Many of us have a dream to meet our favorite rock star, but not many have that dream documented and turned into an entertaining, touching and emotional film. That was the case for Tom Spicer, a man diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, a type of autism, who with the help of his siblings set out on a transatlantic journey to meet Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. The journey was documented in the 2013 film Mission to Lars, and now North American audiences will get a chance to see the movie in theaters and on Video on Demand on Sept. 25.
In the film, we see that Spicer is an avid Metallica fan and after asking repeatedly for an introduction by his journalist sister Kate, she agrees to attempt to help make his dreams come true. The Spicer siblings, along with filmmaker brother William, set out from Tom’s home in Exmouth to travel to Bristol, to Heathrow airport, to Los Angeles and Las Vegas before finally completing their goal.
“We had this fantasy of hitting the road with Tom and recreating some of the magic of our teenage years cruising around in £100 cars, eating Burger King and listening to heavy metal on the tape deck,” said Kate. “We thought it would be fun, bonding. We wanted to do something good for our brother. We were also sick of him endlessly asking.”
Ulrich, who was approached about the film, told NME that he felt the film was “deeply moving.” He added, “It’s not something we’re directly involved in, it’s their film, their journey, but we’re supportive of their endeavour. We don’t want to take it over and have it turn into some kind of vanity project. It’s a great testament into a world I didn’t know much about, and a great testament to the importance of music and what it means to different people.” Profits from the film have been donated to the Menap charitable organization.
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Source: Loudwire.com
