I love that things are moving forward with this film.  Wild Bunch now has a page dedicated to High Life.  There’s a short and long synopsis.  I’ll put the longer synopsis behind a cut in case you don’t want to read.  The site also confirms that both Stuart Staples and The Tindersticks and that the production date is 2016. Hello Monte – I can’t wait to meet you.

Lookey lookey Jules – I can’t believe the picture Des Hamilton used for The Childhood of a Leader, especially since he cast the film – but aside from that – they’re starting the casting process for High Life.  All these “no previous acting experience” roles that are in Rob’s films. Why do I live in Australia oh wait – there’s one problem with this role – never in my life have I wanted to suffer from a condition …  I also spy “must be available to travel to London w/c Mon 15 Feb” – wonder how long the auditioning will go for.  How exciting.  There’s a stack of tweets but here’s 2 as an example.  If anyone knows anyone who fits this description you should let Des Hamilton know

@worldalbinism Looking for a woman 20-30yrs with ALBINISM 4 role in a Film. Robert Pattinson attached! Please RT! pic.twitter.com/0PlIDCft1v

— Des Hamilton Casting (@DesHCasting) February 12, 2016

Looking for a woman 20-30yrs with ALBINISM 4 role in a Film. Robert Pattinson attached! #albinism #albino #film pic.twitter.com/SoPDC0w01L

— Des Hamilton Casting (@DesHCasting) February 12, 2016

Lordy lordy can we get any more excited for this film – I think the answer is yes.  Thanks to Screendaily we have even more information about the plot.  I’ll put the info after the cut in case you don’t want spoilers.

From The Playlist:

“Meanwhile, the talent on the film expands well beyond the director, writers, and cast. Cinematographer Agnès Godard is lensing, Tindersticks frontmanStuart Staples is providing the music and sound design, Leos Carax‘s editor Nelly Quettier is on board, and so too is physicist, black-hole expert, and the film’s scientific advisor Aurélien Barrau.

Production on “High Life” begins this summer, so we probably won’t be seeing this until 2017. But it already sounds like it will be worth the wait.”

From The Filmstage:

” When speaking at SUNY Purchase this fall, Smith downplayed the extent of her involvement — indicating it was in fact for the purposes of polishing English dialogue — and one wonders if and how that affects things up to this point in time. No matter the situation on that front, High Life can’t come soon enough. Let’s count our lucky stars that production is expected to begin this summer.”

Stop reading now if you don’t want *SPOILERS* from Screendaily article

According to tweets from Parviz Khosrawi High Life will be filming in Cologne in May 2016.  Get excited!

From: Parviz Khosrawi’s  Facebook:

“Robert Pattinson spins in cologne!!! As the film and medienstiftung nrw announced this morning, Star Robertpattinson.OrgTwilight will be on the side of Patricia Arquette and mia goth for the science fiction film high life in front of the camera. Locations are cologne and the surrounding area. We start shooting in may. In the film is about a group of criminal the astronauts disguised as a mission, you accept the directly into a black hole. I think that sounds interesting! Large International cinema – made in nrw. I’m going to tell you about this interesting project to keep up to date. Love greetings – your cinema expert parviz”

From Film and Media Foundation (medienstiftung nrw Germany):

“Claire Denis turns the science fiction “High Life”. For the book, which she shared withZadie Smith, Nick Laird and Jean-Pol Fargeau wrote, they were advised by the CERN physicists. A group of criminals takes as astronauts on the mission to break into a black hole. Mia Goth, Patricia Arquette and Robert Pattinson are in NRW front of the camera. The internationally renowned artist Olafur Eliasson, of the approximately 40 works at the Langen Foundation are until the end of February to see, accepts the Art Design. (Production: Pandora, 1.2 million euros)

1.2 million euros?  That’s great because originally Film and Mediation Foundation had given them 50,000 euros.

According to Focus on Film: “High Life” received the most amount of funding:

“The Film and Media Foundation NRW has awarded to 44 projects currently funding of more than ten million euros. Here also two million subsidies were decided: as gets Claire Denis’ sci-fi drama “High Life” (producer:Pandora Film) about a group of criminals who assumes a mission when astronauts penetrate into a black hole, the highest currently assigned funding of 1 , 2 million euros.”

Thanks @nicole2dogs for the heads up

2017 seems like a long way away, but we have a few of Rob’s films to occupy us until then: Queen of the Desert, The Childhood of a Leader & Lost City of Z.  From Ioncinema:

“High Life

Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Zadie Smith, Nick Laird

French auteur Claire Denis is back with sci-fi tale High Life, co-written by novelists Zadie Smith and Nick Laird. Notably, this is Denis’ twelfth feature and her English language debut, which concerns ‘a galactic journey beyond our solar system.’ Intriguingly, French philosopher and physicist Aurelien Barrau was consulted on the project while Danish-Icelandic sculptor Olafur Eliasson is involved. Most headlines about the project concern Robert Pattinson and Patricia Arquette among the main cast members, which will certainly heighten Denis’ reputation abroad.

Cast: Robert Pattinson, Patricia Arquette, Mia Goth.

