‘Stillwater’ Director Discusses Matt Damon Transformation Into A “Roughneck” Father In New Thriller

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Matt Damon is no stranger to thrillers. From ‘The Incredible Mr. Ripley’ to ‘The Departed,’ he has often stepped into roles that are never quite what they seem.
Now he is stepping into the role of Bill Baker, an oilrig “roughneck” worker and concerned father who travels to France to help his Allison, played by Abigail Breslin, who has been arrested by the French authorities after being accused of murder in the upcoming film ‘Stillwater.’
The movie’s co-writer and director Tom McCarthy recently sat down with EW to discuss the plot and what audiences can expect.
“He’s a guy that’s had a difficult life, he’s struggled, but he sort of tried to make amends and do what’s right, I think, when we meet him,” McCarthy said, describing Baker’s relationship with his daughter as “fractured.”
“Matt and I started going [to Oklahoma] early on to get a taste of the place and the people and spending time with roughnecks, in particular,” he explains. “They really opened up their lives to us, and their worlds and their families. They were incredibly instrumental in helping us shape the story.”
“It’s a beautiful film shot in a beautiful place, and I think [Focus Features] felt strongly that people should see it in movie theaters, and I was in agreement with that,” he said. “I’m in no rush — the movie will play as well this year as it would have last year.”
McCarthy said that ‘Stillwater’ was supposed to be released last fall, but production was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but he says that helped them not rush the film.
“We shut down and put it down, revisited it, shut it down again, and then opened it up about a month ago,” he continued. “Whenever you can get away from a film like that, and you approach it with fresh eyes, you have the ability to make positive changes to it. I think we made a number of changes to it, which really impacted the movie, but it feels done. It feels baked now.”
‘Stillwater’ is slated to hit theaters in July Damon, Breslin, Camille Cottin, Lilou Siauvaud, and Deanna Dunagan starring.

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Jacob Airey

Jacob Airey is an author, nerd, movie reviewer, and pop culture critic. He started this website in 2012 where he covers a vast variety of topics including film, TV, anime, and faith. He also hosts the YouTube vidcast StudioJake.

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