Metallica frontman James Hetfield’s dramatic debut could be coming to Netflix very soon.
According to Variety, streaming giant Netflix is close to making a deal for the rights to Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile in the US and some international territories. It’s a deal that will cost them around $8 million.
Extremely Wicked tells the story of serial killer Ted Bundy through the eyes of his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, who denied his wrongdoings and maintained his innocence.
Hetfield plays officer Bob Hayward in the film. His character (and real-life counterpart) was the first officer to pull Bundy over, finding burglary equipment in his car and suspecting that something more was going on.
Extremely Wicked is directed by Joe Berlinger, who has had a long relationship with Metallica. In 1994, his Paradise Lost trilogy with the late Bruce Sinofsky became the first film to obtain the band’s blessing to use their music. That led to 2004, when the duo directed the documentary film Some Kind of Monster about the making of the band’s 2003 album St. Anger. He also published a book with Greg Milner that same year about his time with the band, titled Metallica: This Monster Lives.
Says Berlinger of casting Hetfild in the role:
“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, 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.”
Extremely Wicked premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month to positive reviews. The film stars Zac Efron as Bundy and Lily Collins as Kloepfer. Jim Parsons, Haley Joel Osment and John Malkovich appear in the film as well.
In the meantime, you should check out Berlinger’s docuseries, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which is available exclusively on Netflix.
