‘Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story’ Is Not A ‘Puff Piece’ Says The Band’s Frontman

At the end of his press conference detailing documentary look at his life, Jon Bon Jovi uttered a phrase that he’s yelled out hundreds of times.

In this instance, Bon Jovi simply said, ‘thank you” to the gathered journalists.

It’s not really all that surprising given that he’s been telling fans who attend his band’s concerts “Thank you, goodnight” for four decades.

So, it only seemed appropriate that he used the phrase for a four-part documentary series about his life, and the journey of the band that carries his name.

That band, Bon Jovi, has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time.

The reason for the film, which is aptly entitled, “Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” says Jon, is “Because this is the band’s 40^th anniversary, I wanted to document what had happened in my past with a vision on what is the future.”

However, he’s firm on what he considers an important aspect of the film. “One thing we agreed upon on day one was this was not going to be a puff piece, that if anything, I wasn’t going to stamp my feet and say, ‘I have final say.’ This had to have all the warts to go with it in order to tell a real truth.’”

As for the title, Jon feels that, “I think that the greatest thing that I do at the end of every night is say, ‘Thank you and have a good night. You know, travel into the darkness, but knowing that there was light shining tonight.’”

But, he adds that, “The ambiguity of the title is also asking, ‘what does the future hold for me and for my band?’ We faced something that I didn’t expect.”

He’s talking about his own health, as Jon recently had vocal cord surgery.

Offering an update on his progress and the role it plays in the film, he says, “Though I’m doing very well and sang for my first time in public just the other night, when we shot this there was no definitive answer. If I can’t go out and do two-and-a-half hours a night, four nights a week, [then it really is] ‘Thank you, goodnight.’”

Gotham Chopra, the executive producer and director of the film, jumps in to say that and his team watched ‘a million hours of footage.’

“I mean, you’re talking about just some incredible performances from Wembley and the Moscow Peace Festival, et cetera, and the one consistent thing always was [the phrase] ‘Thank you, goodnight,’ at every performance. And you’re always looking for that thing that speaks to the larger story, and that was a signature thing.”

Chopra admits that he was impressed with what Jon brought to the project. “[He’s] done an amazing job, as has the rest of the band, at collecting archive material. I mean, it’s a dream come true for our team.”

To supplement that material, Chopra conducted all of the interviews himself, for a specific reason — Jon didn’t want to influence anything anyone said.

After each interview, Chopra and Jon would review the footage, which wasn’t always pleasant for Jon, he admits. “There was some punches in the nose. [Times when] I was like, ‘wow, that stung.’”

As for the music, Jon says he doesn’t ‘go back and sit with the first five albums,’ but, he admits, “When I heard those songs all played in the room,” — when he accepted the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year Award — “or if you hear them on this new Sirius channel that we have, there are moments that I go, ‘I’m really proud of the catalog. It stands up.’”

As for how he feels about himself presently, Jon reveals, “I’m proud of who and what I am at this juncture in my life. Regrets, I’ve had very few, [but] I was lucky enough to have a dream and be able to pursue it, and I still am pursuing it. So, I think it’s been a life well spent thus far, but it’s a work in progress.”

He adds, “But boy, do we have a great film, and I’ve got a damn good album. I feel really great about all of it. Give me [back my voice, which is] that last piece of this puzzle, and it’s going to be a joy to go back to work.”

Summing it all up, the legendary rocker smiles as he says, “All I can tell you now is in 2024, my hope is that I’m going to be the best version of me in 2024. That’s my goal.”

‘Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’ is available for streaming beginning Friday, April 26th on Hulu.