'Metallica Through The Never' Filmmakers Were Impressed With Band's Passion And Musical Ability

On July 19, the members of METALLICA appeared at Comic-Con in San Diego, California to discuss "Metallica Through The Never", filmmaker Nimród Antal's captivating 3D movie featuring one of music's most enduring and iconic bands. The group was in Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center, joined by Antal; the star of the film, Dane DeHaan; and producer Charlotte Huggins.

While at Comic-Con, HitFix spoke with Antal and Huggins about why they chose to present a new trailer for "Metallica Through The Never" at this particular event; the METALLICA songs that are included in the movie; how "Through The Never" is different from METALLICA's 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster"; how the filmmakers are inspired by the band; how seriously the METALLICA bandmembers take themselves; and their favorite songs from the "greatest soundtrack known to man." Check out the chat below.

On what role the lyrics of METALLICA's songs played in forming the narrative for the "Through The Never" movie:

Antal: "Tonally and within the film structure — with the atmosphere of the film — there were certainly certain songs that played well into our hands. We stayed relatively faithful to the band's setlist and tried to form a narrative we could weave into the concert. The band's persona, their energy, and certainly the love that they have for what they do, those are the things that made their way into the film and ultimately make the film what it is. I'm very proud of it."

On how "Through The Never" is different from "Some Kind Of Monster":

Antal: "This is a very different monster from that film. Though they are in the film, they are musicians in the film. That's what they do well and that's what we showcase. The narrative portion, though, they do appear in the narrative in a very interesting little way, [but] it's not necessarily their role in the film that makes it what it is."

Huggins: "In 'Through The Never', they are never off stage, if you will. They appear off stage, but they still appear as the musicians in the band METALLICA. It's not a documentary, it's not a behind-the-scenes-movie at all. We see them, as Nim said, perform, and through their performance, they bring a story that parallels th narrative story in the movie."

On what strikes them as the most impressive elemement of METALLICA, the band, after working with them on the movie:

Huggins: "I came into the project as a producer, as a film producer, and that's what they brought me in [to do]. And when I first met them, I was instantly impressed with their level of respect, in general, for each other and for what we were about to embark on. And I became a fan, and I'm not probably as big a fan as their true followers. I've come to really love and respect their music. I think what happens is with each viewing of the movie, I watch and listen to the music and I've become incredibly impressed with their musical ability; I mean, they're phenomenal musicians and the songs are incredibly interesting songs. So each time that I hear these songs, I've become more and more familiar and I can listen to the different parts of the song."

Antal: "I think that they bring an energy and a passion to what they do that's, for me, it was definitely inspirational. They have a drive and a professionalism that's so… They're artists first and foremost, and any artist who does what they do with love, you can see it. And that, for me, was always, I think, what drew them to me initially. But I was re-reminded of that, working with them and seeing how powerful they are as performers. It's pretty incredible. Someone who's been doing what they've done for 30 years and still bringing an energy and a passion that is… I think there's a lot of young guys out there that could be envious."

Huggins: "I think another thing that we've learned is that they inspire us to achieve at the highest level that we are able. Because they bring everything to what they do, they really have inspired us and our team — amazing team of cinematographers and visual-effects artists and whatever — everyone wants to rise to the occasion to create something great, because they put so much of themselves into what they do."

"Metallica Through The Never" will be digitally remastered into the immersive IMAX 3D format and released wide in North America exclusively into IMAX theatres for a one-week engagement starting Friday, September 27. The film will expand into additional theatres on October 4.

"Metallica Through The Never" theatrical trailer: