Oldboy director Park Chan-wook has been working to get The Brigands Of Rattlecreek made for over seven years. The film hails from Bone Tomahawk writer S. Craig Zahler, and is described as an ultraviolent western thriller. Now finally, there looks to be some movement. Amazon Studios have picked up the project.
Originally titled The Brigands Of Rattleborge, the film follows a sheriff and doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorise the occupants of a small town. Amazon and producer Bradley Fischer (Shutter Island) are reportedly courting Matthew McConaughey to play one of the lead roles.
To prove how long this project has been gestating, Zahler’s script topped the Black List – the list of best unproduced screenplays – all the way back in 2006. It’s likely the violent content that has kept the project from moving forward, but Amazon have now arrived to rescue it.
Amazon have pledged to have more Netflix-esque direct-to-streaming releases, and it’s worth wondering if this news is related to that. Getting into business with an acclaimed auteur who is helming a potentially contentious film is probably a good plan to get more eyes on your service.
Park most recently helmed The Handmaiden, which received plenty of acclaim, while the aforementioned Oldboy remains one of the best thrillers of the 2000s. Now that The Brigands Of Rattlecreek is finally moving forward, we can cross our fingers and hope that the wait was worth it, and that this project is just as great as those films.
#Peace.Love.TheBrigandsOfRattlecreek
