Skip to Content

Listen to the Joystiq Podcast (because your ears can't read)

Tommy Lee Jones Ditches Matthew McConaughey's 'Lincoln'

Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand

A mere month ago, it seemed like Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer was set for a top notch adaptation thanks to the arrival of Tommy Lee Jones. Jones was interested in directing and costarring in the film, which gave us all hope that he could help makeover Matthew McConaughey into something serious and shirt wearing. But alas, it's not to be. Variety reports that Jones has departed The Lincoln Lawyer, leaving it idling and spitting fumes.

Jones departed for that vague and all-encompassing reason "creative differences." Variety reports that he had issues with John Romano's script, and neither Jones nor Lakeshore Entertainment were willing to budge. The studio is currently on the hunt for a new director, and hopes to be shooting by spring.

So, feel free to speculate on just what script issues there might have been. I know we have some Connelly fans who were looking forward to this, and who know more about the book than I do. Given that it is a star vehicle for McConaughey, and the character is a bit of a legal freewheeler, I wonder if the script is more of a comedic departure from the book. We've cracked a lot of jokes about bongo drums and shirtlessness, but could that actually have been what Jones departed over? It's sleazy and easy to jump to that conclusion, and I can't really believe a Connelly book could be adapted into Fool's Gold. But this is Hollywood. Stranger things have happened.

Related Headlines

 

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

.