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9 months ago
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Joel Edgerton (The Gift) and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) are set to star in Train Dreams, the newest feature from Jockey director Clint Bentley, which will be introduced to international buyers at EFM by Black Bear.
Bentley & Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) penned the script which is an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novella. Damien Ober did a previous draft.
Pic tells the story of Robert Grainier (Edgerton), a day laborer employed as a logger helping to expand the railways across America. Forced to spend prolonged periods of time away from his wife, Gladys (Jones), and their young daughter, Grainier struggles to make sense of his place in a rapidly changing world. As his story unfolds, he experiences great love, unspeakable loss and unique bonds, on a journey that is both distinct and universal.
Producers include Marissa McMahon and Ashley Schlaifer for Kamala Films, Will Janowitz, and Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler for Black Bear. Black Bear’s John Friedberg is exec producing along with Kwedar, Casey Affleck, and Scott Hinckley. Picture is being fully financed by Black Bear, with WME Independent be handling U.S. sales. Production kicks off in the state of Washington in April.
“Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar are two of the most exciting American filmmakers working today,” Black Bear’s Schwarzman said. “After a tremendous collaboration on Sing Sing, we’re thrilled to back their next project in Train Dreams, one of the most beautiful scripts we’ve ever read. Our friends at Kamala Films have developed an epic, and we cannot wait for Joel and Felicity to bring to life these incredible characters.”
Bentley is coming off great success with his directorial debut Jockey, which won Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Actor and the 2021 AFI Fest Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and was released in theaters by Sony Pictures Classics. Train Dreams marks the latest in a long line of collaborations between Bentley and his creative partner Kwedar, who also wrote and produced on Jockey. Most recently, the pair scripted Black Bear’s Sing Sing, starring Colman Domingo, which will hit SXSW in March before releasing in theaters via A24.
Edgerton is represented by Shanahan Management, WME and Anonymous Content; Jones by Independent Talent Group and WME; and Bentley and Kwedar by CAA, Black Bear, and Fusion Entertainment.
