Like the famous Western gunslinger from his last masterpiece, writer/director
Andrew Dominik enjoys working with the close people around him who he can trust. For his next film,
Cogan's Trade, Dominik has brought the James gang back together -
Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck (all but officially on board) and now
Sam Rockwell, who after a few weeks of talks is now officially on board for the crime caper film. As
The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is possibly my favourite film from the last five years, you can imagine how excited I am by this news.
Bella Heathcote, a young Aussie actress who appeared on Neighbours and won the Heath Ledger scholarship to travel to America in search of work last year, has also been cast.
Filming on Cogans Trade begins in March in New Orleans, Louisana (a change from the Boston setting from the novel), with Brad Pitt leading as Jackie Cogan, an enforcer investigating the robbery of a high stakes poker game protected by the mob. The film is an ensemble movie, adapted from the pulp novel by
George V. Higgins (
seemingly impossible to buy brand new on Amazon) and is said to be a more serious version of
Oceans Eleven. Alongside Pitt, Affleck (who incidentally were both in the Oceans franchise) & Rockwell
we previously heard of Dominiks desire to cast
Mark Ruffalo and
Javier Bardem, and recently we've heard of
Josh Brolin, Bill Murray and
Zoe Saldana being circled for the film.
The Playlist have done some actual journalism and Saldana's reps say no offer has yet to be made to the actress. For our money, Cogan's Trade could be the most promising film that's casting right now...