Hollywood Watch: "True Grit"

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(bridges in eye patch and steinfeld in black dress)
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We've written a couple of times in the past few months about the remake of the iconic film, "True Grit", which wrapped up filming in Austin, Texas a couple of weeks ago. The Coen Brothers project stars Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon as LaBeouf and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie. Here are snapshots from the set in Austin.

Hollywood Watch, Part XV

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And speaking of Hollywood remakes, we've written a couple of times about the highly anticipated Coen Brothers remake of "True Grit", starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
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(click on "Movies - 'True Grit'" in the Labels List)
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The movie is currently being shot in Granger, Texas, (the stand-in for Ft. Smith, Arkansas), and these photos from the set popped up on the internet yesterday.
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We're guessing the girl in the black dress is Hallie Steinfeld, who's playing Mattie Ross, and of course, in the next photo is Oscar winner, Jeff Bridges, who plays the iconic role of Rooster Cogburn, the role which won John Wayne his only Oscar.
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And in the final photo is what appears to be the set for what is supposed to be Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
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Every movie fan in the world is holding his/her breath, wondering if the much beloved, classic film will be tarnished by the making of a another poorly produced, typical Hollywood remake. But with the incredibly talented storytellers, the Coen Brothers, at the helm, almost everyone is hopeful, and even excited.

The Coen Brothers Have Their Mattie

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( john wayne, kim darby, glen campbell in 1969's "true grit")

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A few weeks ago we wrote about The Coen Brother's upcoming remake of the classic movie, "True Grit". Many fans of the much beloved film held their breaths in horror when they heard it was being remade, but were able to wipe their brows in relief when they heard it was being done by the incredibly talented, superb storytellers, Joel and Ethan Coen. If anyone won't make a mess out of this iconic film, it's The Coen's. So with a fantastic writer and director in place, next in question was the casting. Then came word that Jeff Bridges will play Rooster Cogburn, check, Matt Damon will be La Beouf, check, Josh Brolin will play the murderer Tom Chaney, check, and Barry Pepper will be Duvall's Lucky Ned Pepper, check, check and check! The pulse rate of fans started to race; that's an unbelievable cast. But there came no word about the most pivotal role of all, that of Mattie Ross. Then we heard that The Coen's wanted an unknown in the role, and that they were holding a nation-wide casting search, something akin to the national search which took place in 1938 for the role of Scarlett O'Hara.

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(hailee steinfeld)
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Finally, we just found out today that the role of Mattie has been cast; it's been awarded to almost complete unknown, 13 year-old actress, Hailee Steinfeld. Hailee had done a couple of small films, but is best known as "Little Girl" in the Fox failed Kelsey Grammar sitcom, "Back to You". Anyone see that show? Steinfeld's casting is causing some concern, especially considering that The Coen's reportedly plan to make Mattie the central character in their film, as opposed to Rooster being the star in the original film. But we're not worried, when have The Coen's not gotten a spectacular, if not Oscar-winning performance, out of anyone? The film is supposed to be ready for a December release. We can't wait to see it.

Hollywood Watch - Part 3

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In the previous two posts, we mentioned a new film which hopes to become a classic, a remake of an already classic film, and in this post, we are excited to write about the upcoming remake of one of the most legendary movies of all time, "True Grit".

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(john wayne, kim darby,

glen campbell)

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"True Grit", 1969, based on the Charles Portis novel, starred John Wayne as the iconic character Rooster Cogburn, and won Wayne his only Oscar for Best Actor. He initially rebelled against wearing the famous eye patch, but director Henry Hathaway insisted, and when accepting his Oscar, Wayne whimsically mentioned that if he'd known putting on an eye patch would win an Oscar, he would have worn one a lot earlier in his career. The film also featured singer Glen Campbell in his first starring role as Texas Ranger "La Boeuf", Kim Darby as the young "Mattie Ross", and Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper in minor roles, "Lucky Ned Pepper" and "Moon", respectively. Also featured were well known character actors Jeff Corey as "Tom Chaney" and known other than Strother Martin in a small but amusing role as "Colonel Stonehill", the smooth-talking businessman who is outsmarted in business by the 14 year-old Mattie.

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(glen campbell as "la boeuf")

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Hollywood doesn't exactly have a stellar track record with movie remakes, so when we first heard "True Grit" was being remade, we were horrified. But then we heard that it's being done by The Coen Brothers, ("Raising Arizona", "Fargo", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "No Country for Old Men"), we were not only relieved, but we're actually excited to see what Joel and Ethan Coen will do with the project.

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(above: robert duvall as "lucky ned pepper")

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Some of the cast is set: Jeff Bridges will play Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon is La Boeuf, and Josh Brolin is cast, but no mention has been made of his role. We're guessing he'll play Ned Pepper. So who will play Moon, Tom Chaney, and most importantly, what young actress will win the role of a lifetime as Mattie Ross? The word is that the Coen Brothers want a complete unknown to play Mattie, and that they're currently holding casting sessions across the United States looking for someone to cast in the important role.

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The role of Mattie Ross made an overnight star of Kim Darby, and just as we mentioned in the previous post that every young actress in her right mind will vy for the role of Veda Pierce in the HBO remake of "Mildred Pierce", we're guessing the casting sessions currently taking place across the country to find the new Mattie are probably packed to the rafters as well.

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(kim darby as "mattie ross")