It looks like there’s some good news for director John Hillcoat and his plan to make prohibition era thriller The Wettest County in the World: according to the LA Times, he’s scored Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy for two of the lead roles.
LaBeouf isn’t exactly a newcomer to the film (AKA The Promised Land) – he’s been attached for more than a year, though Hillcoat himself wrote in the Daily Telegraph last January that it had fallen apart due to financing issues. Back then, the film had also attracted Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams and LaBeouf for the Nick Cave-scripted adaptation of Matt Bondurant’s novel.
While there’s no word on whether the other cast members will come back aboard, LaBeouf and so-hot-right-now Hardy will star in the tale of the Bondurants, a bootlegging family who are always on the wrong side of the law.
It’s a positive development, as we wanted to see Hillcoat get this one up on the screen. For a while there it appeared he’d have to seek out other projects, and was even circling a different sort of crime film with LaBeouf also interested. Now, though, the director is planning to start shooting in the spring. Fingers crossed it holds together this time…