Weekend at Bernie's
A small-town Texas murder on the big screen: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine andMatthew McConaghey in Bernie
Texas-native director Richard Linklater (of Dazed and Confused fame) is bringing East Texas to the big screen this April.
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey star in Bernie, a dark comedy based on the 1996 small-town murder of elderly millionaire widow Marjorie Nugent. Black stars as Bernie Tiede, one of the town’s most beloved residents, who shocks the community when he is charged for the murder. McConaughey plays the district attorney determined to convict Tiede of the crime.
Bernie first debuted at the Lost Angeles Film Fest in 2011 to mostly positivereviews, commending the performances of all three leads in the film, but somecritics weren’t too keen on Linklater’s narrative choices, citing the docudrama approach as slightly off putting.
The film, set in the East Texas town of Carthage, was filmed in and around Austin, Bastrop, Georgetown, Smithville and Lockhart in 2010. After an early screening at SXSW, it's set to hit theaters on April 27.