With Tree of Life inching towards cinemas at the speed of evolution, everyone was surprised to learn last year that Terrence Malick was already working on his next project. Barry Pepper, out on the True Grit rounds, has revealed that he's in it, and that Malick has already finished shooting it. If you think that might mean we're going to learn anything at all about it though, well, think on...
Pepper tells Collider that he accepted the role on the strength of Malick's name alone, "which I'd never done before, although I'm sure I would have done the same for the Coens if that had been a similar situation."
He says he never once saw a script, and "honestly couldn't tell you what the film is about". He was asked to create his own character, "intersecting with my own heart and my own sensibilities", and while it sounds like he worked extensively with Ben Affleck, "I have no idea what his role is in the movie, because our two characters never meet. We aren't aware of each other, so therefore if I've never met you there's no need for me to know your storyline, right?"
So what do we actually know about Malick's sixth film? That would be a big zero, other than that it was shot in and around Oklahoma; early rumblings describe it as a "romance"; and that it will feature Pepper and Affleck (who might be playing a fisherman), along with, possibly, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, Rachel Weisz, and Olga Kurylenko. New World alumnus Christian Bale was supposed to be involved at one point, but it seems that Affleck replaced him.
More news as we get it, probably in about 2013. The Tree of Life still has no official release date, but may take root in the summer. Have a look at the trailer, if it's passed you by thus far.