Iconoclast Terrence Malick has only made nine movies in his forty-four year career yet he’s currently on mode of productivity never before seen from the filmmaker. Since his Oscar-nominated, Palme d’Or-winning opus The Tree of Life opened in the spring of 2011, Malick has debuted three films in the last five years: the Ben Affleck-Rachel McAdams romance To the Wonder, the Christian Bale-Hollywood drama Knight of Cups and the documentary Voyage of Time. 2017 sees yet another Malick property, Song to Song.
Previously known as Weightless, the film chronciles various story love triangles with the Austin music scene as its background. As well as serving as the film’s director, Malick also received writing credit on the title that features an all-star cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman. Other heavyweights including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benicio Del Toro and Holly Hunter are also set to appear in the film as well as rising stars Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train), Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl), Callie Hernandez (La La Land) and Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight). A caveat with Malick features remains that while his ensembles tend to be loaded with familiar faces, sometimes they don’t make the final cut – just ask Bill Pullman, Mickey Rourke and Lukas Haas (all of whom were edited out of Malick’s Oscar-nominated 1998 war film The Thin Red Line).
The premise for Song to Song goes as follows: ““In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman) — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.” A slew of famed musicians are also set to be a part of the action including Patti Smith, Lykke Li, The Black Lips, Iggy Pop, Florence and the Machine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Back in 2012, actors Mara and Gosling (as well as Val Kilmer) were spotted filming sequences alongside The Black Lips – scenes that may be incorporated into the final product.
Song to Song is set to open on March 17th, courtesy of Broad Green Pictures.
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