After the seemingly rapturous response to Terrence Malick’s new film “A Hidden Life” when it premiered at this year’s Cannes, it was clear that Fox Searchlight had to know that it has something special on its hands. With many calling “A Hidden Life” a return to form for the iconic director, it’s no surprise that people already began predicting a strong awards season run. And with the just-announced release date, the studio thinks that Malick should be front-and-center in the Oscar discussion.
Fox Searchlight just announced that Terrence Malick’s latest film, “A Hidden Life,” is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 13. Not only is that a prime release date for a film hoping to secure some good box office during the prime Christmas season, but it’s also the time of year when every studio on the planet trots out their best shots at awards season glory. And Fox Searchlight thinks Malick is it.
“A Hidden Life” is a World War II drama based on the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector to the massive conflict. The film stars August Diehl, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Nyqvist, Valerie Pachner, Jurgen Prochnow, Alexander Fehling, and Bruno Ganz. Searchlight made waves at Cannes when the distributor purchased the rights to the film for a reported $14 million, beating out the likes of A24, Netflix, and others. Clearly, this is the film that everyone has on their mind as an early awards-season favorite.
The news also comes on the heels of the reports that Malick is already priming his next film, “The Last Planet.” Earlier this month, we mentioned how the filmmaker was already in production on his next film, which is said to explore the life of Jesus Christ. However, a new rumor says that the film is actually called “Samarkanda,” but possible has three working titles, as of now. Considering “A Hidden Life” was called “Radegund” up until its premiere, odds are the titles that are being discussed are far from final. There’s also some behind-the-scenes information, including pictures, about “Samarkanda” below.
Speaking of release dates and possible awards, NEON has announced that the distributor is releasing the highly-anticipated thriller “The Lodge” on November 15. After a strong premiere at this year’s Sundance, the new film from directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (“Goodnight Mommy”) is now set to also come out during one of the busier times for the film industry. Perhaps “awards contender” is a bit premature, as genre films never do that well, but the buzz is strong with this and if there’s a shot that any film could carry a “Hereditary”-like gravitas this year, “The Lodge” could be it.
Not part of the Black Panther universe….. Malick's latest film is called, Samarkanda.
— IONCINEMA (@ioncinema) June 26, 2019
We spoke about an alternative title.In fact it seems there is not only two titles but three.THE LAST PLANET would…
Posted by One Big Soul: The Terrence Malick Community on Friday, June 21, 2019
A few other pictures of yesterday's filming in the Tor Caldara natural reserve. Pictures are courtesy of the city of…
Posted by One Big Soul: The Terrence Malick Community on Saturday, June 22, 2019
Jörg Widmer is the cinematographer of THE LAST PLANET / SAMARKANDA.
Posted by One Big Soul: The Terrence Malick Community on Tuesday, June 25, 2019