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Update on Malick in Cannes
CANNES, France — Austin director Terrence Malick is not expected to show up to receive any awards for “The Tree of Life” during the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.
That’s the word from Bob Berney, a Malick friend who was the head of Apparition, one of the early backers of “The Tree of Life.” Berney left Apparition a few years ago and is heading up Film District’s efforts in Cannes. Film District is the U.S. distributor for Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” which could challenge “The Tree of Life” for the Palme d’Or.
Berney, who has talked with Malick while in Cannes, says that Malick showed up at the end of the red-carpet screening of “Tree” but that he asked that he not be photographed. So when he entered the theater during a standing ovation, the spotlight inside the theaters was redirected from his movements, Berney says. Malick requested that no photos be taken, and the festival complied.
Berney says Malick also told him that he would not attend a press conference after the Sunday awards, even if he wins the Palme d’Or.
Berney was one of the few people to see Malick’s early cut of “The Tree of Life,” which had a running time of three hours and 15 minutes. The re-edited movie runs a little more than two hours.
Berney, who’s one of the most likable men in the film business, is well-known to Texas film critics, especially those in Dallas and Fort Worth. He ran the Inwood Theatre in Dallas for many years before moving to L.A. and setting up a distribution company. Dallas’ Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner now own the Inwood, as well as several other arthouses throughout the nation.
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