John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era drama The Wettest County has been pushed back from April 20th to August 31st.  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.

With this cast and this premise, it seemed odd that the Weinstein Company would schedule it to April 20th, but the August 31st date doesn’t make much sense either.  Hit the jump for positives and negatives of the new date.

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.

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.

With the Cannes Film Festival ongoing, we’ve got a couple of acquisition stories for you today. First off, Variety reports that The Weinstein Company is in talks to grab the rights to John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World. The film features a fantastic cast that includes Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain. The story centers on two brothers who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition. TWC has been busy at Cannes, snatching up the sure-to-be Oscar contender The Iron Lady a few days ago.

Additionally, Variety reports that Summit has grabbed U.S. distribution rights to the action thriller Snitch. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Felon), the film stars Dwayne Johnson and centers on a suburban dad who goes undercover to convict a drug dealer in order to reduce his teenage son’s 30-year prison sentence.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A couple casting stories for you today. Orlando Bloom, Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Kerry Condon (The Last Station) have joined the cast of writer/director William Nunez’s feature film debut The Laureate. The film tracks the open love triangle between war poet Robert Graves (Bloom), his artist wife Nancy Nicholson (Condon) and American poet Laura Riding (Poots). Screen Daily (via The Playlist) reports that Bloom will topline the film for Media 8, which plans to look for financiers at the European Film Market next month.

Hit the jump for news on Dane DeHaan joining Shia LaBeuof, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain in John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World.

Mia Wasikowska had a great 2010 as the star of the years second highest grosser (Alice in Wonderland) and the top limited release (The Kids Are All Right).  It follows that she’s in for a busy 2011.  According to Variety, Wasikowska is currently circling two projects: Stoker and The Wettest County in the World.

The Australian actress could ostensibly do both films, though negotiations are on hold while her camp tries to work out a schedule with the studios.  Both projects would link her to some interesting talent — Carey Mulligan and Jodie Foster in Stoker, Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy in The Wettest County — so I hope Wasikowska figures out a way to sign on to at least one.  Hit the jump for more info on both films.

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.