Malick, Pitt, Penn and Dinosaurs?
Interest level rising...
Okay, I need to brush up a bit more on Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and expected to bow sometime this 2009 as a third-hand report from Empire Magazine by way of Hollywood Elsewhere that first showed up in the CriterionForum on Friday. The quote apparently is found in the latest issue of Empire and comes from an interview with visual effects artist Mike Flint:
"We're just starting work on a project for Terrence Malick, animating dinosaurs, the film is Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. It'll be showing in IMAX — so the dinosaurs will actually be life size — and the shots of the creatures will be long and lingering."
Are you as confused as I am? The synopsis as released by Summit gives no inclination to dinosaurs, and what the hell does he mean when he says the "will actually be life size"? As opposed to little mini-dinosaurs nipping at their ankles?
For those that haven't read the parable that is Summit's synopsis for Tree of Life, another one of my early 2010 Oscar candidates, check it out below:
Our picture is a cosmic epic, a hymn to life.
We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does, with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world's way, of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.
Framing this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world's preparation, each thing appears a miracle — precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.
The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family — our first school — the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life's single most important lesson, of unselfish love.
Did they find dinosaurs in the Midwest and I just wasn't notified?
The plot on this one had been kept pretty tight-lipped for a long time and should this quote prove to be legit it seems there remains a lot more to the story to be revealed.
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What Mike Flint means by "life-size" is that when shown in IMAX, the size of the dinosaurs on the screen will be the same as in real life, compared to a normal screen, in which they would appear smaller.
This tidbit actually doesn't surprise me, because not long after The New World, Malick's last feature, was released, there were rumors that the storyline for his next project would have an epic, even mythic scale to it. Look up "Tree of Life" (the term, not the film title) in Wikipedia, and that may give some clues as to what Malick is going for here.
@John: I have seen dinosaur skeletons and if they are going to be "life size" on the screen then nothing else will be seen and not even the whole dino if we are talking about the real biggies.
I wasn't defending what he said. I was just explaining what he meant.