Zac Efron is one of Hollywood's most sought after young actors most recently seen in Lee Daniels' The Paperboy opposite SAG and Golden Globe nominee Nicole Kidman, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey and The Lucky One for Warner Bros. We look forward to seeing their combined talent in Peter Landesman's powerful and mesmerizing story alongside the excellent cast already attached to this film." " Zac Efron continues to impress us with his recent shift into more dramatic roles which showcase his exceptional acting skills and Marcia Gay Harden is an unparalleled actress who gives tour de force performances in every film she appears. Here's what Exclusive Media chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East said in a joint statement. The film, to be shot in Austin, Texas is destined for a 2013 US theatrical release around the 50th anniversary of the assassination. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd 1963. Parkland recounts the dramatic true story of the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day President John F. Kennedy, by renowned author and former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, the adapted screenplay is written by award-winning journalist and novelist Peter Landesman, who will also direct Parkland marking his directorial debut. Zac Efron ( The Paperboy, The Lucky One) and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden ( Mystic River, Pollock) are set to join Oscar nominated Paul Giamatti ( The Ides of March, Cinderella Man), Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade, Eagle Eye) and Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver ( Silver Linings Playbook, Animal Kingdom) in the cast of Parkland produced by Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and Exclusive Media, who will also be financing, it was announced today by Exclusive Media Co-Chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East.īased on the epic book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Rated R for violence, vulgar language, and adult themes.Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jacki Weaver also star in this drama about the assassination of President John F.This kind of quiet ambiguity, avoiding easy answers to complex human conflicts, is all too rare in American movies. The third is Brian Helgeland's literate screenplay, based on Dennis Lehane's novel. The second is splendid acting by Sean Penn as the merchant, Kevin Bacon as the cop, Laurence Fishburne as his partner, Tim Robbins as Dave, and Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden as the central female characters in the story. One is its leisurely pace, contrasting brilliantly with the too-frantic energy of many recent thrillers. "Mystic River" gains its great resonance from three factors.
Clues start pointing to Dave, the abuse victim, leading the policeman to suspect him and the shopkeeper to seek revenge. One is a cop, another a shopkeeper, and the third - the one who was abducted - is a misfit, plagued by inner turbulence that even his wife and son know nothing about.Īlthough they've grown apart over the years, the men are drawn together when the shopkeeper's teen daughter is mysteriously murdered. Eastwood sensitively chooses to suggest rather than depict, the boy is held captive for days of sexual abuse before he finally escapes.įlashing ahead a few decades, we meet the boys as grown men. A man with a police badge drives up, intimidates them over their prank, and forces one into his car. The story begins innocuously, with three young boys carving their names in a block of wet sidewalk cement. Alongside the pleasures and challenges of daily routine there are evils sadly similar to those of countless other urban areas. Not all that happens there is mundane, though, according to Clint Eastwood's new film. The river itself rolls unnoticed past the everyday activities that give the district its mingled atmosphere of mythic timelessness and utter conventionality. It's a working-class community with nice old houses gone somewhat to seed, blue-collar men relaxing on cramped back porches or in their favorite pubs. Anyone who knows greater Boston will recognize the neighborhood where "Mystic River" takes place.