‘Dead For A Dollar’: Christoph Waltz To Play Another Bounty Hunter Opposite Willem Dafoe In New Western Thriller From Director Walter Hill

Another interesting project is assembling at the Cannes Film Market, as Deadline reports that writer/director Walter Hill (48 Hours, Red Heat, The Warriors, The Driver) is putting together a western called Dead For A Dollar that will see Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz playing another bounty hunter after playing on in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. The western will also see Willem Dafoe (John Wick, The Lighthouse) play someone that Waltz’s bounty hunter had sent to prison years ago.

The outlet added an extensive plot synopsis for Dead For A Dollar’s script that was penned by Hill and Matt Harris, which you can read below but might have a handful of spoilers.

Dead For A Dollar is set in New Mexico Territory, Chihuahua, during 1897. The story will follow Max Borlund (Waltz), a famed bounty hunter, hired to find and return Rachel Price, the politically progressive wife of Nathan Price, a successful Santa Fe businessman. Max is told she has been kidnapped by an African American army deserter, Elijah Jones, and is being held for ransom in Mexico. When Max goes south of the border he soon runs across his sworn enemy, expatriate American Joe Cribbens (Dafoe), a professional gambler, sometime outlaw, who Max had tracked down and sent to prison years before. When Borlund finds Rachel Price and Elijah hiding deep in the wilds of the Mexican desert, he discovers that Rachel has willingly fled from an abusive husband, and the runaway soldier is, in fact, her romantic partner. Max is now faced with a dilemma: does he return the wife back across the border to the man who hired him, or does he aid Rachel’s bid for freedom and fight off ruthless hired guns and his long-time criminal rival, Joe Cribbens?

The title an obvious nod to Sergio Leone’s iconic Dollars Trilogy, the trio of films was landmark work in the spaghetti western sub-genre.

Walter Hill as a writer worked on Alien (uncredited), Aliens, Alien 3, The Warriors, Red Heat, 48 Hours, The Driver, and Another 48 Hours.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Django’: Matthias Schoenaerts To Lead 10-Part Series Reboot of Classic Spaghetti Western

While the title might invoke Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Serigo Corbbuci’s 1966 Django is a considered one of the many iconic Spaghetti Westerns that helped influence the filmmaker. The original starred Franco Nero and it is getting a series reboot starring Matthias Schoenaerts from Sky/Canal+ according to Deadline.

Here is the synopsis for the new series.

The story is set in the Wild West in the 1860s and 1870s. Sarah and John have founded New Babylon, a city of outcasts, full of men and women of all backgrounds, races and creeds, that welcomes everyone with open arms. Haunted by the murder of his family eight years earlier, Django is still looking for his daughter, believing she may have survived the killing. He is shocked to find her in New Babylon, about to marry John.

Gomorrah’s Cattleya is behind the English-language western show with Atlantique Productions producing.The 10-part series will be directed by Francesca Comencini (Gomorrah).

It’ll be interesting to see if they’ll attempt to be as violent as the original.

DJANGO – Walking through the desert dragging a coffin, a lonely cowboy rescues Maria from a group of bandits. That cowboy is Django, and he arrives in a muddy ghost town ravaged by those bandits, where only the saloon and the brothel, owned by Nataniele, are open. Soon, Major Jackson, who charges protection fees from the dwellers, rounds his gang up to face Django. Then a mercenary and acquaintance of Django, Gen. Hugo Rodriguez, arrives in town, and Django proposes a bold plan to steal the gold from Jackson and split between them.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Eternals’ Director Chloe Zhao Tapped By Universal For New ‘Dracula’ Movie That Will Be A Mix of Sci-Fi & Western Genres

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Nomadland and Eternals director Chloe Zhao has been hired by Universal Pictures for a new Dracula film. Instead of treading on previous ground with the good Count, Chloe’s take is said to be a mix of horror, science fiction and western genres.

This new Dracula project, however, will be a far cry from the more traditional or even modern incarnations made over the years. Details are being kept in the coffin, but Zhao’s version is described as an original, futuristic, sci-fi Western. Themes of being on society’s fringes, something Zhao has tackled in her previous work, will course through the project’s veins.

Vampire movies that sort of come to mind here are Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Blade/Blade II, and Daybreakers.

Zhao’s latest film Nomadland is looking to become a huge Oscar contender and she will likely land some commercial success with her upcoming Marvel Studios movie Eternals coming out on November 5th, 2021.

Universal Pictures has been developing a heap of projects with their iconic Universal Monsters along with a recent remake of The Invisible Man, which has led to director Leigh Whannell to return for a new Wolf Man remake with Ryan Gosling attached to star. There many more projects in the works as well.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo Join ‘The Harder They Fall’ – Netflix Western Led By Idris Elba and Jonathan Majors

Deadline reports a large group of additions to the cast of Netflix’s all-black western titled The Harder They Fall, which stars The Suicide Squad’s Idris Elba and Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors. 

Outlaw Nat Love (Majors) who discovers that the man (Elba) who killed his parents two decades ago is being released from prison, he reunites with his gang to track his enemy down and seek his revenge.

The new additions to the cast are Oscar-winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Zazie Beetz (Joker), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), Danielle Deadwyler (Watchmen), Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class), and RJ Cyler (White Boy Rick). 

Majors and Lindo played father and son in Spike Lee’s fantastic Da 5 Bloods that was also released by Netflix. Delory’s performance in that film will likely be in consideration for an Oscar.

Jeymes Samuel will be directing the western from a script penned by Samuel Yakin and Boaz Yakin. 

SOURCE: DEADLINE