The next time you hear someone complain that they sure don’t make them like they used to, point them in the direction of “Accidental Texan,” an unapologetically old-fashioned feel-good dramedy that, with a few minor tweaks, could pass as a newly rediscovered family-friendly feature from the mid-1970s. Back then, the lead roles probably would have been filled by the likes of, say, Brian Keith and Kurt Russell. Here, Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”) and Rudy Pankow (Netflix’s “Outer Banks”) do the honors, and they’re at the top of their game, along with supporting players Bruce Dern and Carrie-Anne Moss. Undemandingly entertaining, director Mark Bristol’s well-crafted indie can be savored as a heaping helping of palate-cleansing sherbet, best enjoyed between viewings of bigger and louder but by no means better movies. And yes, that’s meant as a compliment.
Things begin with a bang — several bangs, to...
Things begin with a bang — several bangs, to...
- 3/8/2024
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to “Accidental Texan,” a comedy about a Harvard grad and actor stranded in the “Lone Star State” where he stumbles into the role of lifetime. The film, which stars Thomas Haden Church and Rudy Pankow, will open in theaters on March 8, 2024.
According to the official plot description, “Accidental Texan” kicks off when Erwin (Pankow), a recent Ivy League student, flames out of his first professional acting gig when he forgets to turn off his phone and triggers an explosive nightmare on set. With his career and cell phone in tatters, he flees the New Orleans movie set, only to have his car break down deep in the heart of Texas oil country. Seeking refuge and some possible phone service in a local diner, he meets Faye (Carrie-Anne Moss), a waitress who takes pity on him and offers up the phone book to find a local mechanic.
According to the official plot description, “Accidental Texan” kicks off when Erwin (Pankow), a recent Ivy League student, flames out of his first professional acting gig when he forgets to turn off his phone and triggers an explosive nightmare on set. With his career and cell phone in tatters, he flees the New Orleans movie set, only to have his car break down deep in the heart of Texas oil country. Seeking refuge and some possible phone service in a local diner, he meets Faye (Carrie-Anne Moss), a waitress who takes pity on him and offers up the phone book to find a local mechanic.
- 1/24/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Bristol directed Texas-set feel-good adventure.
Taylor & Dodge has boarded worldwide sales on the feel-good adventure feature Chocolate Lizards starring Thomas Haden Church, Rudy Pankow, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Bruce Dern.
Mark Bristol directed the story, which follows Harvard-educated Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow) who blows his first acting job and finds himself in Texas where he is taken under the wing of the nearly bankrupt oil driller Merle Luskey (Church) and his cohort Faye (Moss), who see him as their “savin’ angel”.
The trio set off on an adventure to outwit the bank, the sheriff, and a corrupt oil company...
Taylor & Dodge has boarded worldwide sales on the feel-good adventure feature Chocolate Lizards starring Thomas Haden Church, Rudy Pankow, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Bruce Dern.
Mark Bristol directed the story, which follows Harvard-educated Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow) who blows his first acting job and finds himself in Texas where he is taken under the wing of the nearly bankrupt oil driller Merle Luskey (Church) and his cohort Faye (Moss), who see him as their “savin’ angel”.
The trio set off on an adventure to outwit the bank, the sheriff, and a corrupt oil company...
- 2/27/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Rudy Pankow has signed with CAA.
The actor is best known for his role as JJ in the Netflix series Outer Banks, which is currently filming its third season. He’s also in the Sony film Uncharted opposite Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland. He plays the younger version of Sam, the older brother of Nathan Drake (Holland).
Pankow will next be seen as the lead in the indie Chocolate Lizards that’s based on the 1999 novel of the same name. The film centers on Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow), a Harvard-educated actor whose car breaks down outside Buffalo Gap, Texas. There, he meets roughneck Merle Luskey (Thomas Haden Church), who is about to lose his oil drilling operation in 30 days, unless he can come up with the money to pay off his bank note. The movie stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Julio César Cedillo and Bruce Dern. Mark Lambert Bristol is directing...
The actor is best known for his role as JJ in the Netflix series Outer Banks, which is currently filming its third season. He’s also in the Sony film Uncharted opposite Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland. He plays the younger version of Sam, the older brother of Nathan Drake (Holland).
Pankow will next be seen as the lead in the indie Chocolate Lizards that’s based on the 1999 novel of the same name. The film centers on Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow), a Harvard-educated actor whose car breaks down outside Buffalo Gap, Texas. There, he meets roughneck Merle Luskey (Thomas Haden Church), who is about to lose his oil drilling operation in 30 days, unless he can come up with the money to pay off his bank note. The movie stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Julio César Cedillo and Bruce Dern. Mark Lambert Bristol is directing...
- 5/31/2022
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks) will play the lead role in Chocolate Lizards, an indie dramedy based on Cole Thompson’s 1999 novel of the same name, which also stars Carrie-Anne Moss and Julio César Cedillo, as well as Oscar nominees Thomas Haden Church and Bruce Dern, and is currently in production in Texas.
The film centers on Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow), a Harvard-educated actor just recently fired from the first real acting job he’s ever had in New Orleans, who hits the road back to Los Angeles, only to have his car break down outside Buffalo Gap, Texas. There, he meets roughneck Merle Luskey (Church), who is about to lose his oil drilling operation in 30 days, unless he can come up with the money to pay off his bank note.
These two down-and-outers at the end of their ropes subsequently join forces with Faye (Moss), the manager of the...
The film centers on Erwin Vandeveer (Pankow), a Harvard-educated actor just recently fired from the first real acting job he’s ever had in New Orleans, who hits the road back to Los Angeles, only to have his car break down outside Buffalo Gap, Texas. There, he meets roughneck Merle Luskey (Church), who is about to lose his oil drilling operation in 30 days, unless he can come up with the money to pay off his bank note.
These two down-and-outers at the end of their ropes subsequently join forces with Faye (Moss), the manager of the...
- 10/27/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, ballet dancer Francesca Howard is cast in “Cats,” Billy Bob Thornton and Alice Eve are getting honors, and “Chocolate Lizards” is becoming a film.
Casting
Francesca Hayward, principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, has joined the cast of Universal Pictures and Working Title’s “Cats.”
The movie is an adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot.
Hayward joined the Royal Ballet in 2010 and was promoted to principal in 2016. Some of her most prominent roles include Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet”), Alice (“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”), Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara (“The Nutcracker”), and Princess Aurora (“The Sleeping Beauty”).
Tom Hooper will direct from a script he co-wrote with Lee Hall. “Cats” will be produced by Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, as well as fellow “Les Misérables” producer Debra Hayward,...
Casting
Francesca Hayward, principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, has joined the cast of Universal Pictures and Working Title’s “Cats.”
The movie is an adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot.
Hayward joined the Royal Ballet in 2010 and was promoted to principal in 2016. Some of her most prominent roles include Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet”), Alice (“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”), Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara (“The Nutcracker”), and Princess Aurora (“The Sleeping Beauty”).
Tom Hooper will direct from a script he co-wrote with Lee Hall. “Cats” will be produced by Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, as well as fellow “Les Misérables” producer Debra Hayward,...
- 11/3/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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