Lars Ulrich in “Metallica: Through the Never.” (PICTUREHOUSE)
I hope Lars Ulrich found a bathroom.
When the Metallica drummer appeared Friday, Sept. 27 before an almost-packed theater to introduce “Metallica Through the Never” at the AMC Tyler 16 in Riverside, he explained that he was in traffic for two and a half hours and hadn’t even had a chance to go to the restroom yet.
“It’s Friday afternoon and Metallica is right here in the I.E.,” Ulrich said to a cheering crowd.
Ulrich, singer/guitarist James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo were all around the country promoting the film, which was released in IMAX 3D today and will have a wide release next week.
The movie, which mixes footage of Metallica’s live show with a narrative involving a roadie, first came up 15 years ago.
“The people at IMAX, when they were doing nature films and mountian climbing films, they actually came to us and asked us if we would do a short Metallica film,” Ulrich told the crowd. “This was about ’97, ’98. At that time it was too complicated; the cameras were still analog and it was too practically weird.”
A few years ago the band decided to return to the idea as the technology was digital.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich addresses the audience before a screening of “Metallica: Through the Never” in Riverside on Sept. 27, 2013. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
“There’s a giant stage, an aircraft carrier of a stage,” he said.
Ulrich said there are about eight minutes worth of credits at the end of the film.
“We put a lot of work into this and we’re happy that you all came out here to share it with us,” Ulrich said.
When the movie started, the audience cheered as each of the members appeared on screen. I had to laugh when they showed Trujillo practicing in a back room and the ceiling crumble and the room shake because I’m still convinced the band shook the ceiling tiles loose up at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario when they played there back in 2008.
Also, everyone give Tim Guy some love for being my cameraman while I was trying to take pictures in a reeeallly dark theater.