Metallica: This Monster Lives (53 page)
Read Metallica: This Monster Lives Online
Authors: Joe Berlinger,Greg Milner
Tags: #Music, #Genres & Styles, #Rock
Jeremy Frindel
S
OUND
R
E
-
RECORDING
M
IXER
Peter Waggoner
P
OST
P
RODUCTION
S
OUND
F
ACILITY
Sound One
D
OLBY
S
OUND
E
NGINEER
Paul Sacco
A
VID
U
NITY
S
YSTEM
P
ROVIDED
BY
Postworks
T
ITLE
D
ESIGN
AND
V
ISUAL
E
FFECTS
P
RODUCED
BY
Big Film Design
Randy Balsmeyer, Designer
Amit Sethi, Digital Artist
J. John Corbett, Digital Artist
BFD Producer, Kathy Kelehan
T
ITLE
A
RTWORK
AND
S
T
. A
NGERI
I
LLUSTRATION
Matt Mahurin
M
ETALLICA
M
ANAGEMENT
Q Prime Inc.
M
ETALLICA
B
USINESS
M
ANAGEMENT
Provident Financial Management
Joni Soekotjo
Fred Duffin
Wendy Hofihine
L
EGAL
S
ERVICES
P
ROVIDED
BY
King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner, LLP
Peter Paterno
Debra MacCulloch
Howard King
Seth Miller
Jacqueline Sabec
Leslie Frank
R
IGHTS
& C
LEARANCES
Debra MacCulloch
A
DDITIONAL
M
USIC
C
LEARANCES
Chris Robertson, Diamond Time
@
RADICAL
.
MEDIA
G
ENERAL
C
OUNSEL
Sabrina Padwa
T
RAVEL
A
GENT
Joan Batchelder, Aspen Travel
P
RODUCTION
I
NSURANCE
Elena Ferrara, Taylor & Taylor
M
ET
C
LUB
Steffan Chirazi
Danna McCallum
Samantha McNally
Jean Reichert
Robert Reisinger
Toby Stapleton
Vickie Strate
Niclas Swanlund
Kimberly Vosti
Jeffrey Yeager
S
PECIAL
T
HANKS
Aric Ackerman
Ray Aparicio
Dzhon Athanc
Dan Braun
Jez Breadin
Mike Caldarella
Steffan Chirazi
Christie’s
Kessel Crockett
Debbie Deuble-Hill
Tony DiCioccio
Adam Dubin
Elektra Entertainment Group
Lesley Frazer
Amy Gold
Brett Gorvy
Michelle Gurney
India Hammer
Lynda Hansen
Chris Hanson
Eric Helmkamp
Richard Hofstetter
Brian Inerfeld
Wayne Isham
Rob Issen
Rob Kenneally
Chris Kim
Pete Krawiec
Signe Lando
Flemming Larsen
Jack Lechner
Brian Lew
Dana Marshall
Tracie Mochizuki
Frank Munoz
Christopher Napolitano
Matt Olyphant
Julie O’Niell
Outpost Digital
Haley Papageorge
Marc Paschke
Guy Pechard
The staff of the Prescott
Hotel, San Francisco
Geoff Reinhard
Margaret Riley
Ned Rosenthal
Matt Rowicki
Todd Sarner
Dawn Scribner
Randi Seplow
Cathy Shannon
Sam Smith
Jim Swanson
Tamberelli Video
Jacqueline Tran
Sue Tropio
VER San Francisco
Chip Walker
Wendy Wen
Christine Zebrowski
V
ERY
S
PECIAL
T
HANKS
Sarah Berlinger
Maya Berlinger
Florence Boissinot
Cliff Burnstein
Lorraine Coyle
Loren Eiferman
Gio Gasparetti
Mike Gillies
Lani Hammett
Zach Harmon
Francesca Hetfield
Cali Hetfield
Castor Hetfield
Marcella Hetfield
Rex King
Peter Mensch
Dave Mustaine
Jason Newsted
Marc Reiter
Alex Sinofsky
Tristan Sinofsky
Claire Sinofsky
Adeline Sinofsky
Luc Sinofsky
Vickie Strate
Niclas Swanlund
Phil & Gail Towle
Skylar Ulrich
Myles Ulrich
Layne Ulrich
Steven Wiig
Soundtrack available on Elektra Records
St. Anger
available on Elektra Records
www.somekindof monster.com
www.metallica.com
www.berlinger-sinofsky.com
Copyright © 2004 by We’re Only In It for the Music. All rights reserved. This motion picture is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries. Any unauthorized duplication, copying, or use of all or part of this motion picture may result in civil liability and/or criminal prosecution in accordance with applicable laws.
