Recently producer Alex Boden spoke with Variety to discuss how the second season of Michael Mann’s Max series “Tokyo Vice” is going and how the project completed filming of the new season just before the actor’s strike.
In that chat, Boden also offered an update on celebrated auteur Terrence Malick’s biblical drama “The Way of the Wind” – project dubbed a retelling of several episodes in the life of Jesus Christ.
The project hasn’t had an update in some time. Filming on the movie took place in 2019 back when it was titled “The Last Planet” with a cast that includes Géza Röhrig, Mark Rylance, Joseph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley and Matthias Schoenaerts.
As such, Malick has been editing the movie since around the time the pandemic kicked off three-and-a-half years ago. Asked where things stand, Boden says:
“It’s very much in the edit room at the moment and the filming is completed. We have an amazing cast. It’s another Terrence Malick project, which was filmed this time in several different countries. From a production point of view, it’s a pretty fantastic achievement. Terry is very happy with what he is working on so far is the word, but there’s no announcements yet.”
Boden wasn’t the only one to talk about the film lately. Celebrated actor Mark Rylance, who plays Satan in the film, spoke about his experience and tells RTL:
“There isn’t much time to converse during film shoots. There I stood, as Satan, with 28 pages of monologue running through my mind, while Jesus barely uttered a word. Most of the time, I tempt Jesus as Satan; it’s not the situation for extensive discussions.
During filming, there’s no time for rehearsals, so it’s not the moment for lengthy conversations. It’s akin to a boxer focusing solely on stepping into the ring. Discussing Hungarian history doesn’t help in such moments. Especially not in a Terrence Malick film, where everything is at stake.
However, I got along very well with Géza [Röhrig, who plays Jesus]; it was a great honor to act alongside the lead of Son of Saul. I believe Son of Saul rightfully belongs among the top ten films of all time, and his performance is astounding. I hope that Terrence eventually completes the film.”
Even more revealing was a recently resurfaced interview done several months ago by RFM France (via World of Reel) with French actor/filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz. Kassovitz claims that Malick filmed five hours of footage every day and shot around 3000 hours in total.
As a result, he says he does not know if he will be part of the film’s final cut but hopes he is. He also revealed his role is that of Jesus’ brother John and even has a scene in which he yells at Jesus to stop smoking weed and help with the cattle. Finally he confirms Matthias Schoenaerts’ role is that of Saint Peter.
When Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” will blow into theaters remains as much a mystery as the film itself.
