In late April, New Regency announced that John Hillcoat will adapt Cormac McCarthy‘s “Blood Meridian” for the big screen, Hillcoat’s second McCarthy adaptation after 2009’s “The Road.” Regarded in literary circles as one of the greatest American novels of all time, McCarthy’s epic western about the human scalping trade in the Southwest 1850s isn’t for the faint of heart. And for a director, helming a film like “Blood Meridian” represents equal parts passion and masochism. The novel is a violent, grueling, unrelenting tale, and that’s part of the reason many have tried and failed to adapt it over the past two decades.
So who’s on that list of filmmakers? Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tommy Lee Jones, Todd Field, Michael Haneke, and James Franco are some names attached to “Blood Meridian” over the years. However, none even got close to shooting a film version of McCarthy’s vision until Hillcoat. So how did Hillcoat get the gig? Talking to The Playlist on the “Bingeworthy” podcast, the director revealed the secret: he has a screenplay for “Blood Meridian” co-written by McCarthy himself. What’s more, McCarthy will also executive produce the film with his son John Francis McCarthy.
“[Cormac McCarthy] has become a dear, dear close friend,” Hillcoat said on the podcast. “And over the years, we discussed how he had lost control of “Blood Meridian,” and it was a mutual task to get it back because he knew how to crack it. A lot of people have tried without his input.”
A list of filmmakers that includes Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tommy Lee Jones and even James Franco have been attached to earlier attempts to produce a Blood Meridian film, all of which failed to get in front of cameras. Even with the dismal track record associated with the project, Hillcoat says he has something his predecessors all lacked – a screenplay that will be at least co-written by McCarthy himself, who is also slated to executive produce with his son John Francis McCarthy.
“[Cormac McCarthy] has become a dear, dear close friend. And over the years we discussed how he had lost control of “Blood Meridian,” and it was a mutual task to get it back because he knew how to crack it. A lot of people have tried without his input.” And Hillcoat also said a project the scale of “Blood Meridian” needed time to gestate in its transition from novel to screenplay. “It has really been having the space to discuss it over a decade or more,” Hillcoat continued, “Actually, I think it’s fifteen years we’ve been discussing it. That allowed it to come forth, and I wouldn’t let go.”
And Hillcoat is excited to collaborate with McCarthy on the adaptation because the novelist understands that “a book is a book, and a film is a film.” “He understands they’re two different mediums,” Hillcoat added, “but the best you can do is capture the spirit of each.” Hillcoat also mentioned that McCarthy’s adaptation of “Blood Meridian” to screenplay is already underway. “He started an adaptation himself. We talked about how to crack it, really, because it is a very ambitious book to crack, as you can imagine.”
Listen to the entire episode of The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast with John Hillcoat below.