FIRST LOOK

Is Terrence Malick Already Filming Christian Bale in His Next Project?

by Alex Billington
September 17, 2011

So there's something very interesting going on. While cameras are still rolling on Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, lead actor Christian Bale may already be working on one of his other upcoming projects. It was revealed back in August that Bale was up for the lead role in another new Terrence Malick project, to follow his romance with Ben Affleck that's already finished. On Friday this week, Bale was spotted attending shows at the Austin City Limits music festival - with both a full camera crew and Malick himself in tow. Photos, like the one seen above, were taken confirming the two are working together. But what's going on?

When it was first mentioned that Christian Bale would be working with Terrence Malick, as is expected of the mysterious filmmaker, no details were revealed, it's simply known as the "untitled, unidentified project." First things first, these photos (like this one on Flickr) definitely confirm that Bale and Malick are working together. But are they shooting already? And why are they at the Austin City Limits concerts? Is it a biopic about a musician? Or are they just having fun together, as Malick does live in Austin. Either way, this is one of the first good photos we've seen of Terrence Malick in a long time, years even. Here's some of the shots:

While their appearances and the photos only bring up more questions rather than provide any answers, they're still very intriguing to see. Many attendees at the ACL fest this weekend are buzzing about Bale's appearance, saying things like they're going to be in The Dark Knight Rises (obviously untrue). Additionally, not that this will confirm anything, but reports say they saw Bale on stage (with camera crews) at shows from artists including Coldplay to Bright Eyes, to the electronic group Pretty Lights. Considering we know nothing about this latest Malick project, my thoughts are that it could be a biopic or drama about a musician, someone involved in the music industry, or none of that, as we have no idea what Malick's up to.

At the very least, I thought it was cool enough to feature another very rare photo of Terrence Malick, as he's incredibly elusive (this is one of the only other ones that anyone can find). He never even had his photo taken when he showed up briefly in Cannes earlier this year for The Tree of Life, which is known for red carpet and celebrity photos galore. Interestingly, there's a listing on IMDb for an upcoming Malick project, produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, about legendary American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter Jerry Lee Lewis. Might all this have a connection? Could Bale be doing early research to play Jerry Lee Lewis? But then why are they filming everything right now? Only time will tell... Thoughts?

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Filed under First Look, Indies, Rumors

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