After the colossal mix-up this week, in which distributor Icon declared that Terrence Malick‘s The Tree of Life will see its world premiere there on May 4th (over a week before Cannes Film Festival), everything seems to be cleared up. If you want to the bottom line, check out our story below, but I recommend reading The Playlist’s excellent wrap-up of the preceding events.
Karaoke/life-hating Jeff Wells received the following information from Jill Jones, Senior VP of International Marketing and Publicity for Summit, saying there is no truth to Icon’s planned release date. Read it below.
“The information regarding the May 4th UK release [of The Tree of Life] is incorrect. Icon Film Distribution Ltd. does not have the right to distribute The Tree of Life in the UK, as it is in default of its agreement. The matter is pending before an arbitration tribunal in Los Angeles.”
Presumably, the premiere of this long-awaited film will indeed occur at the Cannes Film Festival mid-May. We’ll be there to cover it and in the meantime, you can view some official stills from TwoWaysThroughLife below and the rest at that site.
Synopsis:
From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950′s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
The Tree of Life will hit US theaters May 27th, 2011.
Are you happy the premiere will be at Cannes?