Plucked from obscurity by the Coen Brothers for "True Grit," Hailee Steinfeld turned in a commanding performance that earned her an Oscar nomination, and since then her career has experienced a rocket's ascent. The actress has been busy lining up movie after movie, taking on a diverse array of projects: the music world drama "Can A Song Save Your Life?"; Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet"; literary adaptation "Hateship, Friendship"; and sci-fi blockbuster "Ender's Game." And now, for better or worse, she's getting a taste of McG.
The actress has joined the untitled thriller starring Kevin Costner and produced by action factory Luc Besson. The thriller will follow Secret Service agent Ethan Runner (Costner) who discovers he's dying and decides to retire in order to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Steinfeld). But when the Secret Service offers him access to an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment, he soon finds himself trying to juggle his family, his mission, and the drug's hallucinatory side-effects. So…like Steven Soderbergh's "Side Effects" but with explosions?
No word yet on when it will shoot, but it looks like the pieces are falling into place. While there was a time when the name Luc Besson would've inspired some excitement, his recent output has been rote, and McG certainly has a lot to prove too. But the premise is promising and we like the cast, so we'll remain optimistic for now. [Deadline]
