#NoJoke is the new documentary that follows the life of British singer-songwriter Andrew Cole, on his journey as a musician, he wrote and went to record an anti-bullying song.
The movie is set to be released on Oct. 22 via VOD services and features how Cole got Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Lemmy and others to contribute.
#NoJoke is the personal story of Cole during his childhood. He went on “about 20 schools,” where he got “always the weird guy or the newbie.” Telling bullies to back off, “What do you think, I’m a joke? Do I look like a joke to you?”
During countless encounters with bullies, he went on to write a song called “Joke” — “to make a difference to people who are being bullied right now,” and asked legends to help him record it.
A lot of legends joined him including actor Jeff Goldblum and rock legends such as Slash, Steve Vai; and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who even shared his story about being bullied during his seventh grade.
Other rock legends signed in as well, such as Osbourne, Meat Loaf, Patrick Stewart, Jane Lynch, Cedric the Entertainer, and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger.
“We have great respect for the artists who contributed to make this possible,” producer Jason Loftus said. “Frankly, at the outset no one knew who Andrew was, and there was really no reason for them to do so. We’re thankful that so many of them cared. Some were affected by bullying – as victims or as bullies themselves – and wanted people to know they’re not alone.”
He adds:
“We think it’s an ideal time for this conversation, and we thank the experts who participated in this project. We hope it will spark both personal reflection about how we treat each other, and discussion about how we best approach this issue together.”
Watch the trailer below: