Heavy Metal Haircut

The second day of the 50th Berlin Film Festival led to the biggest shock so far - Mark Wahlberg's hair. Present to support David O. Russell's anti-Gulf war film Three Kings, in which he plays a soldier on the trail of some stolen Kuwait Gold, Wahlberg was sporting shoulder-length locks, a change from his usual close-cropped cut. 'It's taken an awful long time to grow,' he said. 'It doesn't feel good - when I pull it anyway. But, yeah, it's real. The penis in Boogie Nights wasn't real, OK! The cock wasn't real but the hair is.' The reason for this fashion disaster? He is currently shooting Metal God, for George Clooney's company Maysville Productions, in which he plays a salesman who is the lead singer of a Judas Priest tribute band. It's the third time Wahlberg and Clooney, who is producing the film, have worked together. Aside for starring in Three Kings, the pair have re-united for Air Force One director Wolfgang Peterson's forthcoming thriller A Perfect Storm. '[George] felt really bad for me after A Perfect Storm, so he decided to give me another job,' says Walhberg. 'It's loosely based on the story of the kid who replaced Rob Halford as the lead singer of Judas Priest. It's like a rock-star fantasy come-true; the guy whose the lead singer of a tribute band becomes the lead singer of the actual band. Gets to live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle for a little while. Gets some good looking chicks, gets wasted man, y'know?' Wahlberg, who began his career as a rapper, admitted he was a fan of bands like Megadeath and Slayer, but would not be drawn any further on the plot of Metal God. 'It's kinda like Scream 3. We're not allowed to talk about what actually happens in the movie.' As for Clooney, he could only grin and say: 'Working with Mark Wahlberg was an accident and I don't intend to do it again.' Berlin report: James Mottram