Sam Dunn (born 20 March 1974) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, musician, and anthropologist , best known for his series of documentaries on heavy metal music . He co-owns Toronto -based production company Banger Films with Scot McFadyen . Dunn holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Victoria and a master's degree from York University where his thesis work focused on Guatemalan refugees.
26-683: Dunn's first documentary film, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey , won a Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Documentary. His additional credits include the Grammy -nominated Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage and Super Duper Alice Cooper , winner of Best Feature-Length Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards . Dunn co-directed and hosted the biggest-ever TV series on the history of heavy metal, Metal Evolution , which reached #1 on VH1 Classic (USA) and M3 (Canada), and most-recently co-directed
52-541: A Los Angeles premiere at the Cinerama Dome on August 13, 2019, prior to the band's 50th anniversary tour. The documentary was released to home media on February 28, 2020, and Netflix shortly after. Dunn formerly played bass for the ska / funk band Fungkus; they disbanded in 2000. Dunn also formerly played bass for Toronto-based extreme metal band Burn to Black; they disbanded in November 2008. One of Sam Dunn's first bands
78-494: A loge section with stadium seating, architecturally significant floating stairways, and, at the time of its opening, the largest contoured motion-picture screen in the world, measuring 32 ft (9.8 m) high and 86 ft (26 m) wide, with a maximum aspect ratio of 2.69:1. The It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World premiere (filmed in Ultra Panavision 70 ) marked the dawn of "single lens" Cinerama. Previously, Cinerama
104-601: A multiplex or destroyed. At the same time, a small contingent of Cinerama enthusiasts had begun resurrecting the three-projector process. They and the preservationists prevailed upon Pacific to rethink its plans for the property. The preservation of the Cinerama Dome came at a time when most other surviving Cinerama theaters were being demolished. An example of this was the case of the Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska ,
130-665: A new film, titled Global Metal . In the film, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West’s most awesome musical genre – heavy metal – has impacted the world’s cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world’s emerging extreme music scenes — from Indonesian death metal to Israeli Oriental metal and Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal , etc. The film reveals
156-723: A two-year closure, the Cinerama Dome was reopened as a part of Pacific Theatres ' ArcLight Hollywood complex. The dome remains essentially unchanged, though there have been improvements, notably, in the acoustics. But for the first time ever, the Cinerama Dome began showing movies in the three-projector format. It is one of four known Cinerama theaters left in the world, the others include: Pictureville Cinema , Seattle Cinerama , The New Neon Cinema, and Cinerama restorationist and former Canadian broadcast engineer, Tom H. March's Calgary basement. The Cinerama Dome made its digital projection debut in May 2005 with Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of
182-448: A worldwide community of metalheads who are not just absorbing metal from the West – they are transforming it, and creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism. Dunn co-wrote and co-directed the 2009 documentary Iron Maiden: Flight 666 with Scot McFadyen . The film chronicles the band's 2008 tour in which a converted Boeing 757
208-577: Is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood , California . Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pacific Theatres . The Cinerama Dome continued as a leading first-run theater, most recently as part of the ArcLight Hollywood complex, until it closed temporarily in March 2020 due to
234-553: The COVID-19 pandemic in California . The ArcLight chain closed permanently in April 2021, with the theater never having reopened. In June 2022, it was announced that there were plans to reopen it and the former ArcLight Hollywood under a new name, Cinerama Hollywood. In February 1963, Cinerama Inc. unveiled a radically new design for theaters that would show its movies. They would be based on
260-725: The Emmy Awards given in the United States and the BAFTA Television Awards in the United Kingdom . First held in 1986 to replace the ACTRA Award , the ceremony celebrated Canadian television productions with awards in 87 categories, along with other special awards such as lifetime achievement awards. The Academy had previously presented the one-off Bijou Awards in 1981, inclusive of some television productions. The awards' name
286-680: The Netflix original series Hip-Hop Evolution which has been awarded a Peabody , an International Emmy , and a Canadian Screen Award . Dunn's first film, co-directed with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise, was released in 2005. The film follows Dunn on a journey to document the origins, culture and appeal of heavy metal. It also explores themes of heavy metal, such as violence, death, religion and Satanism , gender and sexuality. The documentary featured interviews with Geddy Lee of Rush and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden , whose bands Dunn would profile in later documentaries. Released in 2008, Sam directed
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#1732851441467312-469: The geodesic dome developed by R. Buckminster Fuller , would cost half as much as conventional theaters of comparable size, and could be built in half the time. Cinerama's goal was to see at least 600 built worldwide within two years. The following April, Pacific Theatres Inc. announced plans to build the first theater based upon the design, and had begun razing existing buildings at the construction site . Located on Sunset near Vine Street , it would be