Production Co.: Alcatraz Films, Apocalypse, Pandora

U.S. Distributor: Rights available. TBD (domestic) Wild Bunch (international).

Release Date: Denis’ has played twice at Cannes, in the main competition with her stellar 1988 debut Chocolat and in UCR with 2013’s Bastards. She’s won Locarno’s top prize for Nenette et Boni (1996), and competed three times in Venice (No Fear, No Die; The Intruder; White Material), while Berlin awarded Beau Travail (1999) a special mention. Considering Cannes has begun to favor major auteurs working in English, we’re wondering if this might (finally) find Denis returning to the main competition there.

Hopefully the King will be returning to Cannes.

 

I posted Ioncinema’s 25 Most Anticipated Studio Film’s yesterday that included Lost City of Z and now The Playlist has joined the party with their list of 100 anticipated films. Not only have they included The Lost City of Z at no. 9 and High Life at no. 13, but The Trap also rated a special mention.  It didn’t escape me that 2 of Rob’s films are in the Top 20, if there was solid information about The Trap it would have been 3.  See it’s not just us that are waiting with bated breath.   Here is what they had to say:

“9. “The Lost City of Z”
Director: James Gray
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, Angus Mcfadyen
Synopsis: A group of British explorers search for a colonel who goes missing trying to find a lost city somewhere in the Amazon.
What You Need to Know: Although he frequently earns comparisons to his New Hollywood buddies Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, it’s easy to forget that James Gray is only five films into an already-impressive career. “Little Odessa,” “The Yards” and “We Own the Night” are moody, classicist crime dramas indebted to the work of Sidney Lumet and Francis Ford Coppola, while “Two Lovers” and the mesmerizing “The Immigrant” respectively tackled the romantic melodrama and the grandiose period epic. His newest, “The Lost City of Z,” looks to be his biggest, most ambitious and perhaps strangest film yet. The unforgiving jungle locale hearkens back to the early, dangerous cinema of Werner Herzog, and something about the juicy-sounding premise evokes the naturalist brutality of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and the inarguable classic film the novel inspired, “Apocalypse Now,” which is one Coppola classic that Gray’s never borrowed from. As far as we’re concerned, Gray is five for five at this point, and we can’t wait to see what the director has up his sleeve with this epic-sounding drama.
Release Date: Gray’s a favorite at Cannes, so if it’s done in time, expect it there.”

13. “High Life”
Director: Claire Denis (“Trouble Every Day,” “White Material”)
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Patricia Arquette, Mia Goth
Synopsis: A group of criminals agree to go on a suicide mission into space in the hope of finding alternate energy sources, and to take part in experiments in human reproduction.
What You Need To Know: If we could have guessed what arthouse queen Claire Denis would do next after the brutal “Bastards” from a few years ago, we wouldn’t have said ‘sci-fi starring R-Patz.’ And yet here we are, with Denis gearing up to shoot her first English-language movie, one excitingly penned by the great Zadie Smith and her partner, poet Nick Laird, with the ever-adventurous Pattinson and recent Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette starring. Though the subject matter is unusual for Denis, she’s never been afraid to play with genre, and it thematically should be up her street. In fact, the only reason this isn’t higher is that, depending on the amount of effects involved, it’s not entirely certain whether it’ll be ready for this year.
Release Date: Shooting begins shortly, and given that, “Bastards” aside, all of Denis’ recent movies premiered at Venice, that would be the best bet if it’s done in time.

Special Mention: We’re Not Sure If This Is Still Happening in 2016, But It’s Highly Anticipated If It Is

“The Trap”
Director: Harmony Korine (“Trash Humpers,” “Spring Breakers”)
Cast: Idris Elba, Benicio Del Toro, Robert Pattinson, Al Pacino, James Franco
Synopsis: A gangster rapper is targeted by an ex-con recently released from prison.
What You Need To Know: As far as candidates for mainstream crossover status go, we’d have had indie world enfant terrible Harmony Korine fairly low on the list, and yet “Spring Breakers” proved to be a substantial hit in 2013, proving the eternal appeal of James Franco, as well as young women partying in swimsuits. It’s taken a little time for Korine to follow it up, but “The Trap” could end up making even more of a splash —if it’s still happening, as word’s been very quiet since the summer. A crime thriller, the director called it “sensory bombardment… a super propulsive, pretty highly violent revenge movie,” which sounds alright by us. He’s got a great cast lined up (assuming everyone’s still involved: schedules change, and if it is keeping to the original plan, it would clash with Benicio Del Toro’s “Star Wars” shoot), and we can’t wait to see what kind of bonkers fever dream he cooks up this time. If we were 100% sure that this was definitely going to be released this year, it’d undoubtedly be in our top five.
Release Date: The film was supposed to get before cameras this month. Assuming that holds, it could be ready for a Venice premiere, as “Spring Breakers” did.

I’m liking the sound of Cannes and Venice because I love seeing Rob excited about being at these major film festivals. I also love the “ever-adventurous” comment. More importantly though I have my fingers crossed The Trap goes ahead because I really love the sound of Korine’s crazy.