Terrence Malick’s TREE OF LIFE Won’t Bloom in 2009

Terrence Malick’s upcoming film, “Tree of Life” was tentatively schedule for December 25^th of this year but Malick probably woke up in a cold sweat at the thought of releasing a film and tarnishing his rep of making sure they take a few decades to make.  It’s taken 30 years to do “Tree of Life” and since everyone likes to keep a streak alive, Malick’s decided you won’t be getting this movie for Christmas.  However, he does have plenty of coal lumps if anyone’s interested.  Hit the jump for when you might see “Tree of Life” in your lifetime.

Anne Thompson reports that the film’s distributor, Apparition, always considered December 25^th as “wishful” and that it won’t be finished in time, presumably because Malick has to count every frame in the movie by hand.  The film was shot in Austin, Texas in the spring of 2008 and Malick has spent over a year in the editing room because when you’re trying to count individual frames by hand, it’s really easy to lose count.  The film also won’t be showing up at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival but Thompson speculates that it will finally make its debut at Cannes.  But Apparition chief Bob Berney says he has no idea when the film will come out and that he hasn’t even seen it yet.  Berney continued that whenever he or anyone else tries to bring a clock or a calendar near Malick he screams in pain.

For those just tuning in, here’s a (very) brief synopsis:

Tree of Life is a period piece centered around three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son (Hunter McCracken) of Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain) witnesses the loss of innocence.