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Preview by: Jack Foley
NOW that he has officially turned his back on James
Bond, Pierce Brosnan will be looking to ensure a long-term
future as an actor in his own right - and the prospects look good.
Having already made a mark in films such as The Thomas Crown
Affair and After The Sunset,
Brosnan is currently attracting widespread critical acclaim for
his latest project, The Matador.
The jovial Irish star plays Julian, a hitman or 'facilitator
of fatalities', who accidentally meets up with Greg Kinnear's
travelling salesman, Danny Wight, at a Mexico City bar.
The two spend the subsequent evening together and find that their
lives become intertwined unexpectedly to form a lasting bond.
Both Julian and Danny are facing life-changing moments and even
though they have nothing in common, they find themselves drawn
together.
The film played at the recent Sundance Film Festival where Sundance
critic, Geoffrey Gilmore, wrote that 'if Pierce Brosnan wearing
a black Speedo, cowboy boots, and sunglasses and smoking a cigar
wasn't in itself worth the price of admission, everything else
one gets in this rapturously conceived comedy about a lonely hit
man would certainly be enough'.
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He concludes: "With an outrageously
unique performance by Brosnan, and great turns by Kinnear and
Hope Davis, The Matador is a film that will stay fixed in your
memory long after the curtain has closed."
The film is directed by lifelong New Yorker, Richard Shepard,
and co-stars the likes of Hope Davis, Phillip Baker Hall, Adam
Scott and Dylan Baker. It has been produced by Brosnan with his
Irish DreamTime partner and long-term friend, Beau St. Clair.
And it performed so well at Sundance that Miramax Films has acquired
the English speaking distribution rights as well as a few additional
territories in the European and Southeast Asian markets.
Speaking at Sundance, Brosnan told journalists that he and St
Clair were enjoying 'the most creative time we've ever had'.
While St Clair claimed that The Matador formed one of 'two tiers'
to Brosnan's work - the dashing, action adventure characters as
opposed to those in which he adopts other personas, such as The
Matador and Evelyn.
Miramax is equally delighted to have secured the rights to The
Matador, with executive vice president of acquisitions and co-production,
Agnes Mentre, stating: "We're particularly excited about
distributing Richard Shepard's The Matador - an incredibly original
movie from an innovative filmmaker.
"We're pleased to be in business with the producers who
have brought hit projects like The Thomas Crown Affair and The
Cooler to film fans over the years."
Needless to say, Shepard is equally chuffed, stating in interview:
"This is a dream come true for a filmmaker. I am continuing
to pinch myself that this acquisition has happened so quickly."
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