British rock institution The Cult have revealed that they’ve been working with legendary film recluse Terrence Malick on an upcoming mystery movie with a strong music element.
The famous director, who takes large gaps between films (most notably the 20 year gap between ’78’s Badlands and ’98’s The Thin Red Line) is reportedly working on a brand new film project that has the rumour mill turning about the musical names attached to the project, as The Cult’s singer Ian Astbury revealed to prolific music blogger Alan Cross.
On Cross’ A Journal Of Music Things, Astbury says “So I was working on this Terrance Malick movie down in Texas… I’m in a backstage scene that was weirdly unscripted.” When Cross questioned the singer that Malick, who released the polarising The Tree Of Life last year was already at work on “making another movie? A music movie?” Astbury simply replied “Yeah.”(Terrence Malick) has already filmed at SXSW with Rooney Mara, me and Ian [Astbury] backstage” – The Cult’s Billy Duffy
Internet film bible, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists the plot synopsis for the untitled movie project as: “Two intersecting love triangles. Obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas.”
The mention of Austin, Texas’ music scene is particularly intriguing. As such the list of acts and musicians already whispered to be involved include Black Lips, Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, Die Antwoord, Lykke Li, Tegan and Sara, Florence + the Machine, Patti Smith and Iggy and the Stooges.
Interestingly, according to The Cult’s guitarist Billy Duffy in his interview with Tone Deaf earlier in the year, the film is called Lawless. Duffy revealing that big names such as Natalie Portman, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Christian Bale, and Australia’s own Cate Blanchett.
“[Malick] is using four songs off of the new album (this year’s Choice Of Weapon) for the soundtrack and he has already filmed at SXSW with Rooney Mara, me and Ian backstage,” revealed Duffy. “We are apparently supposed to do some more shooting with Christian Bale, who is the other dude in it. So that is a little bit of interesting film trivia… we are pretty honoured to be involved; it is a pretty classy project.”
A love story set in and around SXSW? Sign us up. Of course, this being Terrence Malick, it may be some time before we can expect to see the finished product. Or as Ian Astbury put it in his interview: “It’s Malick, man. It’ll be done when it’s done.”
