True Grit, that John Wayne classic, might get a remake from the Coen brothers and Jeff Bridges. This would be the first time the actor has worked with Ethan and Joel Coen since their 1998 masterpiece The Big Lebowski. Bridges would reprise the role originally played by Wayne. This could be really cool -- or really weird.
Variety says this about the possible project:
The picture, 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. 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. The original told the story from Cogburn's point of view, but the new version will work from the viewpoint of the girl.
There's nothing like a western when it's done right. It's been a staple of American cinema since John Ford more or less invented it in the '30s. Between Ford and Wayne some of the most iconic American westerns were crafted.
So do the Coens have any business diving into this genre?
They proved with Big Lebowski -- which had a few elements of the western in it -- and Fargo and Raising Arizona, and just about every one of their films, that they could subvert genres and bring a fresh perspective to anything they set their sights on. But this would be only the second time they will have worked with Bridges, who is a strange choice to begin with to replace Wayne. What about Sam Elliott? One would hope he's going to be involved in the film.
Could this be the next great film from the Coens? Does Bridges have what it takes to breathe new life into the western and fill Wayne's shoes at the same time? If anyone can be expected to do something unexpected, it's these guys.
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