Coen brothers to adapt 'True Grit'

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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001514.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

As their next film, Joel and Ethan Coen will put their spin on "True Grit," the iconic Western that won John Wayne an Oscar.

Not a traditional remake, the Paramount film will be more faithful to the Charles Portis book than the 1969 pic, also distributed by Par.

Portis' novel is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father's killer in hostile Indian territory.

But while the original film was a showcase for Wayne, the Coens' version will tell the tale from the girl's p.o.v.

Pic will be their first period Oater.

Project reteams the brothers with Scott Rudin, their partner on the Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men." The Coens wrote the screenplay.

The original starred Kim Darby as the teen, Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.

"True Grit" originated at DreamWorks when that company was Par-based, but it was one of the projects that Stacey Snider and Steven Spielberg left behind since the original is part of the Paramount film library. Former DreamWorks prexy Adam Goodman, now a Par exec, is steering the project for the studio.

The Western steps in front of another novel adaptation the Coens have with Rudin: "The Yiddish Policemen's Union," based on the Michael Chabon novel and set up at Columbia.

The Coens just completed "A Serious Man," which they scripted, for Focus Features and Working Title.
 
Hmmm... True Grit is a fairly iconic Wayne film, not sure how I feel about a remake (despite the narrative shifts). I hope that it is a radical departure from the original film (sort of how Taxi Driver mirrors The Searchers) and that the resulting film is an entirely original creation.

Although I guess with the Coen's at the helm, the odds of this are extremely good.
 
I'm sorry if I appear a trifle excited, but....


WESTERN! A WESTERN! A COEN BROTHERS WESTERN!

WESTERNS!

A WESTERN!
 
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Hmm, I wonder who will get Waynes part...

Traditional Favorites...

Sam Elliot
Tommy Lee Jones
Tom Selleck
Robert Duvall
Clint Eastwood

Out of Left field possibilities...

George Clooney
Liam Neeson
James Brolin
John Hurt
Viggo Mortenson
Ed Harris

Lot's of actors are great in Westerns, but alot of people will see it as a remake.
 
Lot's of actors are great in Westerns, but alot of people will see it as a remake.

Most people under the age of 30 have no idea what True Grit is. So, this movie has a chance.
 
Most people under the age of 30 have no idea what True Grit is. So, this movie has a chance.

Well, Westerns haven't lit up the box office in a while, especially in this "first weeks box office tells the masses if it's crap" mentallity. Remember the reception to 3:10 to Yuma?

Hell, I'm still waiting for John Carpenter to do a full on Western before the Lung Cancer fairy's take him to Valhalla.
 
Give Robert Duvall the part. Give it to him now.
 
Actually, give this to either Robert Duvall or Viggo Mortensen. I could see the latter actively pursuing this role.

Viggo Mortensen <3 Westerns.

And slapping an eye patch on him = instant cinematic win.
 
Not yet. I've heard mixed things, but I figure I should see for myself. He has an insane mustache, though.

I don't know. I'm a huge fan of Mortensen, and this movie just screams the kind of thing that would get him an Oscar.
 
In my opinion another movie that be awesome ina remake with top actors in it would be Rio bravo or the Searchers.
 
This sounds awesome. And the Coen brothers at the helm makes me even more excited.
 
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=59010

Bridges to Star in Coen Brothers' True Grit

Source:Variety
September 10, 2009


Jeff Bridges is in talks to star in Joel and Ethan Coen's remake of True Grit for Paramount Pictures. He last worked with the Coens on 1998's The Big Lebowski.

Bridges would play the role that won John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 original

The film, which also reunites the Coens with their No Country for Old Men producing partner Scott Rudin, has been redrafted by the brothers to be more faithful to the Charles Portis novel on which the original film was based.

The story centers on a 14-year-old girl who tags along with an aging U.S. marshal, Rooster Cogburn, and another lawman to track the outlaw who killed her father.
 
Goddamn, this sounds so good. An original twist on the western genre by the Coen Brothers! With Jeff Bridges possibly in it! How can this get any better? Maybe if they give Buscemi or Turturro a nice little role...
 
Awesome. Love the Coens, love westerns and most importantly...I love The Dude!!!
 
They should just get everyone that was in TBL to be in this.
 
Yeah, it would be cool to see Goodman again. On the other hand, I always like it when my favorite directors work with actors that were not in any of their movies...
 
Yeah, agreed. I've always wanted to see Barry Pepper in a Coen movie. He's one of the most underrated actors around.
 
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You see Appaloosa yet?
An excellent, underrated movie.

Can't wait for the Cohen's take on the Western. And with Bridges, it would be the cherry on top of the cake.
 
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