Wow, this is unexpected. With Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree Of Life” pretty much confirmed for the Cannes Film Festival, we figured that it would serve as the global launchpad for the film, however, it turns out that’s not the case.
Empire reports that Brit audiences will be the first to get mindfucked by Malick, with “The Tree Of Life” now scheduled for a Wednesday, May 4th release. That’s one week before Cannes kicks off and three and a half weeks before it lands on our shores. We can feel Cannes honcho Thierry Frémaux slightly fuming that his big ticket festival centerpiece will now get a bow elsewhere first.
So what does this mean for Cannes and Malick? Well, it almost certainly guarantees that the film will not play in competition (though we never figured it would anyway). However, it does still mean Frémaux will still get the glitzy red carpet with Brad Pitt (likely with Angelina Jolie in tow), Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and hopefully, the reclusive Malick himself. While it does take some shine off the premiere, there will be a lot to keep the photogs happy and frankly, most of the world press will still be eagerly awaiting to see the movie for the first time.
Another unexpected development from a film and director continuing to throw us curveballs. For those of us stateside, “The Tree Of Life” lands on May 27th.
