Jones and McConaughey in The Lincoln Lawyer

Posted on October 15, 2009
Filed Under Actors, Adaptation, Directors

Today I bring you news all the way from Risky Biz Blog. I check in once in a while to keep an eye on what Steven Zeitchik is posting. Today this little story caught my attention. Good actors. Especially Tommy Lee Jones. He has done some nice work over the years… Anyway, apparently Jones is in negotiations to direct and co-star in “The Lincoln Lawyer” together with Matthew McConaughey. The movie is based on the 2005 bestseller from Michael Connelly.

The story centers on a wheeler-dealer Los Angeles lawyer named Mickey Haller who operates out of the back of his Lincoln. Haller is content with a career defending garden-variety criminals until he lands the case of a lifetime, defending a Beverly Hills playboy accused of murder.

McConaughey is on board to play Haller. It’s unclear what role Jones would play; the playboy character, which could be the second male lead, is described in the book as somewhat younger than Jones, though the part could be adjusted to accommodate an older interpretation.

Both Jones and McConnaughey had breakout roles playing characters in the justice system, McConaughey a young defense attorney in “A Time to Kill” (1996) and Jones the federal marshal Samuel Gerard in “The Fugitive” (1993). Both movies were among the highest earning of each actor’s respective careers, with Jones also seeing significant success with the “Men In Black” franchise, where he also played a government agent.

Connelly turns out frequent bestsellers, but Hollywood has been more reluctant to turn his books into films. The film “Blood Work,” based on Connelly’s novel about an FBI profiler, became a Clint Eastwood pic in 2002.

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