Whooops! How bad would it suck to be Josh Brolin? Actually, dude is one lucky motherfucker. The actor came onto the set of the Coen Brothers’ new film, “No Country For Old Men,” last year when he found the directors and cast and crew a little confused.
Why? The Coen Brothers actually meant to cast his father, 67-year-old actor James Brolin, not his son, Josh. In a piece written by the Coen Brothers for Esquire, they called their casting mistake a “flat-out boner.”
“Well, there were some red faces on the set the first day of shooting when Jim Brolin’s son Josh showed up to play the part. Crossed wires, misunderstanding — who knows what kind of snafu — had resulted in our casting office offering the part to an actor who was patently thirty years too young. In retrospect, this explained William Morris agent Michael Cooper’s surprise on hearing we wanted his client for the coveted role. Too late now, though — the contracts were all signed.”
Brolin was naturally embarrassed, but he he obviously didn’t argue too loudly. Afterall, he got to star in a Coen Brothers film, like his career has mattered up until this point.
The ever adaptable Joel and Ethan did what they do best: improvise [ed. actually their material is pretty meticulously planned out, just fyi]. The era of the script was quickly changed from present day to the 1980’s so Brolin could authentically pass as a Vietnam Vet and their production team quickly huddled about and made quick wardrobe, costumes, general period-piece adjustements and voila! They were set to pop.
See? Filmmaking is easy! “No Country For Old Men” also stars Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem and is due November 21.
Update: OK apparently this is a big joke. Oh you wacky Coens! Perhaps we should read more instead of going to the movies all the time. Ah well… (Truth be told, it sound plausible to us, when was the last time Josh Brolin was cast in anything good?)
Trailer:
You do realize that article was a joke, right?
The movie is set in the 80s because that’s when Cormac McCarthy’s novel is set.
It was a tongue-in-cheek piece written by the Coens.
Josh is getting some deserved Oscar buzz his way, so it’s time to respect the Brolin.