When last we heard tell of Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, it was set to emerge as a six-part anthology series on Netflix. It seems, however, that, despite prevailing trends, the Coens just can’t shake the call of the silver screen. Variety has announced that the project is now a film, though it will retain the anthology structure.
It’s still slated to air on Netflix later this year, but the film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month. Considering it’s being propped up for awards consideration, it will also get a theatrical run.
(Read: The Coen Brothers in Five Films)
“We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme,” the Coens said in a statement. “Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
Oh, dear.
Tim Blake Nelson stars as the film’s title character, and he’ll be joined by Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits, among others. Plot details are scarce at the moment.
Variety also notes that cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, who previously worked with the Coens on Inside Llewyn Davis, shot the film with the Arri Alexa camera, making Buster Scruggs the duo’s first-ever digital photography production.
The 75th annual Venice Film Festival kicks off on August 29th and runs through September 8th.
