Malick, notorious for re-writes and massive restructurings in the edit suite, has pissed off more than his fair share of notable actors, often to the point that they vow never to work with him again. With Chris Plummer and Tree of Life both nominated for an Oscar, Plummer’s views on Malick have naturally resurfaced lately, with some attention given to his declaration that he would never work with him again. I’d suspect Adrien Brody would feel the same way, and even Sean Penn has reservations about his inclusion in Tree Of Life.
With that in mind, it seems like Malick has figured out a new trick: film two movies within a year of each other using the same prestigious actors twice, so that by the time he cuts them out of one or the other he’ll already have another movie with them in the can! That way if he, say, turns Cate Blanchett into a silent ghostly presence in only a few scenes where before she was a prominent character, it won’t matter that she decides never to work with him again because Malick’s already got another performance from her ready to go!
Natalie Portman is the latest actor to sign up for this Malick double-header, signing on to both of Malick 2012 shoots- Knight Of The Cups and Lawless. She’ll be joined by Christian Bale (a screen-time survivor of New World) and Cate Blanchett in both films, with Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara coasting on new fame and buzz to dip their toes in Lawless. The two films will shot Summer and Fall respectively. We’ll see if Malick stays on the productivity wagon in the dual-editing processes, or if we maybe don’t hear about either of them again till 2014.
Portman of course managed to give birth to both an Oscar-winning performance and a child before dropping off the radar to see to her little one. (Which afterbirth was grosser I wonder, what came out of her following little Aleph or the Thor/No Strings Attached double header that she pushed out after Black Swan?) In the last few months we’ve seen her name pop up around different productions as she sets-up her post-maternity-leave projects, with these Malick films joining Thor 2 as the sure things. Recently it was reported that she was also considering hopping onto the Wachowski Siblings’ Jupiter Rising, but there’s been no further word of that so casting has likely moved on.
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Source | Deadline (via /Film)