Although it had been previously announced that Michael Fassbender was involved in Terrence Malick’s Weightless, it was revealed this week that Fassbender will be portraying a ‘Lucifer’ like character, i.e. a fallen man who becomes evil.
The role that Fassbender plays was originally intended for Christian Bale, but Bale had to give up the role because of previous commitments at the time to David O. Russell’s American Hustle. But it is believed Bale still has a role in the film. Although when the cast was first revealed, it seemed Bale (and subsequently Fassbender) would have the ‘lead’ role, it seems as though Malick will be switching between storylines quite frequently.
Given director/writer Malick’s religious background, and his tendencies to allude to Christian symbols and biblical stories in his films, it is no surprise that he has a ‘Lucifer’ character in the film.
Weightless, which was actually filmed in 2012, is expected to focus on two love triangles that happen to overlap in the music scene of Austin, TX. Given that director/writer Malick resides in Austin, TX, it is no surprise he chose to set the film there. Although it might seem odd that it has taken five years for the film to be released, though anyone who knows Malick’s creative process may not be, nor do they mind the length it takes to create one of his masterpieces. His most recent film, the documentary Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey, was filmed in the summer of 2013 and wasn’t released until this past fall.
According to Ryan Gosling in an interview with GQ, there was also no fixed script used during filming, rather, Malick would re-write or write pages the night before and give them to the actors the day of.
The film also stars Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Benicio Del Toro and Rooney Mara, along with many others.
Weightless will be released in the US on March 17, 2017.
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