The Brigands of Rattlecreek and Thunder Road are high priorities for the actors.
Oscar-winning actor and C&I cover star Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) is set for a lead role in The Brigands of Rattlecreek, an indie western that will be pitched to buyers later this month at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
South Korea-born filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, No Other Choice) — who, perhaps not coincidentally, is jury chairman at Cannes this year — will direct the project, which was written by Bone Tomahawk scripter S. Craig Zahler. Costars include Austin Butler (Elvis, Dune: Part Two), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, Eddington), and Chinese star Tang Wei (Decision to Leave).
What’s it all about? According to various sources, the action is triggered when a frontier town is terrorized by a gang of outlaws who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and brutalize its residents. In the aftermath of the attack, a sheriff and a doctor join forces to hunt — and, presumably, eliminate with extreme prejudice — the men responsible.
The Deadline showbiz site reports that Park has been eager to make The Brigands of Rattlecreek for more than a decade. Now, however, the project “has more impetus than ever: It’s a rare package in the indie market for its combination of genuine A-list talent, a beloved filmmaker, and the genre. Despite being available (for now) in the indie space, the project’s scope remains impressive and we hear the budget is being pegged north of $60 million.”
On the other hand, Deadline scribes Justin Kroll and Andreas Wiseman note, “Bone Tomahawk remains one of the most entertaining westerns of the past 20 years and there’ll be plenty of people willing this one to get made.”
Matthew McConaughey will next be seen in The Rivals of Amziah King (pictured above), a “bluegrass western” about the efforts of a beekeeper and his foster daughter to fend off threats to his honey business. The movie, which costars Kurt Russell and Angelina LookingGlass, opens August 14.
Meanwhile, another C&I cover star, Dennis Quaid, is revving up for Thunder Road, an AMC series set in the world of NASCAR racing, created, written, and executive-produced by James Fusco (Young Guns, Thunderheart).
“We are thrilled to team up with NASCAR, a world-class partner that continues to engage and entertain their deeply loyal fans for nearly 80 years,” said Dan McDermott, chief content officer of AMC Global Media and president of AMC Studios.
“And in the ultimate dream casting, we’re fortunate to have the legendary Dennis Quaid lead this captivating series. This show will be a nonstop thrill ride for viewers.”
The series logline: “Thunder Road follows the multigenerational saga of the fictional Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family’s ties to the Southern Hill Country roots that shaped them.”
Quaid — who recently appeared in the award-winning rodeo drama Broke — will play Duane “The Wrecking Ball” Whitlock, a NASCAR legend described as “a towering figure who built a racing empire from a legacy of moonshine runs and dirt tracks and refuses to let it die. With ruthless competitors who will stop at nothing to dethrone and destroy them, the Whitlocks are a blue-collar dynasty at the edge of extinction — and the old king is fighting to hold onto the crown.”
Thunder Road is scheduled to start production this summer and premiere on AMC and AMC+ in 2027.
