Drop your buzzword "McConnaissance" all you like, Matthew McConaughey’s about to make some art. From Richard Linklater’s "Bernie" in 2011 (or even arguably the deliciously good/bad B-movie "The Lincoln Lawyer") to present day, McConaughey hasn’t stepped into a bad role. In fact, all of them have been good, if not great. Turns with William Friedkin, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese and Cary Joji Fukunaga have all been stellar. And a film with Christopher Nolan is coming this fall as a kind of cherry on top of all his success. But his next project, with Gus Van Sant, sounds a lot more minimalist, philosophical and lyrical.
Titled “Sea Of Trees,” in what sounds like a existential two-hander, McConaughey stars as a suicidal American on his way to die who befriends a Japanese man lost in a dense, mysterious forest near Mt. Fuji, and the two search for a way out. The movie co-stars Ken Watanabe as the Japanese man and Naomi Watts as Mac’s wife, but that’s really it. “They are very different projects and characters yet they are both poetic,” McConaughey told EW when asked about the differences between the movie and the similarly existential “True Detective” role. “I say another title for this film is ‘You’ve got to go through annihilation to get to salvation’. It’s one hell of a survival story.”
The movie is currently shooting in Massachusetts, and EW has the first look from the film. “Everyone is going to leave the theater and have their own walk and talk through the parking lot to muse about its meanings, what it was about and what it wasn’t, what was real and what was a dream.” So it sounds like the Gus Van Sant of “Elephant” and “Gerry” is showing up to work as opposed to, say, the Gus Van Sant of “Restless” (a more mainstream teen romance movie that didn’t work).
“Sea Of Trees” has no release date or distributor yet, but that should easily change. By the sounds of it, we might be able to expect this one at Cannes next year if we’re lucky.
Does anyone know the status of Van Sant\’s adaptation of Tom Wolfe\’s "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test"? Or is that totally abandoned?…….
This is of course Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts & Ken Watanabe in Gus Van Santâs âSea Of Treesâ.
Entertainment One has UK rights. Due out Autumn next year.
I love how Ken Watanabe is the always the stand in for hollywood when they need a japanese to play a part
Will this be the first time Massachusetts stands in for Japan??
I hope I can actually understand what Watanabe is saying in this one.
The script was up on the blacklist and looked incredibly good. McConaughey, Van Sant and Watanabe should be very interesting at least and potentially great.