Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are often shrouded in secrecy, but the moguls are about to make several revelations in The Defiant Ones, a four-part HBO documentary about their successful partnership.
Directed by famed filmmaker Allen Hughes, whose credits include Menace II Society, The Book of Eli, and Dead Presidents, The Defiant Ones follows Dre and Iovine’s individual careers as well as their work together, both at Aftermath and at Beats Electronics, the company that they sold to Apple for a lucrative $3 billion sum.
Not only does the film feature in-depth Dre and Iovine interviews, but it also includes appearances by Bono, Nas, Ice Cube, Gwen Stefani, Trent Reznor, and Snoop Dogg. It was reportedly shot over the course of three years and includes never-before-seen footage from the icons’ archives.
Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming, is beaming about the forthcoming doc. “The Defiant Ones has everything you expect in a great story — drama and humor, tragedy and triumph,” he said. “Allen Hughes takes you on a journey through some of the most important flash points of popular culture, and I’m delighted that we can bring this unforgettable saga to our viewers.”
It’s already been described as “an unquestionably bold film about the unlikely but ultimately unbreakable bond of trust and friendship between two street-smart men from different worlds who have shaped many of the most exciting and extreme moments in recent pop culture.”
This does not appear to have any connection with Apple’s first scripted TV series “Vital Signs,” which Dre is set to star in.
The Defiant Ones is set to air next year.