Shia LaBeouf, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Dano and Ryan Gosling are all keen to get The Wettest Country In The World up and running, despite its having been dropped from Columbia's schedules, according to The Hollywood Reporter this morning.
Set during the great Depression, it's based on Matt Bondurant's novel; a family crime saga about three brothers running a gang brewing and selling that ol' moonshine liquor. John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road) is attached as director, and production company Red Wagon (Memoirs of a Geisha, Jarhead) are now shopping the project around as a potential indie (the same thing happened when Universal abandoned Darren Aronofsky's The Black Swan).
We should stress that none of the aforementioned stars have actually signed anything, but they're happy for Red Wagon to be using their names in its pitches to the suits. Its an indication that, in the currently rather risk-averse Hollywood mainstream, more offbeat projects can occasionally be kept alive by the talent that wants them made. We'll be eyeing this one with interest.