Hailee Steinfeld To Play Mattie Ross in Coen Brothers "True Grit"

My all time favorite John Wayne movie is as previously blogged being remade by the Coen brothers and is scheduled to open on Christmas Day.  Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin were all announced as castmembers, but the lead role of Mattie Ross was to be decided by a worldwide open audition that eventually led to 15,000 young women trying out for the role that was originated by Kim Darby.

Paramount gave the following description online as to the type of actress they were looking for:

Fourteen year old Mattie is a simple, tough as nails, young woman. Her steely nerves and straightforward manner are a shocking contrast to the way women behaved in the early century. She's possessed of true grit and plenty of determination. Enough so, that she insists on going with two marshals to hunt down the killer of her father. We are looking for a Caucasian girl who's tough, strong and tells it like it is. We are open to all looks!

Now there are 14,999 disappointed young women.  The role of Mattie Ross has gone to 13 year old Hailee Steinfeld.    According to IMDB, Hailee has three previous acting credits. This will be her first major role.

Being a huge fan of the original (my youtube page being called truegritwayne) I am anxious to see how this film turns out.  It is a great story that would be difficult for anyone to ruin.  And besides, with Matt Damon in the role originated by Glen Campbell, at least that part would be an improvement.

Want to see the original film or read the novel by Charles Portis?  You can get them both at Amazon.

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