338-455: The Cinerama Dome, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in the year, it was reported that a permit had been filed with provisions for a bar and restaurant. In June 2022, it was reported that Decurion Corp. had plans to reopen the theater under the name Cinerama Hollywood along with the adjoining fourteen-screen multiplex. There were also plans to include two bars and a restaurant at
364-512: The Sith . In 2009, James Cameron 's Avatar was the first 3D film to be shown in the Cinerama Dome, using technology from XpanD 3D . In December 2015, the Cinerama Dome upgraded to a laser-projection system, using two Christie 6P projectors and Dolby 3D . The venue is still capable of both 35mm and 70mm-film projection. In April 2021, the parent company of Pacific Theatres announced that it would not be reopening any of its locations, including
390-558: The addition of restaurants and event space. With its 86 feet (26 m) wide screen , advanced acoustics and 70mm film capability, the Cinerama Dome remained a favorite for film premieres and "event" showings. But by the late 1990s, the motion picture exhibition business began to favor multiplex cinemas, and Pacific Theatres proposed a plan to remodel the Dome as a part of a shopping mall/cinema complex. Historical preservationists were outraged, not wishing to see another great theater turned into
416-456: The construction of the Cinerama Dome in July 1963 at a star-studded, ground-breaking ceremony where Spencer Tracy , Buddy Hackett , Mickey Rooney , Dick Shawn , Edie Adams , and Dorothy Provine donned hard hats, and, with picks and shovels, began construction. Forman had committed to United Artists that the theatre would be ready for the November 7, 1963, world premiere of the first movie filmed in
442-508: The first new major motion-picture theater in Hollywood in 33 years and would be completed in time for the scheduled November 2 press premiere of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . The design was proposed by French architect Pierre Cabrol, lead designer in the noted architectural firm of Welton Becket and Associates . Pierre Cabrol worked with R. Buckminster Fuller during his studies at MIT . Pacific Theatres founder, William R. Forman, announced
468-399: The location. Three months later, it was reported that the theater would not be reopening until at least the latter part of 2023; however, in May 2023, it was reported that it was delayed once again to the latter part of 2024. In November 2023, the cinema's reopening was again delayed this time until the second quarter of 2025 due mostly in part to the redesign happening in the space including
494-498: The new 70mm , single-strip Cinerama process, Stanley Kramer 's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World . Working around the clock, the entire construction spanned only 16 weeks. The Cinerama Dome is the only concrete geodesic dome in the world. The theatre is made up of 316 individual hexagonal and pentagonal shapes in 16 different sizes. Each of these pieces is approximately 12 feet (3.7 metres) across and weighs around 7,500 pounds (3,400 kilograms). The theatre also has design elements such as
520-602: The statuette. In April 2012, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced that the Gemini Awards and the Genie Awards would be discontinued and replaced by a new award ceremony dedicated to all forms of Canadian media, including television, film, and digital media , dubbed the " Canadian Screen Awards ". The first annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on 4 March 2013. Cinerama Dome The Cinerama Dome
546-571: Was Dementia, in which he played bass. He also formed the progressive thrash metal band Scrape Chamber years later with Kelly Nordstrom. Dunn now occasionally plays bass for the Toronto band Machado and His Men. Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada 's English-language television industry . The Gemini Awards are analogous to
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#1732851441467572-470: Was an allusion to Castor and Pollux , a mythological pair of twins ; this was in reference to Canada's linguistic duality of English and French, with the Academy's separate awards presentation for French-language television production named the Gémeaux Awards . The statuette, designed by Toronto artist Scott Thornley, evoked twins through a design that essentially created two faces at the front and back of
598-451: Was flown from country to country by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson . In 2009 Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen started working on a documentary about Rush . The film premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 29, winning the festival's Audience Award. Dunn has produced the documentary series Metal Evolution for VH1 Classic on various metal genres. Its premiere
624-476: Was known for its groundbreaking three-projector process. From 1963 until 2002, the Cinerama Dome never showed movies with the three-projector process. (The nearby Warner Cinerama at 6433 Hollywood Boulevard used the three-projector process until December 1964.) A unique "rectified" print was made with increased anamorphic compression towards the sides, which compensated for distortions that would otherwise be induced by Cinerama's deeply curved screen. In 2002, after
650-592: Was on November 11, 2011, considered by many to be National Metal Day. Is a concert DVD, Blu-ray and double CD by Canadian hard rock band Rush released on November 8, 2011. It was filmed on April 15, 2011 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio during the band's Time Machine Tour . En Vivo! is a live/video album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Filmed during The Final Frontier World Tour at Estadio Nacional , Santiago , Chile on April 10, 2011, it
676-532: Was released on March 26, 2012 and March 27 in the United States and Canada. Released October 27, 2015, this movie examines the origins of Satan and his influence in popular culture. Dunn directed ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas , a profile of the Texas blues rock band ZZ Top , featuring interviews with vocalist/guitarist Billy Gibbons , bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill , and drummer Frank Beard . The film had
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