Metallica 3D Movie Due in August

The release date and title for Metallica's upcoming 3D feature film, which will combine a fictional narrative with footage of the band in concert, has been revealed. According to a press release, the movie will be titled Metallica Through The Never and will arrive on August 9th of this year. Rising young actor Dane DeHaan, who was seen this year in Chronicle and Lawless and has been cast in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, will play a Metallica crew member who is sent out on an "urgent mission" while the band is onstage and "unexpectedly finds his world turned completely upside down."

The film is being released by small independent film distributor Picturehouse, which is returning to the business after several years away and is making the Metallica film its first release.

Picturehouse president Bob Berney said the film "really captures the spirit of Metallica and their millions of loyal fans. 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."

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich added, "(Picturehouse's) 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."

The original Picturehouse, a joint venture of New Line Cinema and HBO, was previously the distributor of movies like Pan's Labyrinth, La Vie En Rose, A Prairie Home Companion and The Women.

The company went out of business in 2008 and president Bob Berney moved on to other firms. He and his wife are reopening Picturehouse with private investors in New York City.
Berney plans a "platform" release for Metallica Through The Never and other movies Picturehouse acquires, starting with a small amount of theaters and then expanding to one thousand or more if the movie is a success.

The concert sequences for Metallica's movie were shot last August at two shows in Vancouver, Canada. The film is directed by Nimrod Antal, who helmed 2010's Predators.