Update: Thompson On Hollywood has confirmed with Fox Searchlight that the film is headed to Cannes. Whether or not it plays in competition is yet to be determined, but all signs point to no right now.
In the last week or so, there seems to have been a spate of prognostication pieces about what films might be appearing at the Cannes Film Festival this year. While the official selection won’t be announced until April 14th, many have thrown their hat in the ring with a number of pretty good, if not fairly obvious, guesses. Well, it appears that one film is now “confirmed” — a title that of any being talked about was largely seen as a dead, certaintly for the festival anyway.
Variety reports that Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree Of Life” is “set for Cannes” with very little else to back up their claim other than “it’s sure to be included.” Seems they took to playing with language there pretty cleverly but here’s the thing: nothing is confirmed until festival head Thierry Fremaux reveals the titles himself and in the case of Malick, until somebody finally wrests the movie from his hands (we’d make a guess he’s going to be tinkering with the film until the last moment) and puts it in a projector. That said, ever since Fox Searchlight revealed a release date for the film last fall, Cannes was widely tipped to be the place where the film will premiere, with the release of the film coming a week after the festival ends, it would be exactly the kind of marketing boost the studio will need to get the film to play to bigger audience than its arthouse niche. So yeah, if you’re gambling on it, we’d say “The Tree Of Life” at Cannes is a safe bet but to “confirm” it now is a bit premature.
But since we’re at it, what else might appear on the Croisette this year? If even half these guesses are true it’s going to be a dream for cinema lovers. Among the films that are favorites to walk the red carpet: Lars Von Trier‘s “Melancholia,” Lynne Ramsay‘s “We Need To Talk About Kevin,” Gus Van Sant‘s “Restless,” Paolo Sorrentino‘s “This Must Be the Place,” Pedro Almodovar‘s “The Skin I Live In,” David Cronenberg‘s “A Dangerous Method,” Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne‘s “The Kid With a Bike” and more. But again, these are all just educated guesses and for now the only thing certain is that Woody Allen‘s “Midnight In Paris” will be opening up the festivities.
The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 11-21. “The Tree Of Life” opens on May 27th.
