After John Travolta and Uma Thurman joined yesterday, Variety reports Emile Hirsch has joined the ensemble cast of Oliver Stone‘s Savages. After appearing in Speed Racer, Into The Wild, Milk, and Taking Woodstock, the actor has taken a bit of a break, but is now returning in full force. He has the sci-fi invasion film The Darkest Hour coming this December and Killer Joe next year, while he is currently shooting The Hotel Life. His Savages role is unknown but Blake Lively will play our lead character O and you can read our previous story below.
In the adaptation of Don Winslow’s hit novel, Travolta will play the character of Dennis, a “burned out DEA agent” while Thurman will play O’s mother, Paqu. Already cast is Taylor Kitsch as former Navy SEAL Chon, Aaron Johnson as Ben, Salma Hayek as Mexican “cartel queen-pin” Elena, and Benicio Del Toro as the “vicious cartel enforcer Lado.” Check out a full synopsis of the novel below and this sounds like a nice rebound after the disappointing Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Spare, clipped expository prose and hip, spot-on dialogue propel this visceral crime novel from Winslow (The Dawn Patrol). The future is looking good for Laguna Beach, Calif., marijuana growers Ben and Chon, until they receive an ominous e-mail from the Baja Cartel. Attached is a photograph showing the decapitated bodies of other independent drug dealers. The message is clear: sell your product through us or else. Ben and Chon try to resist, but matters escalate after cartel thugs abduct Ophelia, the guys’ beautiful young playmate and accomplice, and hold her for a cool million ransom. Meanwhile, Elena “La Reina” Sanchez Lauter, the leader of the Baja Cartel, must deal with rival drug gangs and potential overthrow from within. Ben and Chon propose a trade that Elena can’t refuse, setting the stage for the violent and utterly satisfying ending. Winslow’s encyclopedic knowledge of the border drug trade lends authenticity.
Savages begins production in July and is expected to hit theaters in 2012.
What do you think of the cast for Savages so far?