Starring Texas!
No more Mr. Nice Guy: Matthew McConaughey's a Killer
Matthew McConaughey’s all-American, twinkle-eyed, dimple-cheeked good looks have served him well in comedies such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. And his easy southern drawl was put to good use as the Mississippi lawyer fighting to save a father on trial for murder in the drama A Time to Kill.
Apparently the accent will remain, but it’s going to be fun to watch him be a nasty bad guy for a change in Killer Joe.
McConaughey, who grew up in Longview, has signed to play the lead in Voltage Pictures’ upcoming black comedy directed by Academy Award winner William Friedkin, someone who knows a thing or two about nasty characters.
Friedkin directed the mother of all demon-possession movies, The Exorcist (1973), about a showdown between two priests and the devil over a 12-year-old girl. Coinciding perfectly with Halloween season, the horror classic is being released on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video. On Oct. 5, spewing pea soup and rotating heads will be available in high definition.
If you missed a more recent William Friedkin thriller, Bug (2006), with Ashley Judd, rent it and your skin will crawl for days.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, shooting will start on Killer Joe around Nov. 8 in and around New Orleans. The movie is set for release next year.
The script, by Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning writer Tracy Letts (who also wrote the itchy Bug) is about a brother and sister who hire a Dallas detective moonlighting as a hit man (McConaughey) to kill their evil mother for the insurance money. Emile Hirsch, known for Into the Wild, will play the brother.
