Bon Jovi is finally telling their story in the new Hulu docuseries 'Thank You, Goodnight.' Band members Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres, as well as director Gotham Chopra, spoke to THR's Tiffany Taylor all about the project. Jon Bon Jovi and Torres revealed what it was like reliving their 40-year career while watching the docuseries, as well as the "magic" of good songwriting that has made acts like their band and Taylor Swift massively successfully. Plus, Chopra revealed what Jon Bon Jovi has in common with sports legend Tom Brady, who he also made a documentary about, and shared how he convinced Richie Sambora to be featured in the docuseries after the guitarist left Bon Jovi in 2013. 'Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story' hits Hulu on Friday, April 26.
00:00I know what songs like Living on a Prayer or It's My Life have meant to people over the years.
00:05I know what so many of those songs have meant to people.
00:11And I get it because I know what songs mean to me.
00:15Bon Jovi is finally telling their story in the new Hulu docuseries Thank You, Good Night.
00:20Band members John Bon Jovi and Tico Torres, as well as director Gotham Chopra,
00:24spoke to The Hollywood Reporter all about the project.
00:27The series, timed to the 40th anniversary of the band releasing their first album,
00:31juxtaposes Jon Bon Jovi working through a vocal injury over the past few years
00:35with footage chronicling the band's rise to fame.
00:38What really stood out to me is how I felt like you're essentially the same guy.
00:42You still have that drive, that determination that's never really left you.
00:46What was your takeaway from watching that?
00:48I was certainly single-mindedly focused.
00:52And I think a lot of that had to do with passion and desire, sure.
00:55But a lot of it had to do with being so young.
00:59So, you know, that kind of focus was not unusual.
01:04I guess what differentiated me is I wasn't ever the best singer,
01:09the best guitar player, the best songwriter.
01:11But I tell you what I was the best at, hard work.
01:15You know, I was not afraid of working eight days a week to make it work.
01:19Tico, when you watched the docuseries for the first time, how did it make you feel?
01:24Old.
01:28It's, you know, again, you can see yourself grow up on camera.
01:31And Jon hit it on the head.
01:33I mean, his drive, all our drives as individuals, that there's an effervescence.
01:38It's like that club soda's got lots of bubbles.
01:41You know, and that was us at the time.
01:43One thing you can't be in this world is a quitter.
01:47So there's no way we're going to slow down.
01:49Chopra, who's also directed documentaries on sports stars like Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady,
01:54weighed in on how Jon Bon Jovi and the band have stayed true to their roots while achieving four decades of success.
02:00He loves to wear that shirt on tour, New Jersey versus everybody.
02:04You know, it's like, that's like him.
02:06He's like New Jersey strong.
02:07And yeah, he's gone on, he's at Homes in Palm Beach and East Hampton and all this, you know.
02:14But he's still this sort of blue-collar kid from New Jersey.
02:18I think that's the chip he carries on his shoulder.
02:20And again, this is very similar.
02:22I'm, you know, super close to Tom.
02:24Tom, in his mind, was always the 199th pick, the sixth-round guy who every team passed on.
02:30I do think that sense of, you know, work ethic is really like the secret sauce.
02:35Some of the songs I wrote in my bedroom in New Jersey, I remember the day we wrote in a prayer, not thinking much of the song.
02:43What also stuck out to me while watching the docuseries is how, for you, from the beginning, you understood the importance of songwriting.
02:50And you're like, we got to write a good song.
02:52And it reminded me of a pop artist who's very big today, Taylor Swift.
02:56For her, it all comes down to writing good songs.
02:59And her fans, like your fans, are so about the songs, you know, no matter how many years later.
03:04Your songs are your story.
03:07And I think the same thing can be said about someone like Taylor Swift's songs.
03:13These are her stories.
03:15And when they ring true to her, chances are those stories will resonate with someone else who will make those stories their own.
03:24And so that, to me, is the magic of songwriting.
03:28What can your fans expect from your new music you have coming out this summer?
03:31We have a new record.
03:33The first single is called Legendary, and it's out now.
03:35And it's actually exploding on the charts, which is just fabulous to have a hit single 40 years into a career.
03:43But again, because it rings true, it makes perfect sense that people are going to make that chorus their own lives.
03:52And here we are writing about us and how I'm finding joy again for the first time in 10 years, post-surgery and post-COVID and post-Ritchie leaving the band.
04:02When it comes from that pure place, people gravitate towards those songs.
04:06Richie Sambora, who left the band in 2013, was also interviewed for the docuseries.
04:11Was there ever a question as to whether or not Richie would be involved in the docuseries?
04:15There wasn't any question, like, that we wanted him to be involved.
04:20I wanted him.
04:21John wanted him.
04:22The question was, like, will he want to be part of it?
04:26And will we be able to get him?
04:28And that ended up surprisingly not as difficult, maybe, as I envisioned.
04:33Because, you know, John and him are still in touch and they still correspond.
04:37And I think maybe through this process they got more in touch with each other than they had been in a couple of years.
04:43But I think once Richie understood, like, what the goal and the vision for this was, he wanted to be a part of it.
04:51And, you know, it was like, you can't do it.
04:54You cannot tell the story of Bon Jovi without Richie Sambora.
04:58He was gracious, he was funny, he was charming, he was warm, he was combative.
05:03You know, it was all of the above and it was super fun.
05:07Thank you, good night.
05:07The Bon Jovi story hits Hulu on April 26th.
05:11For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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