis also serve as executive producers, alongside Sylvia Rhone for Epic Records. The film is presented and distributed by Sony Music Vision.
