Premiere: Watch the Exclusive Movie Trailer for ‘As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM’
DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein, is perhaps best known in the mainstream for surviving an horrific plane crash alongside his friend and musical partner, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, in 2008, or for the on/off addiction battle that to led his tragic death less than a year later. A new Kevin Kerslake-directed documentary, As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM, unflinchingly explores Goldstein’s personal troubles, but it also puts the focus on his pioneering career as one of the very first superstar DJs. Yahoo Music is excited to premiere the full As I AM trailer here, ahead of the film’s theatrical release on May 27.
“There was only one AM, you know. He came in and just blew the roof off the club,” fellow superstar DJ and admirer Diplo tells Yahoo Music. Says Steve Aoki: “Where does AM sit in music history? Well, I’d say he is the most influential American DJ. The most influential DJ, period.”
“As I AM is not only the story of an artist who blazed a trail for others,” adds Kerslake, who got his start in the ‘90s directing iconic music videos for Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Mazzy Star, Filter, R.E.M., Green Day, Ride, Liz Phair, and Sonic Youth. “It does a deep dive on AM’s personal struggles, which are truly Shakespearian in dimension, and tells his story from the inside out, foot on the floor, exactly how he lived his life.”
“[DJ AM] found his place in the world, and how to deal with fame and use it as an opportunity to make the world better, to heal people who were going down the road that he had gone down. He was fighting the good fight. I looked up to him. I really did. I really thought he was impressive, not just because of his DJing, but what he was using it all for,” says AM’s friend Jon Favreau (who directed Iron Man 2, which featured a posthumous DJ AM cameo), referring to Goldstein’s crusade to help fellow addicts, as chronicled in the MTV reality show Gone Too Far.
As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM features interviews with Favreau, Diplo, and Aoki as well as Mark Ronson, DJ Jazzy Jeff, ATrak, Mix Master Mike, ZTrip, Paul Oakenfold, Redfoo, and Dr. Drew Pinsky. The film opens May 27 at Village East in New York and on June 3 at the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles.
