Casey Affleck is set to make his narrative directorial debut with the 1916-set period western ‘Far Bright Star,’ with his ‘I’m Still Here’ collaborator and brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix starring.
An adaptation of Robert Olmstead’s 2009 novel of the same name, the film sees Phoenix playing Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman leading an expedition of inexperienced horse soldiers on a hunt for the legendary Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. Though he is seasoned at such missions, things go terribly wrong, and his patrol is suddenly at the mercy of an enemy intent on their destruction. After witnessing the demise of his troops, Napoleon is left by his captors to die in the desert.
Newcomer Damien Ober is providing the screenplay, while Affleck also produces the adaptation with partner John Powers Middleton, making it the first project under their newly minted shingle, The Affleck/Middleton Project.