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First Official Still Of Christian Bale & Natalie Portman In Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • May 15, 2013 7:11 AM
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  • 10 Comments
News
We were a bit depressed about the reception to "To The Wonder." When Terrence Malick's latest premiered in Venice last year, we found it beguiling and beautiful, and arguably superior to his previous picture "The Tree Of Life." But the critical consensus didn't agree with us, and the film picked up some harsh notices, and in the month since it was released, has made only $500,000 at the U.S. box office.
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More: Knight Of Cups, Terrence Malick, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman

Terrence Malick’s Editor Billy Weber Says 'Knight of Cups' Won’t Be As Dialogue-Free & Experimental As 'To The Wonder'

  • By Diana Drumm
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  • May 9, 2013 3:36 PM
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  • 8 Comments
Billy Weber, Terrence Malick
Features
While at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival, we had the chance to sit down with Billy Weber, Terrence Malick’s longtime editor. Beginning his editing career on the cult horror flick “Messiah of Evil,” Weber went on to work with directors ranging from Malick to Martin Scorsese (“Taxi Driver”) to Tony Scott (“Top Gun”). Meeting Malick as an editing assistant on “Badlands,” the two have become decades-long friends and worked together on four more films spanning over forty years -- “Days of Heaven,” “The Thin Red Line” and “The Tree of Life.” Being close to the enigmatic director, Weber gave us some insight on Malick’s upcoming projects, although Weber won’t be involved in either, and laid some rumors to rest. As we shared last week, Weber revealed that Malick is working on a director’s cut for "The Tree of Life.” Here are a few more things we gleaned from that conversation.
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More: Billy Weber, Terrence Malick, To the Wonder, Knight Of Cups, Untitled Terrence Malick Rock Scene Project

Style Or Substance? 20 Visually Stunning Movies That Go For Broke

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • May 8, 2013 1:51 PM
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  • 23 Comments
20 Visually Dazzling Movies
Features
No matter what you think of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," opening this week in ultra-luxurious 3D, one thing's for sure – it looks pretty spectacular. Filled with lovingly crafted costumes, opulent sets, and computer generated imagery that makes ragtime New York seem like a quasi-futuristic metropolis, it is drunk on its own excess. It feels like the movie Luhrmann has been angling towards for a while and has finally achieved (thanks in part to the added dimensionality of 3D), for better or worse. It's a giant, gilded, vulgar monstrosity that overwhelms more often than it entertains. And it got us thinking about other movies whose similarly excessive styles have either been an asset or a detriment. So put on your 3D glasses, your best pink pinstripe suit, and grab a glass of bootleg liquor, for our list of 20 visually dazzling movies.
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More: The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann, Tron: Legacy, The Wachowskis, Oz the Great and Powerful, Sam Raimi, Terry Gilliam, Zack Snyder, Guillermo del Toro, Francis Ford Coppola, Tarsem, Darren Aronofsky, Walt Disney, Features, Terrence Malick

Editor Billy Weber Says Terrence Malick Working On DVD Director's Cut Of 'Tree Of Life'; 'Voyage Of Time' Coming In 2014

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • May 1, 2013 11:47 AM
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  • 3 Comments
News
While Terrence Malick has become somewhat known for cutting people out of his movies (just yesterday we learned Michael Shannon was on the chopping block for "To The Wonder," and we have a whole feature devoted to actors who got snipped), in one case he's going back and putting footage back into a movie. You might remember that two years ago, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki revealed that Malick went back to the 300 plus miles of footage he shot for "The Tree Of Life" with plans for a six hour version of the movie. And while the running time is yet to be determined, and we haven't really heard anything about it since, it does seem that Malick is preparing a longer cut of the movie.
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More: Voyage Of Time, IMAX, Billy Weber, Terrence Malick, The Tree Of Life

