Metallica's James Hetfield lands role in Zac Efron movie

Official press release: Metallica frontman James Hetfield tops off the coveted ensemble cast of the upcoming thriller Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. The film follows the relationship between notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, played by Zac Efron, and his longtime girlfriend, played by Lily Collins, who at the time, had no knowledge of the crimes. The Grammy and multi-Platinum and Gold Award winning artist will be playing Officer Bob Hayward, a no-nonsense Utah highway patrol veteran who was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy in 1975 after pulling the killer over and discovering burglary tools in his car but wisely suspecting much worse. While Hetfield has played himself in other films and television productions, this will be his first dramatic role taking on a different character. Academy-award nominee Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost) will direct. Hetfield and Berlinger have crossed paths before when the latter directed and produced the seminal rock-doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster along with the late Bruce Sinofsky. Berlinger also penned a book about his experiences with the band, Metallica: This Monster Lives. "Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up," says director Joe Berlinger. "It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled." The original screenplay, written by Michael Werwie, won the Nicholl Fellowship first prize and was featured on the Black List. Golden Globe and multiple Emmy Award winner Jim Parsons and Academy Award nominees Haley Joel Osment and John Malkovich have also recently joined the cast along with Kaya Scodelario, Angela Sarafyan, Jeffrey Donovan Terry Kinney, and Dylan Baker. The project was announced by Voltage Pictures at Cannes 2017. Production is already underway.