Adapting the biography of a singular figure is hard enough, but how do you adapt the autobiography of a band? Bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars, drummer Tommy Lee, and Vince Neil joined forces to make Mötley Crüe, one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and well-documented hedonist troublemakers.

In 2001, all four members of the band along with Neil Strauss released an autobiography called "The Dirt," describing the group as "the world's most notorious rock band." The book shot to the top 10 on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed there for 10 weeks. On a personal note, I used the book as the subject of my own freshman year biography project book report in 2004, when I showed up to school dressed like Nikki Sixx and delivered my presentation in full character ... much to my teacher's chagrin.

In 2019, Netflix adapted "The Dirt" with "Jackass" creator and director Jeff Tremaine at the helm,...