Music industry journalist turned filmmaker Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous”) once made an MTV special 40 years ago with Tom Petty and a restored version of “Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party” is coming to Paramount+ next month. Paramount+ has released a trailer (See below) promoting the upcoming exclusive streaming debut of the special on March 11.
This special’s return next month should make folks nostalgic for the old version of MTV and seeing the late Tom Petty is expected to make fans emotional.
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Here is the MTV documentary’s official logline from Paramount:
“A fun, candid, fast-paced, and musically rich ride with America’s greatest rock & roll band, a time capsule of the dawn of the MTV era and a rare, shining glimpse into Tom Petty’s lasting creative genius. Featuring nearly 20 minutes of never-before-seen bonus content, including new commentary from Crowe himself, alongside in-depth interviews, electrifying live performances, and unprecedented intimate access to Petty and the band. Originally airing only once on MTV in February 1983, the tapes from Crowe’s directorial debut, were finally found in 2024, nearly 40 years after it became folklore to fans, musicians, and the entertainment industry at large. The highly anticipated film, restored from its original 16mm source, is an era-defining look at rock & roll that captures Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers as they finish, promote, and tour the groundbreaking ‘Long After Dark’ album, the band’s third and final project with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine.”
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“Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party” will premiere exclusively on the streaming service on Tuesday, March 11 in the U.S. and Canada and on Wednesday, March 12 in the UK, Australia, Latin America, France, Italy, and Germany.
MTV had been one of the biggest hubs on cable television for not only music videos (played regularly) but also journalism via in-depth interviews, news, charts updates, behind-the-scenes footage, concerts, documentaries, and specials used to be calling cards for the cultural landmark channel before ultimately pivoting toward a reality TV format and slowly winding down of their music coverage.
Making the 80s documentary widely available to a global audience for the first time since its original airing.