Posts tagged the tree of life
Brad Pitt & Jessica Chastain Interview For ‘The Tree Of Life’
Jul 8th
Terrence Malick’s ’The Tree Of Life’ is truly a hymn to life, excavating answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope of the intimate and the cosmic, from the raw emotions of a family in a small Texan town to the wildest, infinite edges of space and time, from a boy’s loss of innocence to a man’s transforming encounters with awe, wonder and transcendence.
The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and the meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace, represented in the family by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain’s characters respectively, shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. Check out what Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain had to say about the film below. ’The Tree Of Life’ is out in cinemas now.
Working with Terrence Malick must be an extraordinary and unique experience?
Brad Pitt: I could go on far too long about this (laughs), my section of the story takes place in the 50’s, Terry started by renting this entire block and dressing it as the 1950’s, therefore allowing us to go outside, wherever we wanted. His idea is, even though he gave us this very dense script, he never wanted us to do what he calls hammer and tongs – seeing to it as it’s written, he’s more interested in catching what was happening on the day. He’s like a guy standing there with a big butterfly net, waiting for that moment of truth to go by. The kids themselves weren’t given the script, they had a closet of clothes, they put on what they wanted to put on that day and that’s what we shot in. We would do two takes…..Terry would get up every morning and write for an hour, he would give us pages in the morning and we would develop something out of that. I think because of that the moments are fresh, they’re not preconceived in anyway, the lighting even, there was only one light in the house, everything else was natural light.
It was a pretty incredible experience, I don’t know if I could do them all that way because it is exhausting, but you see what you get. Also he does what he calls torpedoing a scene, the youngest child he called the torpedo, on the first take me and Jessica Chastain are having an argument, we’re going at it, raising our voices, doing what you do. Then on the second take unbeknownst to us he would send in the torpedo and get him to sit at the table, suddenly it changed the whole tenure and tone of the scene. This is something that would go on, on a daily basis. I could go on for days about working with Terry.
Lifting The Veil On Terrence Malick
Jun 27th
A man of few words, Terrence Malick cuts a reclusive shape in the veiled shadows of Hollywood’s dazzling limelight. The word “reclusive”, however, may appear to be an understatement for a man of whom it is believed barely any, and mostly dated, photographs exist. Not only that, but he almost never gives interviews, not even to promote his films. Nevertheless, his quietness and notably long periods of mysterious absence seem to have elevated him to a godlike status in film-making circles, with fellow professionals desperate to get close to him.
What tales do emerge about Malick, paint a portrait of an unmatched talent encumbered by a burly eccentric streak and obsessive secrecy. As a passionate and conscientious student at Harvard, he studied philosophy, specialising in Heidegger – whose work is thought to have a strong influence in his films. Upon graduating Malick also spent time studying at Oxford University, but is thought to have left before completing his studies. He later worked as a teacher and a journalist before moving into film where he would ultimately make a name for himself.
Malick is undoubtedly elusive by nature. His films, on the other hand, speak boundlessly and spoil us undeservedly with magical imagery and impossibly absorbing story telling. Where other films have acquired fans, Malick’s attain disciples. Yet in nearly 30 years the critically acclaimed mastermind has directed just five films, culminating with The Tree of Life – due for its much anticipated UK release on July 8th.
‘The Tree Of Life’ UK Poster, Quad & Trailer – Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn & Jessica Chastain
Jun 16th
With Terrence Malick’s Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain starring Palme d’Or winner, ‘The Tree Of Life,’ scheduled for a July 8th UK and Ireland release, the good folks over at Fox Searchlight have provided us with this UK trailer, poster and quad for the film. ’The Tree Of Life’ is a hymn to life, excavating answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope of the intimate and the cosmic, from the raw emotions of a family in a small Texan town to the wildest, infinite edges of space and time, from a boy’s loss of innocence to a man’s transforming encounters with awe, wonder and transcendence.
From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree Of Life’ Wins The Palme d’Or At Cannes
May 23rd
As the worlds swankiest and most prestigious film festival came to a close for another year, the Cannes jury, headed by Robert De Niro, has announced the winners of this year’s competition slate. The most prestigious award, the Palme d’Or, was clinched by Terrence Malick’s deeply philosophical, visually stunning and ambitious film ‘The Tree Of Life.’
Other winners included a tie for the Grand Prix award with the Dardenne brothers’ ‘Kid With A Bike’ and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Anatolia’ sharing the spoils. Nicolas Winding Refn’s won the Mise en Scene award (Best Director) for his Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan starring flick ‘Drive.’
On the acting front Kirsten Dunst took home the Best Actress award for her work in Lars Von Trier‘s ‘Melancholia,’ while Jean Dujardin won Best Actor for Michel Hazanavicius’ ‘The Artist.’ You can check out the full list of winners below.
Brad Pitt Interview For ‘The Tree Of Life’
May 17th
‘The Tree of Life’ is Terrence Malick’s deeply philosophical, visually stunning and ambitious story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. Check out what Brad Pitt had to say about the film at the Cannes Film Festival below. The film is set for release May 27th.
Working with Terrence Malick must be an extraordinary and unique experience?
Brad Pitt: I could go on far too long about this (laughs), my section of the story takes place in the 50’s, Terry started by renting this entire block and dressing it as the 1950’s, therefore allowing us to go outside, wherever we wanted. His idea is, even though he gave us this very dense script, he never wanted us to do what he calls hammer and tongs – seeing to it as it’s written, he’s more interested in catching what was happening on the day. He’s like a guy standing there with a big butterfly net, waiting for that moment of truth to go by. The kids themselves weren’t given the script, they had a closet of clothes, they put on what they wanted to put on that day and that’s what we shot in. We would do two takes…..Terry would get up every morning and write for an hour, he would give us pages in the morning and we would develop something out of that. I think because of that the moments are fresh, they’re not preconceived in anyway, the lighting even, there was only one light in the house, everything else was natural light.
Debut Clip From Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree Of Life’ – Starring Brad Pitt & Sean Penn
May 4th
This debut clip from Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree Of Life’ – by a stretch my most anticipated film of 2011 – has been released online (via EW) featuring a trio of brothers (one of whom’s the younger version of Sean Penn’s character) tormenting their mother (Jessica Chastain) with some kind of small lizard while their overbearing father (Brad Pitt) is away. Malick’s films are continuously deeply philosophical and rich. Since his debut film ‘Badlands’ in 1973, Malick has only made three other films, ‘Days Of Heaven,’ ‘The Thin Red Line’ and ‘The New World.’ From what I’ve seen so far I’m supremely confident his fifth will be as amazing, if not more so. The film is set for release May 27th in the US, the UK release date is currently up in the air due to legal wranglings between Icon and Summit Entertainment.
From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. The Tree Of Life is set for release May 27th, 2011.