We’re always glad to hear when Sam Rockwell gets another gig to show off his superior acting chops and also, inevitably, his superior dance abilities. There’s no indication he’ll be getting down in The Eel, but he has signed on to star in writer-director Roberto Bentivegna’s latest.
Rockwell, who is currently in Sundance supporting Lynn Shelton’s comedy drama Laggies, has scored the role of an escaped convict who becomes entangled in a corrupt sheriff’s plot to kidnap an oil heiress. The plan, as you might expect, goes badly, endangering Rockwell’s continued freedom.
Bentivegna landed on the 2012 Black List with the script and has since scored the chance to direct it thanks to the backing of The Way Way Back’s writer-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and their fellow producer Kevin Walsh.
“Nat, Jim and I want to foster other directors and writers with this new company, and Roberto’s film gives Sam the role of a criminal on the run that reminded us of Drive and Cool Hand Luke,” Walsh tells Deadline.
While its presence on the list doesn’t necessarily equate to a quality finished film (several Black List scripts have been turned into dodgy movies), the presence of the Way Way Back gang – who are about to get to work on The Heart with Kristen Wiig – gives us so hope. The Eel is scheduled to shoot later this year, with Bentivegna visiting Sundance to chat up investors.