BRUCE DICKINSON To Self-Publish 'Chemical Wedding' Book Tie-In

IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson and film director Julian Doyle ("Time Bandits", "Life of Brian") have opted to self-publish the book tie-in for their forthcoming "Chemical Wedding" motion picture. Written by Dickinson and Doyle, "Chemical Wedding" is an occult thriller starring Simon Callow inspired by the life of the infamous Edwardian mystic, Aleister Crowley. It will go on general release in UK cinemas on May 23.

"Chemical Wedding" will premiere at the London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film at the Apollo West End Cinema in London on May 4. The film will also be unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.

Dickinson, a trained pilot, is due to fly invited guests to Cannes on the band's own Boeing 757 jet for the premiere.

The film tie-in will be self-published by Dickinson and Doyle under the Matador self-publishing imprint to coincide with the film's release.

Dickinson, who has a small cameo role in the film, has stated that "On several levels, I think it will be nice for them [IRON MAIDEN fans] to see somebody from MAIDEN doing something else that gets the band's name out there and also potentially gets a bit of respect for heavy metal and all the rest of it.... But, in addition, I think they'll just enjoy it. It's a rollicking good story."

"My experience with stages is obviously IRON MAIDEN and that sort of stuff," Bruce said. "I've directed a few videos over the course of my rock 'n' roll past and I enjoyed them, I enjoyed directing videos. Writing movies a completely different thing. I wrote a couple of absurd comic novels that came out as well, and you know, they did OK actually. So, writing is something that's always sort of interested me, so this seemed like a good opportunity to learn the process, really."

Dickinson is not the first rocker to be inspired by Crowley, who died in 1947. LED ZEPPELIN guitarist Jimmy Page was a big collector of Crowley's writings and even bought his Scottish estate. OZZY OSBOURNE, meanwhile, eulogized him in the song "Mr. Crowley".

Reuters last year posted a five-minute interview with Bruce Dickinson about "Chemical Wedding". The video, which includes footage from the "Chemical Wedding" movie set, can be viewed at this location (click on "Iron Maiden front man's film gets underway" to launch video). The entire video can be downloaded at this location.

Film synopsis: At Cambridge University a groundbreaking experiment integrates the human brain with a super-computer using a state-of-the art "interactive suit." One of the Cambridge boffins is an obsessive follower of the turn-of- the-century occult leader, Aleister Crowley, and has reduced Crowley's rituals to a series of equations and entered them in to the system. Bumbling academic Professor Haddo (Simon Callow) is the willing volunteer, desperate to get inside the mind of the long-dead Crowley. The computer feeds directly into Haddo's brain, transforming him from a shy and stuttering academic into the charismatic but sexually depraved Crowley who wreaks havoc around the Cambridge campus. Haddo believes himself to be the reincarnation of Crowley and as he plays out Crowley's rituals, his associates realize he has knowledge that only the real Crowley could have. Could this be Aleister Crowley reincarnated, and if so, how do they send him back to the hell from which he came?

View a trailer for the film below.