Update: THR confirms Matthew McConaughey and in additional news that Rip Torn has joined the film. Torn will play Bernie's defense lawyer.Matthew McConaughey "plans to" reunite with director Richard Linklater for the self-described "Fargo"-esque Texas-set crime thriller/black comedy, "Bernie," which will star Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine.
Renowned for his fair share of fluffy rom-coms and a tendency to appear topless, McConaughey has failed to live up to the promise of his cult-favourite character, David Woodersen, in Linklater's 1993 comedy "Dazed And Confused." Though briefly linked to Linklater's spiritual sequel to 'Dazed' titled "That's What I'm Talking About," the actor looks set to reunite with Linklater once more for "Bernie," a true crime story set in East Texas.
"It's a film I wrote about ten years ago," Linklater told us. "[And it's] set in a little town of Huntsville, East Texas, kind of a little black comedy. It's my 'Fargo' in East Texas, where I group up, so it's crazy local with fifty characters. It's about a funeral home assistant who befriends this old lady. It's kind of a true crime story."
McConaughey's strong Texan roots probably didn't hurt his chances of joining the project with the actor apparently being lined up to play real-life district attorney Danny Buck Davidson; the man tasked with prosecuting the much-loved soft-spoken and bulldog-faced titular character (Black) who oddly finds himself backed by his fellow townspeople despite being accused of murdering his old lady friend (MacClaine) and stealing her money. It's without doubt an interesting premise but is lifted further by Linklater's involvement as well as the promising pairing of Black and MacClaine.
At the very least, it's good to see Linklater back behind the camera after a string of bad luck that found "That's What I'm Talking About" get shelved last summer, his roadtrip buddy dramedy which had Rebecca Hall and Kat Dennings attached scrapped when Miramax collapsed) and his last effort "Me & Orson Welles," barely limp into theaters long after it was completed. We hope his newest project finds those difficulties -- which were frankly out of this control -- behind him.
Shooting on "Bernie" is set begin next month with Castle Rock and Mandalay Vision backing the production. Story originally posted 9/30/10 at 9:06 AM
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