Rachel Weisz, Michael Sheen and Amanda Peet on list of big names who shot scenes for flick but didn't make final edit

When you have a reputation as a maverick, mercurial genius who only makes flicks once in a blue moon, it stands to reason that the world's greatest actors will be lining up to appear in your movies.

But it turns out that getting cast in a Terrence Malick flick does not necessarily mean appearing in one: according to reports the publicity-shy director has excised Rachel Weisz, Michael Sheen, Amanda Peet and Barry Pepper from his new flick To the Wonder ahead of its Venice flick festival debut.

Described as a romantic drama centered on a man who reconnects with a woman from his hometown after his marriage falls apart, Malick's latest already had a crowded cast list.

As well as the absentees above, To the Wonder was due to star Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem and Jessica Chastain.

So far, indications are that they will make it into the film.

Not so Weisz, who told Italy's La Stampa: "It seems that my part has been cut, so I had the experience of working with him but I will not have the pleasure of seeing my work." It is not known how the other actors reacted to their dismissals, but there is said to be an understanding that it is an occupational hazard when working with Malick.

The 68-year-old film-maker, who has directed just five flicks since 1973's Badlands, is not averse to changing the focus of his story after production has begun.

Consequently, roles that were once intended to be prominent can be dramatically reduced or even removed entirely in the name of art, as Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman, Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Sheen all discovered on 1998's The Thin Red Line.

Adrien Brody did manage to make it into the final cut of Malick's take on the horrors of war, but was not entirely impressed with his meagre screen time.

"I was so focused and professional, I gave everything to it, and then to not receive everythingin terms of witnessing my own work.

It was extremely unpleasant because I'd already begun the press for a flick that I wasn't really in," he told The Independent three years later.

"Terry obviously changed the entire concept of the film.

I had never experienced anything like that."

That was not the first time a well-known actor found himself bamboozled by Malick's storytelling instincts.

The Tree of Life star Sean Penn admitted last year that he didn't have a clue what he was supposed to be doing in the 2011 Palme D'Or winner.

"The screenplay is the most magnificent one that I've ever read but I couldn't find that same emotion on screen," Penn told Le Figaro.

"A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the flick without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact.

Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context! What's more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly."

To the Wonder will debut in competition at the Venice flick festival, which opened yesterday and runs until 8 September.

Malick has a further two flicks currently in production which are expected to shoot back-to-back: Lawless and Knight of Cups.

The former, which is thought to be set against the backdrop of the Austin, Texas music scene, is expected to undergo a name change to avoid a clash with John Hillcoat's new prohibition-era gangland drama.

Natalie Portman was reported to be starring in both flicks earlier this year.

Terrence MalickDramaRachel WeiszMichael SheenVenice flick festivalVenice flick festival 2012Ben Childguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

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