Jeff shows his true acting grit

MANILA, Philippines - When the Coens first mentioned the idea of making True Grit, Jeff Bridges said, “Gee, didn’t they make that movie? Why do you want to do it again? and they said, ‘We’re not remaking the film, we’re making a version of the original book by Charles Portis’. So I read the book and I immediately saw what they were talking about. It seemed like the perfect story for the Coens to make into a movie. And since they have never made an actual Western adventure before, it was going to be a surprise.”

Bridges, who was cast in the role of Cogburn, says it was the idea of mixing the book’s authentic cadence and rollicking yet moving tone with the Coens’ cinematic approach that got him so excited to tackle an iconic character in a fresh way.

Matt Damon playing the role of LaBoeuf, 40, was born in Boston, Massachusetts and first started acting at school. He attended Harvard University to study English and after college returned to acting, winning small roles in Mystic Pizza and School Ties.

True Grit is based on Portis’s classic novel set in the rugged, brutal un-tamed American West of the 1870s. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl determined to seek vengeance for her father who has been murdered by the “coward” Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She hires a trigger happy, drunken Marshall, Rooster Cogbugn (Jeff) to track Chaney down and bring him to justice. Cogburn has the quality she is looking for as she puts it, he has “true grit.”

They then discover that a Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt), is already chasing the killer and is determined to take him back to his home state and collect a handsome reward.

True Grit received a total of 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Directing for Joel and Ethan, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Jeff, Best Supporting Actress for Hailee Steinfeld, Best Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Costume Design, Cinematography and Art Direction and eight BAFTA (England’s counterpart of the Oscar Awards) nominations for similar categories.

True Grit is written for the screen and directed by the Coens and produced by Scott Rudin, Ethan and Coen. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Robert Graf, David Ellison, Paul Schwake and Megan Ellison. It is distributed locally by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp. True Grit is now showing in theaters.