Billie Eilish was already deep into the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour when James Cameron reached out with the opportunity to transform the show into a 3D concert film. The answer was “obviously a resounding yes,” the musician says in an exclusive featurette from Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), out May 6.
The film was captured during Eilish’s four-night stretch of shows in Manchester, England, in July 2025. By that point, she had already performed nearly 80 shows in the run, which began in September 2024. Her set list, which blended songs from Hit Me Hard and Soft, Happier Than Ever, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go, and more releases from throughout her career, was set. She knew it inside and out — and she worried for a moment that bringing cameras onstage would disrupt the integrity of the show.
“We had a long creative meeting. It was very collaborative, always pushing her for certain things that were outside of her comfort zone, for sure,” Cameron says. But when the ask for the onstage camera came, Eilish responded, “Absolutely no. Don’t want to change the show.” Cameron says it took him six months “to convince her that intimacy is so much more powerful in 3D.”
It helped to have Eilish in the co-directing seat, which allowed her to maintain a sense of control and direction for the release, from the performance itself to the lighting on the stage. Cameron suggested they share the role since Eilish knew “every beat of this show.” “He really treated me like his equal,” she says. “Just love the idea of people who didn’t get to see the show getting to experience it like they were there … The goal of shooting this movie is to really capture this incredible bond that I share.”
Cameron took notice of this, too. “It’s an emotional connection, and it’s real,” he says, noting that it extends beyond surface-level pop stardom. “She’s such a world class performer.”
The Hit Me Hard and Soft tour marked the biggest tour of Eilish’s career. The run, which wrapped in November 2025, spanned 106 shows across four continents. The concert film will immortalize the show, but also serve as a documentary capturing the artist in a pivotal moment.
This article originally appeared on rollingstone.com
