Whether it's a big budget studio production or a micro budget indie, there are a lot of people involved in bringing films to screen. With Free State of Jones hitting theaters on June 24th, I got the opportunity to sit down with star Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali and director Gary Ross to talk about their experiences working on the film, but before wrapping up, we shifted the focus to highlight some especially dedicated and hard-working crew members you might not be aware of.
Find out who they dubbed the unsung heroes of Free State of Jones in the video interview at the top of this article and catch McConaughey as Newt Knight, a Mississippi farmer who lead a group of poor white farmers and runaway slaves in a rebellion against the Confederate Army, in the film when it hits theaters nationwide this weekend.
Here’s the official synopsis for Free State of Jones:
Directed by four-time Oscar® nominee Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit, Pleasantville), and starring Oscar® winner Matthew McConaughey, Free State of Jones is an epic action-drama set during the Civil War, and tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Banding together with other small farmers and local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.
