Billie Eilish Wants Fans to ‘Scream All the Lyrics’ in Theaters at 3D Doc

Director James Cameron has summoned some of the most magical scenes in cinema history in his long list of blockbuster films from Titanic to Avatar. And though it was a highly technical shoot using a variety of cleverly concealed 3D cameras, the movie legend said his job while filming Billie Eiilsh — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) was to simply “bottle” the same feeling the singer’s fans get at her shows for moviegoing audiences.

“If you go see this movie, it’s like the equivalent of going to the show, except I’m not there, but I am there,” Eilish added in an interview with Fandango promoting the film that hits theaters on May 8, which was co-directed by the three-time Oscar-winner and Eilish. The result captures the energy and explosive visuals of Eilish’s tour in support of her third album, 2024’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, with Cameron saying that his pitch was to shoot in 3D so fans would feel like they were on stage with Eilish during the concert and on the day of the show.

Initially, Eilish, 24, said she was not sold on the behind-the-scenes portion of it because of her experience filming the previous doc, 2021’s Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, as a teenager. “The original idea was just a concert film, and honestly, just hearing the way that Jim talked about the way he saw it … and the way it was impactful — you know, I’m me, so I was experiencing my own version of my tour — and I didn’t know it had that impact,” said Eilish about how the director won her over to his more expansive vision.

And so, Eilish did a 180 and agreed to include some of her real life in between concert footage, as well as allowing a Steadicam operator to follow her with a special small 3D camera as she raced around the stage to give viewers a sense that they are really there with Eilish, as well as looking over her shoulder at the adoring crowds.

The unprecedented scale of the 17-camera shoot that captured the singer from every imaginable angle has Eilish feeling confident that watching in theaters will be “pretty similar” to going to see her in person, a boon for anyone who wasn’t able to catch the tour in person. And, knowing that, like her, her fans like to have a good time, the singer encouraged them to sing and scream all the lyrics in theaters. Plus, she added with a smile, if her past album streaming events are any indication, she wouldn’t be mad if they moshed a little bit too.

With a 29-song setlist, Cameron said he had to find the right balance of the audience “being a partner and a character in the film,” with Eilish helping him in the cutting room to make sure they struck a balance of spotlighting fans and pulling back to zoom in on the “clarity and perfection” of the singer’s performance. Eilish laughed that she had one simple, repeated request throughout the editing process: “louder fans, fans, louder.”

Selfishly, the singer added that the fact that she will have this movie to watch forever is one thing, but being able to brag about working with a maestro like Cameron is something she will hold in her heart forever.

Check out Cameron and Eilish talking about the making of the movie below.