Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong had one clear idea when he approached director Lee Kirk about making a movie: the band should not be the main characters.
The result is Nimrods, billed as a Green Day comedy, which opens in theaters Friday. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the film follows three teenage friends who drive across the country after being pranked into believing their band will open a New Year's Eve show for Green Day. Armstrong, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt appear in small roles as themselves, taking the stage at the Hollywood Palladium for the finale.
Armstrong described the vision he had for the project at the Los Angeles premiere Wednesday. "I always wanted to have a movie that was like we were in the background of it and it's kind of based on the music conducting the whole narrative," he said. "I love like Rock 'n' Roll High School and movies like that that were kind of cult films but had a big impact on me growing up — like A Hard Day's Night, which actually starred The Beatles."
Kirk said he started building the film's story by interviewing the band about their real experiences on the road. "I thought, why doesn't the band have some crazy stuff happen to them that happened to Green Day in all their years driving around as a band?" Kirk explained. "And so I started quizzing them, they gave me all these crazy stories and I folded them into the movie. And then from there I just found all these little details of their lives and their story and they're all kind of easter eggs."
Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust star as the three road-tripping teens. The cast also includes McKenna Grace, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, Sean Gunn and Keen Ruffalo. Green Day's songs soundtrack much of the film.
Armstrong said a more traditional biographical film is not something he is interested in pursuing. Asked whether Green Day would ever want a conventional biopic treatment, he said, "That's not on my radar."
Nimrods is in theaters now.
