We were worried when just before Cannes, Apparition co-founder Bob Berney resigned, leaving the indie house in a state of flux. Our fears featured a slight uptick when last week, it was revealed that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group moved the film “Welcome To The Rileys,” starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini, to Samuel Goldwyn. Apparition had initially been set to distribute the film after striking a deal at Sundance and with all this moving and shaking, we began to wonder what the fate of Terrence Malick’s “The Tree Of Life” might be. Well, the good news is that the film is still at Apparition, who are now restructuring; the bad news is that when we might get to see the film is still up in the air.
The first steps of Apparition’s restructuring are difficult. They have laid off 60% of their staff and will be relocating their offices from New York to Los Angeles. Additionally, Bill Pohlad has enlisted ex-Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, once rumored as a replacement for Berney, to help with the transition and more importantly, assist in planning the release for “The Tree Of Life.” But when that will happen seems to be anybody’s guess.
While Deadline say the film is being prepped for a late 2010 Oscar contending release, Anne Thompson is less optimistic. She reiterates previous reports that the film is not guaranteed to be ready to for the Venice Film Festival, and more dishearteningly says that “Apparition has no firm release plan” though a late 2010 release is their target.
But there are signs of hope. Back in April, it was reported the film was 97% done and just a couple of weeks ago, Malick and Brad Pitt were seen palling around in Los Angeles where, apparently, he was overlooking FX work and cutting a trailer for the film. But Malick is a perfectionist and it won’t be done until he’s ready. So until then, we wait……