‘Mission To Lars’ Gets European Release

Mission To Lars, the documentary about a learning-disabled young man named Tom Spicer and his quest to meet Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, will be released on DVD in Europe on April 8th, with a 30-minute interview with Ulrich included as a bonus feature. The film follows Spicer as he goes on the road with the help of his brother William and sister Kate to meet his hero, taking the trio from the U.K. to Los Angeles and Las Vegas as the trip becomes more chaotic and complicated.

Kate told Loudwire last year, "We had this fantasy of hitting the road with Tom and recreating some of the magic of our teenage years cruising around in cars, eating Burger King and listening to heavy metal on the tape deck. We thought it would be fun, bonding. We wanted to do something good for our brother."

The film's website described the story by saying, "What starts out a dream soon becomes a nightmare as Tom's disabilities, a dysfunctional family, and heavy metal's labyrinthine backstage world thwart the mission at every turn. But as they get closer to Lars, Tom the man starts to shine."

Ulrich saw a rough cut of the film last year, commenting, "I thought it was deeply moving . . . (It's) a great testament to the importance of music and what it means to different people."
All profits from the film will go to Mencap, the U.K.'s leading learning disability charity, which works with the learning-disabled and their families.

Tom Spicer has Fragile X Syndrome, which is described as a sort of autism.