Jack Osbourne need not proceed; Spheeris had Ozzy covered

Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack tells Rolling Stone that he's knee-deep in making a documentary about his father, citing -- in part -- displeasure at the portrayal of Ozzy in the MTV unscripted sitcom "The Osbournes."

"I'm trying to paint a realistic picture of who my father is. I think 'The Osbournes,' to a degree, tarnished the public's perception of my dad as a bit of a senile, funny, bumbling guy," the younger Osbourne told the magazine. "Yeah, my dad can be that guy, but it's not him."

But Jack need not bother proceeding.

There already exists a documentary that portrays Ozzy as human, warts and all, and it was filmed way back in the pre-"Osbournes" era of 1999. Too bad few may ever see it.

"We Sold Our Souls to Rock 'n' Roll," directed by Penelope Spheeris ("The Decline of Western Civilization"), remains a fascinating look at Ozzy, the music business and life as part of the traveling circus that used to be Ozzfest. (In 2008, Ozzfest was a single-date affair in Texas.)

The film has long been held up by what has been publicly reported as "music copyright issues," and news and information on Spheeris' doc are hard to come by. It lacks so much as a Wikipedia page; clips don't seem to exist on YouTube; and Spheeris said at a screening years back that she was allowed to show it only at film festivals at which she was present.

Today, Spheeris said, she's not even allowed to show the documentary at film festivals. When asked if "Sold Our Souls" may ever be released, Spheeris said, "I don't know. I think that's more a question for Sharon Osbourne." (Extended Play has put a call and e-mail out to reps for the Osbournes and is awaiting a response.)

Spheeris, who said the film's rights belonged with the Osbournes, said she spent 3 1/2 years filming and working on "Sold Our Souls," bits of which she said had surfaced in Ozzy-related TV and promotional specials. She said that a week before the movie was to be released, she received a call from a lawyer who said the music had not been cleared, as the bands performing on Ozzfest had not signed any agreements to be used in her documentary. 

Said the "Wayne's World" director, "The good news is that I became an expert on music clearance."

For a while, she hoped the film would eventually see the light of day, but today Spheeris seems resigned to the fact that it may never be shown in the form she intended.

"I woke up literally for a couple years and opened my eyes and tears just came streaming down.... [Sharon] basically asked me to stop showing. I'm not going to go up against Sharon," Spheeris said.

For "We Sold Our Souls," Spheeris' crew hit 28 cities on the Ozzfest trek and captured candid moments with Ozzy and family backstage and on flights. Because it's been about six years since I've seen it, I unfortunately have to refrain from providing specific details about the film, but I remember wanting to see it again, immediately, being taken by how Spheeris was able to balance the fandom with the machinery behind such a massive business endeavor.

Jack's certainly right, in that "The Osbournes" probably changed the public perception of his father and his family, turning them into a sort of live-action cartoon. But an honest portrait of his father already exists on film -- a shame few may ever get to see it.

When told that it's been reported that Jack is filming a documentary about Ozzy, Spheeris laughed and said, "If Jack uses part of my film in his movie, that's when I'm going to stand up and start screaming."

Photo: Getty Images