‘100 Years’: Are John Malkovich And Robert Rodriguez For Real, Or Is This Just One Big Marketing Scam?

100 Years is not the most enigmatic of film titles, and it becomes that much more apparent when the limited facts of the film, which stars John Malkovich and is directed by Robert Rodriguez, are known. Specifically, 100 Years gets its title from the fact that the film won’t see a release for a century. Also noted by both the teasers and by Malkovich and Rodriguez themselves is the fact that Louis XIII also takes 100 years to age.

100 Years Is The Film You Will Never See, Or Is It?

There are some things about this project that are confusing from the start, such as the setting of 100 Years. While the setting of 100 Years has been said to set the era in the present day, the scene depicted in the teasers suggest, among the varying versions of 2115, a state of technological advancement which we have not yet reached.

Director Robert Rodriguez wouldn’t give any details about the story told within 100 Years, but did say that it is an “emotionally charged” film, which really can mean anything.

The teasers, which we have not had to wait 100 years to see, give the viewer three different futures, but if one is looking to John Malkovich for more answers than his director was willing to divulge, one would go away disappointed.

“There were several options when the project was first presented of what [the future] would be,” said Malkovich, according to Variety. “An incredibly high tech, beyond computerized version of the world, a post-Chernoybl, back to nature, semi-collapsed civilization and then there was a retro future which was how the future was imagined in science fiction of the 1940s or 50s.”

Is 100 Years Really A Genuine Film, Or Is It Something Else?

John Malkovich and Robert @Rodriguez made a movie that won’t release until 2115 https://t.co/dFWqxvY8Wi pic.twitter.com/eLEUcpFv29

— Variety (@Variety) November 19, 2015

At first glance, 100 Years seems to hold great promise for science fiction and fantasy fans, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be, or could it just be one big marketing scam? The IMDb page for 100 Years gives very little information, but what is there seems to begin to give away the true nature of this project being touted by Rodriguez and Malkovich. The site lists 100 Years as a film short, generally meaning that the film in question has a run time of under 30 minutes.

Also worthy of attention is how prominently Louis XIII Cognac is featured throughout 100 Years‘ promotional material. Also, it has been noted that both Rodriguez and Malkovich are avid fans of cognac, which, again, takes 100 years to age.

Armed with this knowledge, it seems obvious that what we are looking at is not an exciting new science fiction film that we’ll never get to see. It seems most likely that Malkovich and Rodriguez have created a commercial for Louis XIII Cognac and nothing more.

While much of what has been revealed would seem to suggest that Mr. Malkovich and Mr. Rodriguez are seeking to pull the wool over our eyes, Io9 reports that 100 Years has been a forthright marketing plan designed to exemplify the cognac company’s commitment to excellence.

“Louis XIII is a true testament to the mastery of time and we sought to create a proactive piece of art that explores the dynamic relationship of the past, present and future,” said global executive director of Louis XIII, Ludovic du Plessis.

It seems then that we have already seen much of what 100 Years has to offer and the rest can be gleaned from that, considering the few lines spoken in the teasers. Perhaps John Malkovich plays an Indiana Jones sort in search of the last bottle of Louis XIII Cognac and that there is some method for letting the target audience choose in which future the advertisement is set.

Maybe those being born today may live long enough to find out what the future really holds in 100 Years.

[Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images]