You Can Go Ahead And Add Michael Shannon To The List Of Actors Cut Out Of 'To The Wonder'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 30, 2013 3:37 PM
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  • 2 Comments
News
By now, Terrence Malick's tendency to enlist lots of big name stars to come hang out his sets, only to subsequently cut them out of the movie, is as legendary as his press shyness. In fact, we devoted a whole feature to that very topic. And his latest film, the divisive "To The Wonder" -- listen to our podcast about it here -- is no different. While the finished movie pivots around four characters played by Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem, there were a handful who worked on the movie, in both big and small parts, that were ultimately cast aside including Rachel Weisz, Barry Pepper, Amanda Peet, Michael Sheen and Jessica Chastain. And now, you can add one more to that list.
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More: Michael Shannon, To the Wonder, Terrence Malick

Podcast: The Playlist Talks Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder' & The Potential Dangers Of Auteur Worship

  • By Erik McClanahan
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  • April 16, 2013 2:41 PM
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  • 19 Comments
To The Wonder, Ben Affleck Rachel McAdams
Features
...and the podcast is back. On this latest episode, host (yours truly) and contributor Erik McClanahan is joined by editor-in-chief Rodrigo Perez, managing editor Kevin Jagernauth and contributor Cory Everett for an in depth conversation about Terrence Malick and his latest film"To the Wonder," and the idea of auteur worship in cinephile/critical circles (also known as vulgar auteurism).
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More: Terrence Malick, To the Wonder, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Tim Burton, Ben Wheatley, George Lucas, Roger Ebert, Park Chan-wook, Stoker, The Tree Of Life

Watch: 'Malick: Fire & Water' Examines The Director's Use Of The Elements

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 15, 2013 5:55 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
As the debate continues about Terrence Malick's latest "To The Wonder" -- in our recent feature, we explored how it has split up the staff of The Playlist with those who both admire and have issuse with the film -- it's perhaps testament to the filmmaker that his work inspires such chatter at all. And certainly, the imagery in his films is more than just beautiful pictures, as they strive to try and capture the ephemeral feelings the characters are grappling with, but it's not always successful. Nature has been particular obsession through this career and a new visual essay gives a quick study as to how two key elements have factored into his movies.
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More: Terrence Malick

Discuss: Is Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder' Another Profound Masterpiece Or A Parody Of His Worst Tendencies?

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • April 15, 2013 11:57 AM
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  • 36 Comments
Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, To The Wonder
Features
The last movie that Roger Ebert reviewed was Terrence Malick's "To The Wonder," which seems appropriately fitting. "To the Wonder" is a movie of quiet contemplation, one where an Oscar-winning movie star like Ben Affleck is mostly found in stoic silence and conventional plot mechanics are either eschewed or completely ignored. It doesn't take on the cosmic dimension of his equally divisive "The Tree of Life," but "To the Wonder" does contemplate similarly big questions about humanity, the world and our place in it.
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More: To the Wonder, Terrence Malick, Review, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck, Reviews

Review: Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder' Is A Raw & Heartfelt Film Of Loss And Longing

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • April 10, 2013 6:37 PM
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  • 2 Comments
To The Wonder, Ben Affleck Rachel McAdams
Reviews
For a man not known for being prolific, an eighteen-month gap between Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” (the filmmaker’s first film in five years) and his latest “To the Wonder” (which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last summer) isn’t just unprecedented, it’s positively mind-boggling, especially given the director is now in the midst of a pair of films, “Knight of Cups” and a still untitled effort set against the music scene.
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More: To the Wonder, Terrence Malick, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck, Review

'To The Wonder': 10 Actors Cut Out Of Terrence Malick Films & How They Reacted

  • By Jessica Kiang
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  • April 10, 2013 3:39 PM
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  • 25 Comments
To The Wonder, Actors Cut From Malick Films
Features
We’ve all been there. Cast as the lead in a meaty, dialogue-heavy role in a surefire masterpiece from one of the most unassailable geniuses of modern filmmaking, only to be reduced to sifting through the finished film on freeze frame occasionally shouting "Look! That’s my shadow on that fern!" or "Hey! That’s the back of my head near that egret!" The one comfort we can take when this inevitability occurs, is that we’re in fine company on the Malick cutting room floor. The only question is, whose lead will we follow in reacting to our role’s excision or drastic reduction?
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More: Terrence Malick, To the Wonder, The Thin Red Line, The New World, Knight Of Cups, Christopher Plummer, Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mickey Rourke, The Tree Of Life

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