Backstreet Boys Give Approval to Documentary

Backstreet's back, alright: the Backstreet Boys have given their approval for a forthcoming documentary film centering on their rise from child stars to pop icons, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Director Stephen Kijak plans a revealing tell-all chronicle of all five original members of the Nineties boy-band behemoth.

Kijak, who hopes to complete the documentary by this fall, said members of the band have been enthusiastic about the project. "What drew me to this project is their openness and willingness to push themselves into uncomfortable places, to be vulnerable and honest and to be really trusting of the filmmaking team to steer them in the right direction," he said, promising the project won't just be a "3D boy-band puff piece."

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The Backstreet Boys are happy to participate, the band said in a statement. "We always wanted to make a film and now is the ideal time," they said. "With Kevin back, the fact that we are masters of our own destiny, a new album in the works and our 20th anniversary – it all adds up to being the right time to share our story."

Kijak directed the 2010 Rolling Stones documentary Stones in Exile and the 2006 documentary Scott Walker: 30th Century Man. He's teamed with the production company Pulse, which has produced and released music documentaries including the LCD Soundsystem movie Shut Up and Play the Hits; the Blur reunion and tour documentary No Distance Left To Run; and Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D.

The reunited Backstreet Boys celebrate their 20th anniversary this year, with a world tour planned for May and a new album on the way. The band told Rolling Stone in December that the new album was "about 75 percent through," with a target release in "summer or third or fourth quarter."