LATEST NEWS

Shia LaBeouf & Tom Hardy Head to 'Wettest County in the World'

by Ethan Anderton
December 7, 2010
Source: 24 Frames

Though we were quite anxious to see John Hillcoat's adaptation of The Wettest County in the World get off the ground with Amy Adams, Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf, unfortunately the project, which came to be known as The Promised Land, was shut down because funding just couldn't be found. Now, almost a year later, it seems the economy and the film industry has turned around enough to get the film back on track. In addition, 24 Frames reports LaBeouf has stuck around to stay aboard the project and now Tom Hardy will join him as a couple of bootleggers in a family of lawbreakers selling moonshine during the Great Depression.

It sounds like Hillcoat is still on board to direct the same script from Nick Cave which is based on Matt Bondurant's novel of the same name. The story is fictionalized but still based on the author's real life ancestors who were "bootlegging brothers runnin' stills, runnin' loads, and runnin' from the law in Depression-era Virginia." Since Amy Adams and Ryan Gosling have since found themselves busy with films like The Muppets and Drive respectively, it's unlikely they'll still be involved, so we'll likely hear of some more casting down the road.

Frankly, I'm glad this project came back together so soon. At the time of the project's downfall it was clear Avatar would inspire more 3D blockbusters along with the remake and reboot trend, so it's nice to see a quiet, dramatic adaptation like this find some solid ground. However, it does seem LaBeouf's casting might delay another intriguing drama in College Republicans. While we initially heard LaBeouf might play a young Karl Rove in the drama that's being compared to The Social Network, the young actor is actually up for the role of Lee Atwater, the manager of Rove's campaign for the position of chief campus conservative, with Paul Dano up for playing Rove. That project sounds just as intriguing, but let's move one step at time. Interested?

Tweet

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News, Opinions