Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson are taking a bit of a break from the big screen to make a movie for the US TV channel HBO, based on Cormac McCarthy’s play, The Sunset Limited. Jones will also direct the movie, which is due to start filming next month.
Although TV used to be seen as a step down for movie stars, the increased quality and success of several HBO and other cable TV movie in recent years (such as Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore), is luring ever more stars to the small screen.
In The Sunset Limited, Jackson will play a man who saves another person (Jones) from killing himself by diving in front of a New York subway train. This starts off an exchange of ideas, where the two men discuss the worth of their lives.
No, we can’t see that making it big in cinemas either, but the HBO backing will allow the two actors to show off their acting skills, and probably ensure the film gets a bigger audience than it ever would have in theatres.
Tommy Lee Jones was of course in another Cormac McCarthy adaptation recently, the Oscar winning No Country For Old Men. He also wrote an adaptation of the writer’s novel, Blood Meridian, but so far that hasn’t made it to the big screen.
The Sunset Limited will mark Jones and Jackson second collaboration, following Rules Of Engagement in 2000. The film should be ready to show on HBO next year.