Thirteen years ago, S. Craig Zahler's "ultraviolent Western thriller" screenplay THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE was featured as the most popular unproduced script of the year on the Black List, compiled from top ten lists submitted by film executives and high-level assistants. Despite its popularity it has been stuck in development hell for over a decade, supposedly because of its violent content. About six years after being featured on the Black List the project gained a director when Park Chan-wook signed on to take the helm. Several more years later, Park Chan-wook remains attached to the project, which has been retitled THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLECREEK and may soon be making its way into production.
Amazon Studios has picked up THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLECREEK, with Bradley Fischer set to produce the film. Amazon and Fischer are said to be hoping that they can get Matthew McConaughey to star in it.
Zahler's script tells the story of
a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.
McConaughey's role, if he signs on, would be the doctor, and then the project would be reaching out to other A-listers for the role of the sheriff.
In the years since his BRIGANDS script made the Black List, Zahler has gone on to become a celebrated director himself, making his debut with BONE TOMAHAWK and following that up with BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 and the upcoming DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE. He also wrote PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, and his first produced screenplay resulted in the 2011 film ASYLUM BLACKOUT.
Zahler had sold more than twenty screenplays before becoming a director, so hopefully we'll be seeing more of those go into production now that he's making a name for himself. Park Chan-wook's THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLECREEK would be a great start. Park is best known for his "Vengeance Trilogy", consisting of SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, OLDBOY (pictured above), and LADY VENGEANCE.