Notes
1
. Considering what happened to him later, I now realize that Jason’s acquiescence marked the first ironic moment associated with
Some Kind of Monster.
There would be many more.
Chapter 2. Give Me Fuel, Give Me Fire,
Gimme Shelter
1
. Although the Maysleses’ films are part of the direct-cinema movement, I am using the more broadly accepted term “cinema verité” from this point on to refer to all films that fall under the direct-cinema and verité rubrics.
Chapter 3. West Memphis and Beyond
1
. This wasn’t the fist time prosecutors have tried to link Metallica’s music to a homicide. Travis Kunkle, a Texas man convicted of a 1984 murder, reportedly chanted the line “another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath” from “No Remorse” after he shot his victim. The lead prosecutor in the case told a San Antonio newspaper that when the song was played in court, Kunkle played air guitar, suggesting he had “very little regard for human life.” After 19 years on death row, Kunkle, now 38, was scheduled to die from lethal injection on July 7, 2004, half an hour before the screening of
Some Kind of Monster
at the film’s premiere party in New York. That same day, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution, saying it was still considering a writ filed by Kunkle’s lawyers, who claimed that the jury in Kunkle’s case should have been allowed to consider such mitigating factors as Kunkle’s abusive upbringing and mental illness.
2
. Alex Sinofsky, Bruce’s twelve-year-old son and a huge Metallica fan, helped us choose the latter two songs. We told him we were looking for more melodic and instrumental music that we could use for the score, rather than the more typical overpoweringly aggressive tracks. For his efforts, Alex got a “heavy metal music consultant” credit on the film’s credits.
3
. The film was also a hit with other rock stars. We received praise from Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson, Dave Grohl, and Eddie Vedder, among others. Many have helped the cause of the West Memphis 3 by spreading the word, staging benefits, and donating to the legal defense fund.
1
. The
FanClub
pilot was VH1’s highest-rated debut show of 2000.
1
. Although most Metallica songs are credited to James and Lars, Kirk has received numerous cowriting credits throughout Metallica’s history. Jason, during his fourteen years with the band, received cowriting credits on just three songs.
2
. One of the ironies of Metallica’s new approach to songwriting is that it actually stripped Kirk of what had been his defining role in the band, the guy who plays the guitar solos. In the past, his solos had been slotted into nearly finished songs, but the songs that emerged organically during the
St. Anger
sessions didn’t feel like they needed traditional solos. As we see in
Monster
, this led to some tension between Kirk
and the rest of the band, though he ultimately adapted his style to add color to the songs, rather than clearly demarcated solos.
1
. We’d used intercuts on previous films, most memorably in
Paradise Lost
, in a sequence that juxtaposes Mark Byers singing with shots of a church barbeque. Besides allowing us to compress time, intercutting improves pacing and adds a new thematic layer to the two individual scenes.
1
. Jon Kamen, the head of @radical.media, is the brother of the late Michael Kamen, a composer who oversaw Metallica’s
S&M
live album with the San Francisco Symphony.
1
. The tenuousness of our position really hit home when the first trial began. I’ll never forget the weird feeling of walking into court on the first morning and seeing the families and supporters of each side split neatly down the middle. Since by this point we knew most of these people, all eyes turned to see where we would sit, a decision that would reveal our true allegiances. It was like showing up for a wedding and not being able to decide whether it was the bride or groom you knew best. We wound up sitting behind the jury box, because that’s where the cameras were. We were technically on the plaintiffs’ side, but it was clear to everyone that we were there to be near the cameras.
2
. This is one of those moments in
Monster
made possible by the wonders of digital video technology. Although the light was terrible, we could crank up the “gain” on the camera and hang back without getting in his face. If we had been shooting film, we probably would have been unable to capture this scene.