Brad Pitt’s latest film THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD was continually praised as being Terrence Malick like in it’s approach and atmosphere. The kind of slow building narrative where as an audience you have to be extremely patience before you get to the real meaty parts of the film.

Variety say Pitt will star in THE TREE OF LIFE, replacing the busy Heath Ledger who was previously cast in the movie Terrence Malick wrote and will direct. Sean Penn is believed to still be on board in the supporting role but we still have no further plot details except it’s expected to be a ‘complex drama’.

The Indie project setup at River Road Entertainment will earn Pitt and Penn virtually no money, as no upfront deals have been made with the two actors… seemingly they are doing the flick out of a liking to the script/idea/director.

Pitt and Penn should be a fun duo on screen, hopefully both respective actors will be able to stay on board this project and won’t get those itchy feet to jump ship. I was really disappointed by Malick’s THE NEW WORLD and I’m hoping that a smaller and more condensed story might bring better results here.