News

In 2010's "True Grit" — one of the best Westerns of recent years — Matt Damon plays Texas Ranger Laboeuf, whose pursuit of murderer Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) leads him to join forces with U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Laboeuf is a by-the-book lawman who also happens to be a bit of a windbag who likes the sound of his own voice. As such, I'm not sure Tommy Lee Jones would be all that flattered to learn he was a big part of the inspiration behind Damon's performance.

Back in 1995, Damon appeared alongside Jones in "The Good Old Boys," a TV movie that also marked Jones' directorial debut and which he co-wrote with J.T. Allen. The film was based on Elmer Kelton's 1978 novel of the same name, in which a West Texas man named Hewey Calloway witnesses his town developing rapidly, much to his distaste. He dreams of a...

Matt Damon's diverse career includes impressive Western movie performances showcasing his range and talent. Damon's lesser-known roles in TV and film paved the way for his success, such as The Good Old Boys. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron highlighted Damon's voice acting skills in this animated Western classic.

The career of Matt Damon has been categorized by acclaimed roles across a variety of genres and has included some fantastic performances in Western movies. While Damon first became known for his breakout success as the co-writer and star of Good Will Hunting, hes also portrayed cowboys and Western lawmen on more than one occasion. These enjoyable performances showcased how well Damon was suited to genre movies as he fully embodied the free-roaming ideals and individualist nature of the Wild West.

With many incredible performances under his belt, Damon has made a name for himself through his long-running and Academy Award-winning collaboration with Ben Affleck.

In Robert Duvall’s latest western, Wild Horses, he stars as an old rancher who once kicked his son off his property for being gay and now finds himself at the center of a missing person investigation. In addition to starring, Duvall directed a cast that includes James Franco and Josh Hartnett.

While Duvall was in Austin at SXSW to promote the film, we had a chance to sit down with the Oscar-winner. We talked about why this project spoke to him, working on a small budget, and using actual Texas rangers in the production. Check out the full interview below!

What was it about this movie that made you want to direct it?

Duvall: Well, not a lot in the beginning. The script we got was pretty unshootable. We took it, I took the option. I wanted to do it because I wanted to have a lady ranger in...

Famed novelist Elmer Kelton has died at the age of 83.

Kelton wrote a string of classic cowboy tales and was voted Best Western Author of All Time by the Western Writers of America. He also won the Wwa's Spur Award for excellence in literature seven times.

His book The Good Old Boys was made into a U.S. TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones in 1995, and four others - including The Man Who Rode Midnight and The Time It Never Rained - scooped the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Kelton wrote 62 fiction and non-fiction books during his 53-year career. His first, Hot Iron, was published in 1956, and he recently completed his final novel - Texas Standoff - which is due out next year.

Kelton died from natural causes on Saturday. He is survived by his wife Ann, two sons and a daughter.

Tommy Lee Jones will direct and star in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, an indie feature written by 21 Grams scribe Guillermo Arriaga. Jones also will produce the film along with Michael Fitzgerald. The story follows ranch hand Pete Perkins (Jones), who attempts to keep a promise to a recently deceased friend by making sure that he is buried in his hometown in Mexico. Production begins in mid-September in Texas with two-time Oscar winner Chris Menges serving as cinematographer. Luc Besson's Europa Corp. is financing and executive producing. It is Jones' first feature directorial assignment. In 1995, he helmed the made-for-television film The Good Old Boys, which he adapted from Elmer Kelton's book of the same name. Jones, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for 1993's The Fugitive, will be seen next in Revolution Studios' Cheer Up. He is repped by Michael Black of MBM and Bill Jacobson of Browning Jacobson & Klein. UTA-repped Arriaga wrote Amores Perros as well as an installment of BMW's The Hire, a series of short Internet films.