LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 7, 2012) - Metallica announced today they have tapped award-winning director Nimród Antal to direct the upcoming Metallica 3D feature film project. Charlotte Huggins (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND) will produce.
The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the five members of Metallica: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans. It will begin shooting this August and will be released in the summer of 2013.
"I've been a fan of Nimród's since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away," said Metallica's Lars Ulrich. "I've watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years. Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his 'thinking outside of the box' personality. Let's get on with it!!!"
"Metallica has always been a huge part of my life, and it's an incredible opportunity when we get to work with our heroes," said Antal. "We are going to harness the powerful and almighty energy of Metallica's live shows, inject a narrative into it, and shoot it in 3D to elevate the entire experience."
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.
Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica (www.metallica.com) have become one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold 100 million albums worldwide and playing to millions of fans the world over. They have scored almost a dozen multi-platinum albums, including 1991's Metallica (commonly referred to as "The Black Album"), which is the best selling album in history of Soundscan scanning almost 15.7 million albums in the United States alone, and over 28 million worldwide. In October 2008, their latest album, Death Magnetic, debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and in 27 additional countries around the world. It was certified platinum in the United States just six weeks later. Metallica have also garnered numerous awards and accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. In December 2011, Metallica celebrated its 30th anniversary, performing four shows at the Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco, CA, exclusively for members of their fan club, the Metallica Club. They released the Beyond Magnetic EP via digital retailers on December 13, 2011 after giving the songs away to their fan club members. A CD version of the Beyond Magnetic EP was released on January 31, 2012. Metallica recently announced the creation of Orion Music + More, a two day festival that will take place in Atlantic City, NJ June 23-24, 2012.
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