The two big projects of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne: NFTs and a Biopic
The fever for biopics about music stars has made the Mecca of cinema focus now on one of the longest-lived rock marriages, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, who will soon have their film based on the sentimental relationship they have had for almost four decades. The project still has no title, but it is known that Sharon and two of the three children she has with her husband, Jack, and Aimée, will act as producers and that the soundtrack will include, of course, several songs by the band Black Sabbath in which Ozzy began his career in the 60s.
The couple's love story is far from a fairy tale, as their fans are well aware. Over the years, they have gone through countless crises, often motivated by the singer's addiction problems, and were even on the verge of divorce in 2016 after it came to light that the rocker had been living for months an extramarital affair with stylist Michelle Pough, the latest in a long list of mistresses. Sharon herself had also acknowledged that she came to fear for her life during a night in 1989 when Ozzy was drugged and informed her with a terrifying calmness that he had decided she must die before proceeding to strangle her. However, luckily, she could press the panic button they had in their mansion in time to alert the police.
"Our relationship was often wild, crazy, and dangerous, but our unconditional love was what kept us together," she has now assured in a public statement.
Ozzy Osbourne has announced his first NFT (nonfungible tokens) with the upcoming Cryptobatz collection. Ozzy Osbourne, frontman of the well-known heavy metal band Black Sabbath and owner of an extensive solo career, is joining the world of nonfungible tokens, NFT, and launching his line. Known as the "godfather" of heavy metal and the "Prince of Darkness," Osbourne is ranked eighth on Hit Parader magazine's list of metal's top vocalists. The 73-year-old musician also gained notoriety for starring in a reality show with his family.
What happened at the iconic Ozzy Osbourne concert in 1982?
Considered as an urban rock myth, the truth is that the event occurred in 1982, during a concert in Iowa when a fan threw the inert body of a winged mammal on stage. The former Black Sabbath, accustomed to excesses, thought it was rubber and bit it. In more than 60 years of history, the Veteran Memorial Auditorium in Iowa, possibly the night of January 20, 1982, is memorable. During a concert, Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat. Over the years, the event became anecdotes in rock history that often wander between myth and truth.
The truth is that in those days, the former Black Sabbath vocalist was in the middle of a promotional tour for his second solo album, Diary of a madman (1981). At that time, the Englishman already had a history of acts that were considered eccentric, such as the time he bit not one but two live pigeons during a meeting with CBS record executives in Los Angeles. Perhaps because of this background, Mark Neal, a fan of the "Prince of Darkness," attended the night of the concert in Iowa with a bat hidden in his jacket. According to the local Des Moines Register website, the mammal had been captured by his younger brother at school, and then he took it home. After learning that Osbourne would be giving a concert in their town, he and his friends decided to take the animal he claims was already dead.
Rolling Stone reports that Ozzy will release a collection of 9,666 unique NFT bats in January 2022, as a nod to the fondly remembered moment when he bit off the head of a bat during a 1982 performance in Des Moines, Iowa (USA). The artist is joining the NFT fashion trend and will launch the "Cryptobatz" token collection in January, Rolling Stone magazine reported. The group, which Osbourne created by himself and announced in a Twitter post, will comprise 9,666 nonfungible tokens of unique bats, to remember a concert in which he tried to bite one of these flying mammals and ended up hospitalized himself.
The new collection will be available for purchase next month and, according to an official statement, "each Cryptobat will give collectors a unique opportunity to birth an additional NFT; activating a feature that will allow their purchase to 'bite' and mutate with another NFT in their digital wallet." Known as "MutantBatz," this pioneering feature "will allow owners to combine the attributes of two separate projects, making 'MutantBatz' a rare offering for NFT collectors. So far, companies such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, SupDucks, Cryptotoadz, and a fourth mystery name have teamed up to combine NFTs as part of the project."
The presale for the project is now open through the CryptoBatz discord channel, while another 2,500 guaranteed passes for the CryptoBat presale will be available exclusively through the same track.
Cryptobatz pays tribute to one of Ozzy's most iconic onstage moments.
"I've been trying to get in on the NFT action for a while, so when I asked Sharon for a Bored Ape for Christmas after several failed attempts to buy mine, and she said no, I decided to create my own," Ozzy says in a statement. "CryptoBatz is a mental project for NFT collectors and fans. The design pays homage to one of my most iconic moments on stage and is an opportunity to acquire a rare piece of art history. I love it."
Successful applicants will also mint up to three CryptoBatz per digital wallet, while public minting will open in early February.
In addition to the new NFT range, Osbourne will launch AncientBatz, a treasure hunt for CryptoBatz holders to see virtual Batz scattered around the world in hidden locations. Subsequently, each AncientBat will be able to bite up to 100 times, unlike its CryptoBatz cousin, giving them unrivaled power to breed 100 MutantBatz.