As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, director Alexander Payne has just added Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard and Robert Forester to the cast of his film The Descendants. The new additions join topliner George Clooney, along with Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause and Mary Birdsong in this Fox Searchlight production, which began filming in Hawaii this past week.
Based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ critically acclaimed novel, the story revolves around an indifferent husband and father who is forced to confront his past when his wife suffers from a boating accident. Attorney Matt King (played by Clooney), is a rich descendant of Hawaiian royalty, who has floated through his privileged life without paying much attention to his family, such as when his wife falls out of love with him or when his two daughters begin to become involved with drugs and trouble at school. After his wife’s catamaran accident, he must awaken from his own prolonged emotional coma and make some difficult decisions.
Faced with the decisions of whether to pull the plug on his wife, Joanie (Greer), who has been in an irreversible coma for 23 days, and whether to sell off his inherited Hawaiian land for development, King takes his two neglected daughters on a trip to Hawaii in search of his wife’s lover Brian (Lillard). Along the way, King becomes aware of all the things he’s been missing out on the past several years.
The screenplay was written by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and Payne, and the film is being produced by Ad Hominem’s Payne, Jim Burke and Jim Taylor. The film is currently set for a 2011 release.
Are you looking forward to a new Alexander Payne film?