Metallica Documentary To Get Theatrical Release

[TexasStooge]

LAUNCH Radio Networks

A documentary about the making of Metallica's latest album, St. Anger, is likely to get theatrical screenings sometime next year, according to http://www.MTV.com. The film, titled "Some Kind Of Monster", was directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, and has been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival for consideration. Several distributors are also interested in releasing the film. The band's management is reportedly mulling the idea of screening it in cities a week or two before the band plays there on their upcoming North American tour, which is planned to kick off in March.

The film details the "hardships, struggles, and frustrations" that went into the making of Metallica's eighth studio album, which included the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, the band's fight with Napster, and frontman James Hetfield's struggle with alcoholism.

Berlinger described the two-hour documentary as "a film about human relationships and the creative process...It asks how you manage the multiple issues of being big rock stars while approaching middle age, being fathers and not wanting to party the way you used to party. And most importantly, how do you stay vital musically when you're incredibly successful?"

Berlinger is also writing a book about the creation of the film, which he hopes to publish in conjunction with the release of the documentary on DVD next summer or fall.

Berlinger is the director of "Blair Witch 2: Book Of Shadows", the sequel to the 1999 horror blockbuster, "The Blair Witch Project". Berlinger and Sinofsky have done several other documentaries together, including "Brother's Keeper and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills".