Damon, Brolin In Talks for Coen Brothers' 'True Grit'

When the Coen Brothers go into production in March on their remake of True Grit, they'll have much bigger stars than in their current film, A Serious Man. Variety says that Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are in negotiations to join Jeff Bridges in the cast. Bridges is set to revive the Rooster Cogburn role that won John Wayne his only Academy Award. Doubtless, the two interpretations will be vastly different. Damon would portray La Boeuf, a lawman who teams with Cogburn and a 14-year-old girl to track down her father's murderer. In the original film, the role was played by Glen Campbell. Brolin, who's so good as a villain, is in talks to play the killer originally brought to life by Jeff Corey. All that remains is casting Mattie, the teenage girl, and I'm not looking much further than Saoirse Ronan. I have no corroborating information on that, but who would you cast? She's already got one Oscar nomination for Atonement, her name is in the conversation this year for The Lovely Bones, and she'll turn 16 next April. I'm open to better suggestions, but I'm hard pressed to find one. Variety also says the film will be out in time for the 2010 awards season, per the brothers' usual release pattern. Doesn't give them buckets of time to make the film, but they don't usually need that big a window, anyway. I'm hoping the shooting schedule allows for Joel and Ethan to work again with cinematographer Roger Deakins. He's shot ten of their films (as well as Shawshank and the impeccably photographed Assassination of Jesse James) and is so important to the success of their movies. The story will shift the focus a little bit in the update, going back to the original structure of the novel, in which Cogburn is more of a supporting character than a lead. In Charles Portis' book, Mattie tells her story in the first person.

Comments

[M]

I agree, I am a big fan of Saoirse, it would be great for her to be cast in this.

[ummm]

or they might want to go with abigail breslin, to be a lil more corky and off beat but she can play it straight too

[Tom]

I really hop that SAOIRSE RONAN is cast in this film because it would be wonderful to see her in break into Hollywood firmly!!!

[Scheherezade]

Shelan O'Keefe from Grace is Gone. If you read the Portis novel (which the Coens are adapting, not remaking the John Wayne film) and saw the film it's easy to imagine O'Keefe's quiet intensity embody the steely, fearless & true grit, nature of Mattie Ross. I love this book! Can't wait to see where the Coen's take it.