Principal photography has officially begun on Matthew McConaughey‘s next film, The Free State of Jones. Based on a true story, the epic Civil War drama is written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit). According to the film’s synopsis, McConaughey will be playing the role of Southern farmer named Newt Knight.
Set during the Civil War, The Free State of Jones tells the story of defiant Southern farmer Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Banding together with other small farmers, and with the assistance of local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.
Between the film’s synopsis, the directorial talent attached and Matthew McConaughey’s hobo beard, it sounds like The Free State of Jones could make 2016 another epic year for the McConaissance.
(H/T Coming Soon)
