Terrence Malick’s long-awaited “The Tree of Life” had been expected by many to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year. But Cannes came and went with no sign of the film, so most shifted their expectations a little, suggesting the film would make its debut at Venice, Toronto, Telluride or New York. Some have even predicted a Rome Film Festival premiere, after Malick appeared there in 2007 for a rare Q&A. Guessing when Malick’s film would appear has become a parlour game among film fans to rank alongside “What does the end of ‘Inception’ mean?’ and ‘How much worse can M. Night Shyamalan get?’
Todd McCarthy of Indiewire, who’s on the selection panel for the New York Film Festival this year, reported a couple of days ago that he believed that the film wouldn’t even open this year, and would most likely premiere at Cannes in 2011, leaving most of us a little deflated. But now, his Indiewire colleague Anne Thompson has seemingly talked to some sources within the film’s distributor Apparition, and the news is a little better.
Following the departure of his Apparition colleague Bob Berney a few months ago, the distributor’s owner Bill Pohlad owner hired a consultant, Tom Ortenberg, a veteran of Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company, to aid in the release (and presumably the Oscar campaign) which means that the company’s staff are more or less on hold until “The Tree of Life” is released. With that in mind, holding the release until next year is a bit like putting money in a bin and setting it on fire, so Thompson believes that it will hit before December 31st.
However, even with that in mind, it doesn’t seem like a dead cert. Thompson’s source claims that Malick’s still trying to cut the film down, from three hours to two and a half (including letting students at the University of Texas at Austin try their hand at editing; if that’s not a film school recommendation, we don’t know what is), and Apparition boss Pohlad, who’s apparently “indecisive… cautious and slow,” is seemingly loathe to rush him.
The best news, however, from a source who’s seen the film, is that it seems to be pretty extraordinary — Thompson passes on that “It’s a mystical exploration of the meaning of life, a journey in which a microcosm of a family mirrors the world; the differences between man and woman, husband and wife, are mirrored against nature and grace. It will change the language of movies. It’s a real event. People will say ‘what the fuck is this?'” Furthermore, the performances of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are both said to be awards worthy.
This all seems to suggest that it’s delivered on the promise we saw when we took a look at the script not so long ago. We’re pretty convinced that the film will arrive, at least in limited release, before the end of the year. For one thing, it has scheduled release dates in some parts of the world. Mel Gibson’s company, Icon, is handling it in Australia and the UK, and it’s scheduled for December 26th in Australia, and for January 28th in the UK; these could well move, but there’ll be a lot of pressure from international partners for the film to be completed before then.
Furthermore, Malick’s meant to be shooting his untitled romantic drama with Ben Affleck and Rachel Weisz (and potentially Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko too) in Oklahoma at the beginning of October, so he has to wrap it up by then, surely? It is worth remembering, however, that, even after “The New World” hit theaters, Malick continued to tinker with the film, releasing a new cut a few weeks later. We’re sure another update will inevitably follow soon, so, as ever, we’ll keep you posted…
Oh and the images top and bottom? They’re of Penn on the film’s set, sent to us by a kindly reader (thank you!). Click here for a larger version of both. Update: Turns out these are actually a couple of years old, but nonetheless, they will be new to most people. Here are a few more.
I CAME.
great comment/image.
see here.
Great Images and story….The pressure is on now to release this movie this year .
Students from UT have been editing the whole time as editorial interns. There are numerous assemblies by a number of editors Terry has worked with previously in his career who are each shaping their own segments of the film with the assistance of a hand full of students.
That said, Tree of Life is in the can – it just isn't going to be shown at any festivals as Terry wants it straight to cinemas. It isn't being put out until December because of the planned Oscar campaign.
In fact, Terry is in Oklahoma now. The romance film is actually shooting now, just under a different name. Also The Oklahoma Film Commission, has signed an NDA so they cannot say a word until wrap. This is the truth, it makes sense when you ask yourself why is Ben Afleck already in Oklahoma for a movie that isn't shooting until late fall – because they are already shooting.
We're definitely feeling the pressure, but don't worry, we'll get Terry to finish in time.
You know what else was supposed to change the language of cinema? Avatar. You know what else was supposed to change the language of cinema? The Tulse Luper Suitcases. Much as I can't wait for The Tree of Life, that's a pretty bold statement. But I'm glad it will most likely come out this year.
I think the only person who thought Avatar would change the language of cinema was James Cameron himself.
"Students from UT have been editing the whole time as editorial interns. There are numerous assemblies by a number of editors Terry has worked with previously in his career who are each shaping their own segments of the film with the assistance of a hand full of students."
Wow, sounds like a new paradigm for opensource-ish filmmaking. Interesting.
joe
nobody ever said malick wasnt a cheap skate.
Anonymous #3: Stop spreading false information. That untitled romantic drama is not shooting until first week of October at the earliest. How could they shoot the movie with Rachel McAdams, most likely the lead actress of the movie, still currently in Paris shooting Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris as we speak.
Castor: By shooting with the other actors? Christian Bale didn't show up for The New World until quite late in its production.
I'm an intern editor at one of the big studios and the hot topic that has been going around is a potential collaboration between Halle Barry and Angelina Jolie. The thing is, it's not some regular movie – after hearing about the major buzz in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan because of the hot lesbian scene, the studio talk has been about making a similar film but for bigger names. I had a chat with Helen Ekafami, a secondary stunt person that had worked with Angelina Jolie for years, and she says they're asking her to look into a film currently titled Mercenary: Love and Honor about two lesbians on the run after murdering their husbands. There's supposed to be some hardcore sex scenes in the film, and Angelina might consider directing it! Angelina's manager Geyer and Halle's agent also had lunched with exec producer Jennifer Jones a few days ago too. It's really tempting them because the movie might be made in Richmond VA, and everyone loves Richmond. I hope it gets made!
big up cde! castor you have obviously never worked on a movie before. tree of life started shooting in the spring – with the sequences set in the 1950's. present day sequences didn't shoot until the following fall, in fact sean penn shot on that film until months after pitt had wrapped. some people call it scheduling. do a little digging before you snark about detail corrections next time. but i guess thats what happens when you only write about movies and dont know how the process works.
I'm fully aware that principal photography can be spread out over a period of time and that actors sometime come in on different schedule, not seeing other parts of the cast. Nevertheless, as far as anyone knows, this movie still hasn't started shooting at this point in time. Now, if you have pictures that show me otherwise, I would be happy to eat my word!
I live in the town in Oklahoma where they will be filming the romantic drama. They have NOT begun filming and this I can confirm.
Anon, make sure you email and update us. Get your camera out.
Playlist – I'm sworn to secrecy, hence the Anon… but I'll do what I can.