A sneak preview of Canuck metal legends ANVIL on VH1's That Metal Show can be viewed at this location.

Toronto’s favourite sons of rock return in triumph to the city they love after an unforgettable year on the road performing and presenting screenings of the award-winning feature documentary by Sacha Gervasi Anvil! The Story of Anvil - opening at the AMC Dundas Square Cinemas on Friday, April 3rd.

The success of Anvil! The Story of Anvil at festivals around the world has re-introduced the band to its legions of fans, introduced Anvil to new fans and re-charged Anvil’s career.

On Saturday, March 14th, before the commercial opening of Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the band was honoured as the 2009 inductees into the Indies Hall of Fame, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, as part of the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards at Canadian Music Week (CMW), Toronto.

After a smashing World Premiere at Sundance and Canadian Premiere at Hot Docs in 2008 Anvil! The Story of Anvil continued to find friends, and delight critics and audiences at festivals around the world racking up awards including Best Documentary Feature at the Galway, Calgary and Edmonton film festivals and being honoured with Audience Awards at the Los Angeles and Sydney Film Festivals. The film was also a nominee at this year’s prestigious Independent Spirit Awards.

Keanu Reeves, a long time fan of Anvil will host the LA Premiere of Anvil! The Story of Anvil at the Egyptian Theatre on April 7 and the band will perform at the NYC Premiere Party of the film at The Blender Theatre on April 6. The film will open in LA and NYC on Friday, April 10.

At 14, Toronto school friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it.

Their band, Anvil, went on to become the “demigods of Canadian metal,” releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982’s Metal On Metal. The album influenced a musical generation, including METALLICA, SLAYER and ANTHRAX, that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil’s career took a different path – straight to obscurity.

Director Sacha Gervasi (writer of The Terminal) has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil’s last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. His ingenious filmmaking may first lead you to think this is a mockumentary, but it isn’t. Gervasi joined the legendary heavy-metal band as a roadie for a tour of Canadian hockey arenas back in the eighties, so he has intimate insight into the members’ eccentricities. It’s fascinating to see the reality of their day-to-day lives as they struggle to make ends meet, take a misguided European tour, and engage in antics on the road – which is not always lined with fans. Gervasi even finds a softer centre to this raucous film, introducing us to band members’ ever supportive, but long-suffering families.

At its core, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a timeless tale of survival, brotherhood and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year. Anvil rocks – it has no other choice.

Filmmaker Sacha Gervasi’s connection to Anvil goes back to the 80’s. After meeting the legendary band at London’s Marquee club, Sacha joined the band as a roadie for a tour of Canadian hockey arenas in ’83, continuing with two more tours. Sacha went on to work with British Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, at the Arvon Writing Foundation, the charity Hughes started with Sylvia Plath. After attending a graduate screenwriting program at UCLA and writing for such publications as Punch, The Observer and The London Sunday Times, Gervasi pursued a successful career as a screenwriter with credits including “The Big Tease” (co-written w Craig Ferguson) and “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks and produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. He has since written projects for Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves. As the last journalist to interview Herve Villechaize, 6 days before his suicide, Gervasi’s next project as writer and director is the true story of Herve Villechaize’s last week alive starring Peter Dinklage.

Additional Openings across Canada

April 17: Montreal - Cinema du Parc

May 1: Vancouver - Granville Cinemas

May 1: Winnipeg - Landmark Towne 8

May 8: Calgary - Landmark Globe Cinema

May 29: Ottawa - Mayfair Cinema

June 5: Edmonton - Metro Cinema

June 13: Saskatoon - Broadway Theatre