<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $38--57 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $19.3 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Rock Star is a 2001 American musical comedy - drama film directed by Stephen Herek and starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston . It tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer whose ascendance to the position of lead vocalist of his favourite band, which was inspired by the real - life story of Tim "Ripper" Owens, singer in a Judas Priest tribute band who was chosen to replace singer Rob Halford when he left the band . </P> <P> In the mid-1980s, Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is a Pittsburgh fanatical admirer of a heavy metal band called Steel Dragon . By day, Chris is a photocopier technician and by night, he is the lead singer of a Steel Dragon tribute band called Blood Pollution (the name is taken from a Steel Dragon song). </P>

Who is the movie rock star based on