Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Brings ‘Hit the Lights’ Film Tent to Orion Music + More Festival

The great thing about having your own festival is that you get to run it however you like. Metallica really took that to heart adding their own personal attractions for the “more” part of the Orion Music + More festival.

Drummer Lars Ulrich has filmed a short clip discussing his personal addition to the event. He says in the video, “As you know … James is bringing cars, Kirk is bringing, you know what’s he bringing? He’s bringing horror stuff, and the boys are going surfing and all kinds of stuff. My big passion, my big thing away from music is film, so I thought what better thing to bring to the Orion Festival than a little film culture. We’ll turn around, we’ll talk film, we’ll get to know each other.”

Ulrich says he’s planning to offer a film tent for the festival that he’s calling ‘Hit the Lights.’ Among the films being shown will be U.S. premiere of ‘Mission to Lars,’ a movie from Lars’ father called ‘Before the Wall’ with Ulrich himself providing the “musical landscape,” and the HBO film ‘Hemingway and Gellhorn’ in which Ulrich appears.

The drummer says he also plans on bringing director Derek Cianfrance to his ‘Hit the Lights’ tent to discuss Lars’ favorite film of 2010, ‘Blue Valentine.’ He adds, “The acting is a whole other level, the authenticity is real. It’s naked, it’s vulnerable … and when you’re watching this movie you’re not even going to be aware that people are acting or that people have been writing lines that have been scripted. It’s so authentic, and it has this raw emotion that absolutely hits you right in the heart.” Lars says after seeing the film for the first time he sat stunned in silence with tears rolling down his eyes for 30 minutes afterward.

The Orion Music + More Festival takes place June 23 and 24 at Atlantic City’s Bader Field. Tickets for the event are available here.