'James' Reunion in Cogan's Trade

Back in 2007 I was blown away by Andrew Dominik's directorial follow up to Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The movie played into all the themes I love and Dominik's direction was to say the least vivid. Fast forward to today and news has broke that a number of actors from 'Robert Ford' have been cast in Dominik's latest effort. A film based on George V. Higgins crime novel "Cogan's Trade." Read the full details after the jump...

First, a little basic background on Higgins' novel. It tracks the career of Jackie Cogan. An enforcer in Boston's underbelly of mobsters, crooked lawyers and political punks, Cogan is called in when rules are broken. After a heist at a high-stakes card game, Cogan is brought in to return the status-quo by any means necessary.

Higgins novel plays write into Dominik's style. The novel is ripe with suspenseful stakes, heavy tension, corrosive humor and dialogue that jumps off the page. Dominik has penned the screenplay himself and based off his work on both his previous two films, the man knows his way with words and adapting from a novel.

Now on to the casting. We've known for sometime now that Brad Pitt would star as Jackie Cogan. Pitt seems perfect role this role. Its nice to see Pitt signing up for such a rash role. Lately he has done far more subdued roles (even in Dominik's Jesse James) and I'm glad to see he will be talking on a more seedy character again.

Today's news informs us that Sam Rockwell has also signed on to play a undisclosed role. Rockwell is a invisible actor. The guy has nailed everything he's done to the wall with the utmost precision. Having him sign on to Andrew Dominik's latest is a sure treat. But that is not all, also rumored to have roles in "Cogan's Trade" are Casey Affleck, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Bill Murray and Zoe Saldana. No definite report has surfaced on the six names mentioned, but here's to hoping that the rumors are true.

"Cogan's Trade" was originally slated to begin shooting this month in New Orleans, but it appears the shooting date is closer to March now. The salty crime drama should be hitting theaters come 2012, but might take as long as 2013 depending on how this film is shopped around by Inferno Entertainment. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford took a long time to finally see a release and hopefully the same won't happen this time.

Stay tuned for more insight as it develops on "Cogan's Trade"

Source: Deadline