METALLICA's 3D Film Gets Title, Release Date

METALLICA's much-anticipated 3D movie, "Metallica Through The Never", will make its theatrical debut on August 9.

"Metallica Through The Never" will be the first new release via Picturehouse, the full-service independent film marketing and distribution company started in 2005, which is reopening its doors with founder Bob Berney at the helm. The film, written and directed by Nimród Antal ("Kontroll", "Predators"),stars members of the iconic rock band and Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle", "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"). DeHaan plays a young band crew member who is sent out on an urgent mission while the band is playing a rousing live set in front of a sold-out crowd and unexpectedly finds his world turned completely upside down.

Commented METALLICA: "Like your friends in 'TALLICA, Picturehouse is truly independent, take big chances and often think outside of the box. Founder Bob Berney has overseen the releases of two of the most successful independent films ever, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'The Passion of the Christ', as well as many other cutting-edge, critically acclaimed and award-winning films.

"It goes without saying that we are really just getting rolling here and will have many more updates for you. And of course, we can't wait for you to see the film!"

"Nim and the band have made a film that really captures the spirit of METALLICA and their millions of loyal fans," said Berney. "It's an entertaining genre film with a concert inside it, a fun ride featuring an exciting young actor, Dane DeHaan. It's a very cool project to reboot Picturehouse with."

Added METALLICA drummer and founding member Lars Ulrich: "METALLICA's way of doing things is to jump into unexplored creative endeavors with no safety net whatsoever. Putting this movie together for the last couple of years has been a pretty wild ride, and we've definitely done our share of flying without a net! Bringing Bob and Jeanne and the new Picturehouse team in at this point provides us with a much needed level of security for the distribution of the film. Their spirit of independence and desire to work outside the box is something we can relate to in every way, and this makes them both a welcome addition and a natural fit in the METALLICA family."

Ulrich revealed in a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine some more details about "Metallica Through The Never", which will combine concert footage with a fictional storyline. Ulrich cited the 1976 LED ZEPPELIN movie "The Song Remains The Same" as a major influence, explaining, "There are four members in LED ZEPPELIN, four members in METALLICA, it's a full-length movie, and there's a lot in this film that does not take place onstage. The major difference is that the stuff that takes place offstage in the METALLICA movie does not feature any members of METALLICA. It's two separate worlds — a METALLICA show and a story that unfolds in a parallel universe — and at some point they intertwine."

The ZEPPELIN film interspersed concert footage with fantasy sequences starring each member of the group.

The concert sequences for METALLICA's movie were shot last August at two shows in Vancouver, Canada.

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that making a movie has been one of the most daunting challenges METALLICA has ever taken on. "It's sort of fun, it's intimidating, it's a little overwhelming, to be honest, because it's a whole different league," he said. "You know, when we go down to [the METALLICA headquarters in San Rafael, California] and record and make a record, it's kind of — you know, we can manage the size of that. [laughs] When you're talking about doing, like, a 3D movie that you're gonna, like, play all over the world, that's a little bit of a bigger undertaking, so obviously we're treading a little more carefully."

YVRShoots.com uploaded photos of a riot scene that was filmed in September 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for "Metallica Through The Never".

According to a post on the site, the filmmakers were shooting all over downtown Vancouver in Arch Alley near Victory Square, a couple of Burrard intersections and on Dunsmuir near the Burrard station. The scene that is captured in the gallery on YVRShoots.com featured "400 extras as rioters and riot police, things on fire and riders on horses."

Antal is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film "Kontroll" (2003) that won several awards, including the Award of Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Gold Hugo prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. He also received a European Film Award nomination for Best Director. His credits include "Vacancy", starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, and "Armored", starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne. In 2010 he was hired by Robert Rodriguez to direct "Predators", featuring Adrien Brody.