MASTER THESPIAN LARS ULRICH JOINS NICOLE KIDMAN/CLIVE OWEN DRAMA

Speaking of heavy metal peeps and HBO: according to Deadline, Lars Ulrich has joined the cast of the cable network’s upcoming film, Hemingway & Gellhorn, which, in case the title didn’t give it away, “recounts the tumultuous romance and subsequent marriage of literary master Ernest Hemingway and up-and-coming war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, following them through the Spanish Civil War and beyond.” The movie is being directed by Philip Kaufman (Twisted) and executive produced by James Gandolfini (8mm).  Clive Owen (The Rich Man’s Wife) is playing Hemingway and Nicole Kidman (Bewitched) is playing Martha Gellhorn, because nothing says “Spanish Civil War” like botox. David Strathairn (Simon Birch), Tony Shaloub (Men in Black II), Parker Posey (Blade Trinity), and now Ulrich round out the cast.

The diminutive drummer will be playing “Joris Ivens, the Dutch documentarian of The Spanish Earth.” Ulrich is actually Danish, but was apparently cast both because no one can tell the difference between the Danes and the Dutch, and because, like the real-life Ivens, he enjoys having ridiculous hair cuts.

So I guess the only question now is, “Can Ulrich possibly top his performance in Get Him to The Greek?” Personally, I think he should have made like Heath Ledger and died immediately after filming to ensure that his legacy remains unvarnished, but who knows, maybe now he’ll finally get the Emmy he so richly deserves?

-AR