If the premise sounds familiar, this premise (though not intentionally comedic) was the impetus behind the 2004 Metallica documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which observed the band as they tried to work out their internal problems.

Grohl, though pretty hammy and funny in front of the camera, appears to be taking on only producing duties here, while comedian and former Simpsons writer Dana Gould will play the hapless therapist who has some problems of his own.

It sounds like casting will be everything in this one, as I could see it thriving as a semi-improvised show such as Curb Your Enthusiasm.

As decent as Grohl is heading up the Foo Fighters, his side projects (up until now, mostly musical: Probot, Them Crooked Vultures, his videos) have proven more interesting to me than his day job, so I’m pretty optimistic about this one, but would love to see him in a starring capacity, as he’s already got the rock star thing down pretty cold while maintaining some self-awareness that many others don’t.

What is it about mass-market rap, metal, and rap-metal stars that grants them the talent to direct a feature better than those indie darlings? Perhaps it’s the fact that mass-marketed media exists to span platforms. While The Shins or Yo La Tengo are all about the music, the MTV video stars are decidedly NOT all about the music. They’re about the videos, short films, webisodes, and co-branding, all of which puts them around cameras a lot more than those shaggy kids from Williamsburg, Austin, and Silver Lake.

Here are the lonely, lonely examples of musicians making the trip from behind the mike to behind the camera.

6. David Byrne

David Byrne has made a musical career, both fronting the Talking Heads and in other projects, blending styles as disparate as punk, new wave, Afro-pop, and jazz. So it should be little surprise that this geek-chic icon branched out into film writing and directing with 1986’s True Stories, a collection of interwoven vignettes about a fictional Texas town on the cusp of its anniversary celebration.

True Stories is certainly not your standard theater fare, but it serves as a refreshing exercise in absurd, snarky, and charm for those willing to take it for what it is. Unfortunately, in 1986, its wide release by Warner Bros. demonstrated that there were very few of those people around, so it came and went without much fanfare, relegating Byrne back to his day job of making awesome, awesome music.

5. Ice Cube

 
That crazy motherf#cker named Ice Cube may have squandered much of his Boyz in the Hood and N.W.A. credibility with his turns in a recent streak of family fare and mindless action films, but 1998’s The Players Club, while a bit of a mess, at least served as one of his last connections to the world from which he came. The film followed Diana and Ebony, two cousins that get involved in the seedy world of strip clubs, only to find their way out on the other side.

It came and went with little fanfare despite grossing $24 million bucks domestically.

12 years later, Ice Cube stepped back behind the camera for a project that was quintessentially Ice Cube. He directed the “Straight Outta Los Angeles” entry in ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 canon. The doc discussed the Oakland/L.A. Raiders ties to both the LA sports and gang communities. He goes so far as to tie the birth of gangster rap to the Raiders’ Los Angeles arrival in 1982.

Not that it makes up for Are We Done Yet? but it’s a step in the right direction.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Marc Maron has just hung himself.

The idea was spearheaded by Durst’s manager John Schneider, who also put a similar deal in place starring his brother Rob. Should this article be read by any future survivors of the robot apocalypse, you know who your target in the past is. His name is John Schneider. This is who your cyborg assassins should focus on eliminating. It’s mankind’s only hope. (Deadline)

Durst, the director of the upcoming thriller Pawn Shop Chronicles, now stars Walker in a film described as follows:

…multiple interconnected stories [center] around a missing wedding ring which leads to a wild-goose chase involving meth addicts, skinheads and an Elvis impersonator.

This is a thriller? It sounds like an “edgy” Robin Williams comedy you’d find in the $2 section at a Walgreens. Also, an Elvis impersonator? Sounds like the film is being shot in ClicheVision. Are the meth addicts mimes?

The script is co-written by actor Adam Minarovich “The Walking Dead“) and is being described as “a hillbilly Pulp Fiction.” Listen, Mr. Walker, filming doesn’t start until spring. It’s probably not too late to arrogantly hop into your Subaru WRX STI drive away and pretend you never agreed to anything. (FirstShowing)

Remember how the band Limp Bizkit made you want to stick an icepick in your ears and never listen to music again? Well now Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst wants to try and ruin your love of cinema by directing his latest film, Pawn Shop Chronicles.

Written by Adam Minarovich, the script is said to be in the vein of Pulp Fiction with 24 Frames describing it as such: “in a nutshell, a missing wedding ring leads to a wild-goose chase involving meth addicts, skinheads and an Elvis impersonator.”

Based the that wacky description, it sounds like a mix between Hooneymoon in Vegas, "Breaking Bad," and a steaming pile of dog nookie. (Collider)