Nimrod Antal, the director of Predators and Vacancy, has been tapped by legendary metal band, Metallica, to direct their 3D feature film. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band is looking to make the project a blend of narrative and concert footage which will star James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and, of course, the legions of Metallica fans. The film is expected to shoot this coming August with a release planned for the summer of 2013. Going thirty plus years strong, Metallica is one of the biggest bands on the planet, starting as one of the founding four of thrash metal along with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. They've sold more than 100 million albums in their career and have influenced at least that many fans. Details are short on the project so far, but with a history as rich in ups and downs as Metallica's, the story should pretty much write itself. Hit the jump for comments from Metallica's Ulrich and from Antal himself, along with a bonus Metallica music video shot by Darren Aronofsky.
Check out what Metallica's contentious drummer, Lars Ulrich, had to say about the decision to bring Antal on to direct the band's feature project:
"I've been a fan of Nimróds since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away. 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!!!"
Equally enamored with the project was the director, a longtime fan of the legendary metal band:
"Metallica has always been a huge part of my life, and it's an incredible opportunity when we get to work with our heroes. 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."
This feature won't be the band's first foray into Hollywood, as director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) recently shot a music video for Metallica that featured The Velvet Underground vocalist, Lou Reed. While Antal's take on a 3D concert feature is sure to have a different aesthetic, you can still check out the video below:
