John Hillcoat

THE WETTEST COUNTY, Starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, Set for April 20, 2012

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 15th, 2011 at 7:42 am

The Weinstein Company has set John Hillcoat‘s The Wettest County for April 20, 2012.  Nick Cave (The Proposition) wrote the script based Matt Bondourant‘s novel about two brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  In addition to LaBeouf and Hardy, the outstanding cast also includes Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain.  It looked like TWC would be setting the movie up for an awards run, but the studio already has its line-up set with The Artist, The Iron Lady, and My Week with Marilyn.  That doesn’t mean that Wettest County is bad, but it may not be appealing to Academy voters.  Neither were Hillcoat’s previous films, The Proposition and The Road.

Hit the jump for Wettest County‘s competition on April 20, 2012, and for a synopsis of Bondourant’s novel.

New Image from John Hillcoat’s THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 17th, 2011 at 9:52 am

A new image from John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World has gone online.  The story centers on two brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  Musician/screenwriter Nick Cave wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Matt Bondourant.  The outstanding cast also features Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain.  While I’m still waiting for Hillcoat to deliver a film that will blow me away, I know he has it in him and a script by Cave (who previously wrote Hillcoat’s The Proposition) is a good start.  The Weinstein Company is close to picking up the film and if we’re lucky, they’ll distribute it this year to put it in the 2011 Awards race.

Photos from the film have been leaking out over the last couple of months and you can check out the latest one after the jump.

Set Photos From John Hillcoat’s THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 25th, 2011 at 8:35 am

A few set photos from director John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World have hit the web. While the quality isn’t great, we do get a look at stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke in their 1920’s get-up. We previously saw LaBeouf in the first set photo from the film last month.

The Wettest County boasts a brilliant cast that includes LaBeouf, Hardy, Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain. Based on the book by Matt Bondourant, the story centers on two brothers (played LaBeouf and Hardy) who become bootleggers in the American south during Prohibition. Hit the jump to check out the set photos as well as a synopsis of the novel.

First Look at Shia LaBeouf in John Hillcoat’s THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 23rd, 2011 at 2:07 pm

While John Hillcoat’s The Proposition and The Road never completely clicked for me, I know he has a great film in him and I’m hoping that great film is The Wettest County in the World.  Based off the novel by Matt Bondourant, Wettest County centers on two brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) who become bootleggers in the American south during Prohibition.  Working from a script by Nick Cave (The Proposition), the film has an incredible cast that includes not only LaBeouf and Hardy, but also Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain.  Oh, and Ellis will also be scoring the film.  You need to be excited for this movie.

A set photo of Shia LaBeouf has recently leaked online and shows him dressed up in period garb.  Hit the jump to check out the image along with a synopsis of the novel.

Mia Wasikowska Interview JANE EYRE; Updates on RESTLESS and THE WETTEST COUNTY

by Christina Radish    Posted: March 8th, 2011 at 10:26 am

The classic tale of Jane Eyre has been given a bold new re-telling that is infused with a contemporary awareness that makes it easily relatable to a modern audience. With Cary Joji Fukunaga at the helm, and starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in the lead roles of the romantic drama, the 19 Century-set story follows an orphaned girl who is mistreated and then cast out of her childhood home, and subjected to further harsh treatment at a charity school. A teenaged Jane (Wasikowska) is then sent to the vast Thornfield Hall, under the guidance of the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench), where she works as a governess for a child under the brooding master of the estate, Edward Rochester (Fassbender). As the two engage in games of wit and storytelling, they develop a deep connection which both frightens and intrigues her.

At the film’s press day, Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, best known for her roles in Alice in Wonderland and The Kids Are All Right, talked about how much she wanted to play this role, why a story set in this era is still so universal, playing the subtleties of a woman in this time period, and how much she enjoyed working with co-stars Michael Fassbender and Jamie Bell. She also talked about her roles in the upcoming features Restless, directed by Gus Van Sant, and The Wettest County, directed by John Hillcoat. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska and Jason Clarke Join THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 9th, 2011 at 2:43 pm

A quartet of actors are the latest to join director John Hillcoat’s (The Road) adaptation of Matt Bondourant’s gangster saga The Wettest County in the World. Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska (The Kids are All Right) and Jason Clarke (Public Enemies) are the latest actors to join the project. Shia LaBeouf stars in the film which centers on a family of prohibition-era bootleggers. Tom Hardy and Dane Dehaan (True Blood) also star in the film alongside Jessica Chastain (Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life) as Hardy’s love interest. THR reports that Oldman will portray a gangster who enlists LaBeouf and his friends has alcohol delivery boys, while Pearce will take on the role of an overtly violent deputy. Wasikowska is set to play Labeuof’s love interest.

When Steve recently sat down with Chastain at Sundance, the actress said The Wettest County is basically a 1930’s gangster film, and they start filming in Atlanta in March. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel.

Jessica Chastain Exclusive Video Interview TAKE SHELTER; Updates on THE TREE OF LIFE and WETTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 1st, 2011 at 9:02 pm

You might want to remember the name Jessica Chastain.  The reason is while you don’t know her name right now, by the end of the year, you will.  That’s because Chastain has been acting in a ton of high profile movies over the past few years and most are going to get released this year.  Here’s the list: Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Ami Canaan Mann’s The Fields, John Madden’s The Debt, Al Pacino’s Wilde Salome, Tate Taylor’s The Help, and she’s about to start filming John Hillcoat’s The Wettest Country in the World opposite Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy.  As I said, she’s about to step into the spotlight.

At this year’s Sundance, I was able to sit down with Chastain for an extended video interview to talk about Take Shelter – which premiered at this year’s Festival.  Written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories), the film is about a young husband and father that must decide whether to shelter his family from the storm, or from himself, after being plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions.  The film stars Michael Shannon and he delivers an incredible performance.  Of course one of the reasons he’s so great is being able to play off Chastain, who really impressed me as a young mother and wife.

During our extended conversation, we discussed her early TV work like NBC’s Journeyman, what it was like to work for Malick on Tree of Life and his next film which stars Ben Affleck, who she plays in Wettest Country,  and so much more.  If you’d like to learn a lot about this rising actress, hit the jump to watch the interview.  I’ve also pulled some quotes about working for Malick which only make me more excited to see The Tree of Life.

Neve Campbell in Talks for SINGULARITY; Jessica Chastain Joins THE WETTEST COUNTY

by Jason Barr    Posted: December 13th, 2010 at 2:29 pm

We have a couple of casting tidbits to send your way this afternoon.  First up, Neve Campbell is currently in negotiations to join Singularity alongside confirmed star Josh Hartnett.  Singularity will be directed by two-time Oscar nominee Roland Joffe (The Mission) and will take place in 1778 and 2015 concurrently.  According to THR, Campbell would play Hartnett’s wife in 2015 and would manage to “get stuck in a sunken ship while trying to retrieve a ring.”  The film is set to begin shooting in Australia and India in January.

Next, Jessica Chastain (upcoming The Tree of Life) has agreed to star in the Prohibition-Era-drama The Wettest County.  Chastain joins Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy as confirmed cast members in what will be John Hillcoat’s feature directorial follow-up to 2009′s The Road.  Per THR, Chastain will play Hardy’s love interest, a “a big city woman now living in a small town who at one time was mixed up with gangsters.”  The Wettest County is based on Matt Bondurant’s 2008 novel The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story in which Bondurant tells the story of his siblings and their bootlegging trials/tribulations in a purportedly dry Virginia.  Production on the film is currently aiming for a February 2011 start.

Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy Visit THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD With Director John Hillcoat

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 7th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

Shia LaBeouf has long been linked to The Wettest County in the World, a period thriller from director John Hillcoat (The Road).  Of course, so were Amy Adams and Ryan Gosling, but those deals fell through.  However, 24 Frames confirms LaBeouf’s involvement and identifies Tom Hardy (Inception) as his co-star.

The screenplay from Nick Cave (The Proposition) centers on “a family of Prohibition-era bootleggers, and crimes committed by and against them.”  The film is an adaptation of the Matt Bondurant novel of the same name, based on a true story.  Hit the jump for the synopsis.

Shia LaBeouf, Chris Pine Considered to Lead John Hillcoat’s TRIPLE NINE?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 12th, 2010 at 12:58 pm

I really wish Production Weekly tweets had more room for explanation.  PW has tweeted that “Shia LaBeouf & Chris Pine are rumored choices to play the lead in Matt Brooks’ script Triple Nine with John Hillcoat attached to direct.”  I did some digging and nowhere could I find anything about Hillcoat being connected to a movie called “Triple Nine” or working on a movie from a script by Matt Cooke.  And what’s the movie about, it could be based on a Chinese cop drama, the Mensa-like Triple Nine Society, or something else entirely.

But Hillcoat attached to plenty of other projects including The Revenant, and [via The Playlist] a remake of Le Circle Rouge, The Death of Bunny Munroe, a film about legendary New York cop Joe Petrosino, Mob Cops, and was in talks to remake La Bonne Année.  As for LaBeouf and Pine, “rumored choices” probably just means their names are on a wish list.  However, it’s worth noting that LaBeouf was slated to work with Hillcoat on The Promised Land before financing on that movie fell apart.

John Hillcoat’s RED DEAD REDEMPTION Short Film

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 8th, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Director John Hillcoat’s (The Proposition) short film based off the video game Red Dead Redemption aired on Fox a few weeks ago.  You can now watch it online.  What you need to know about the film is that all of the footage is taken from scenes in the game.  Nothing new was created.  It’s more like a compilation that takes you through the first act of the story.  However, I think the brevity shortchanges the expansive world of the game and how much there is to see and do.  It also illustrates a point I like to make whenever I get the chance: movies based on video games will always be worse than their source material because it’s more fun to play a game than to passively watch it.  Watching Hillcoat’s short film, I wanted to pick up my controller and play the game even though I’d already beaten it.  I think that speaks to the success of Red Dead Redemption and perhaps to some extent, the success of the marketing, which is really what Hillcoat’s film is.

Ultimately, even though Hillcoat’s name is attached to this film, I’m not exactly sure what he directed other than a few establishing shots and music choices.  But check out the video after the jump and decide for yourself.

THE ROAD Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: May 29th, 2010 at 8:59 am

Post-No Country for Old Men, was there any chance they wouldn’t adapt Cormac McCarthy’s Oprah-approved best-seller The Road? Well, they did, and The Weinstein Company produced it, and if you had read the book, you’d know why this was a tough sell, and eventually flopped (on top of being released by the struggling Weinstein Company). The story of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) trudging through a post-apocalyptic wasteland as they fend off cannibals and encounter strange people (including cameos by Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Michael K. Williams) as they cling to staying alive and keeping their souls, The Road is a heavy experience. My review of The Road on Blu-ray after the jump.

Trailer for John Hillcoat’s RED DEAD REDEMPTION Short Film plus Matt’s Thoughts on the Video Game

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 26th, 2010 at 2:47 pm

As we previously reported, director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) was hired to make a short film made from Rockstar’s new video game Red Dead Redemption.  So what does “made from” mean?  It means that the movie was created in game rather than animated from scratch.  However, the trailer for the short film leaves me confused as to whether or not the short will feature the characters in the game or be done using the characters you can create in multiplayer.   The trailer shows off a lot of clips that are in the game rather than something new, so I’m confused.

The short is airing on Fox this Saturday night at midnight.  Since I imagine not a lot of people will be up to see it, I hope that Fox puts the film online not long after.

Hit the jump for trailer along with my brief thoughts on the game.

Mark L. Smith to Pen THE REVENANT for Director John Hillcoat

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 25th, 2010 at 9:28 pm

During an interview, writer Mark L. Smith (Vacancy) revealed that he had been tapped to pen the script for John Hillcoat’s (The Road) upcoming thriller, The Revenant.  Smith also told Bloody Disgusting that Christian Bale is in talks to star.  The screenwriter ( whose latest film is Joe Dante’s The Hole 3D) didn’t say much else about the project other than it’s a “period action/revenge piece.”  Smith also said he wrote the latest draft of Martyrs, which is a remake of the French horror film of the same name.

Hillcoat’s latest project is a short animated film set in the world of Rockstar’s excellent new game, Red Dead Redemption.  The film will air this Saturday at midnight on Fox. As for Bale, he’s attached to star in Terrence Malick’s next film and can be seen later this year alongside Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams in David O. Russell’s The Fighter.  Oh, Bale’s also doing some superhero movie involving a flying rodent but no one cares about that.

Director John Hillcoat to Create 30-Minute Trailer for Video Game RED DEAD REDEMPTION

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 am

One of my most-anticipated video games of the year is Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption.  At its most basic level, the game is Grand Theft Auto but in the Western genre.  That idea alone is amazing.  And to bring more attention to the game, Rockstar has hired director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) to helm a half-hour trailer for the game using machinma.  For those who don’t know, Machinma is a story told by using a video game’s assets.  You’re basically creating an animated film, but you’re doing it in-game.  The most famous machinma is the Halo-based Red vs. Blue series.

Hillcoat’s a strong director and The Proposition shows he has the chops to do a western (and it was probably one of the big reasons why he was hired for the gig).  It will be interesting to see what he does in such a niche genre of animation.  The trailer/short film will air on Fox on Saturday, May 15th.  Red Dead Redemption will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 18th.  Hit the jump for the trailer and the game’s official synopsis. [The Futon Critic via Kotaku]

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