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Jon Bernthal, Oscar-nominated actors John Hawkes and Thomas Haden Church, and recording artist Yelawolf have signed on to join Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson in THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON, it was announced Monday.
Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz co-wrote and are directing the indie movie, which follows a down-on-his-luck crab fisherman (LaBeouf) and a kind nurse (Johnson) as they embark on a journey to get a young man with Down syndrome (newcomer Zachary Gottsagen) to a professional wresting school in rural North Carolina, and away from the retirement home where he’s lived most of his life.
Gottsagen actually serves as the inspiration for the film, as he lives with high-functioning Down syndrome. Nilson and Schwartz met him while working at a non-profit arts organization, and knew they had to craft a movie around him.
Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern co-stars in The Peanut Butter Falcon, which is being financed by Armory Films. Tim Zajaros and Christopher Lemole will produce for Armory alongside Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions, as well as Lije Sarki, David Thies and T-Bone Burnett. Production is currently underway in Savannah, Georgia.
Best known for acclaimed indies such as Winter’s Bone, The Sessions, and Me and You and Everyone We Know, Hawkes will soon be seen in Fox Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri with Frances McDormand and Saban Films’ Small Town Crime with Octavia Spencer. Hawkes is represented by Innovative Artists and Thruline Entertainment.
Walking Dead alum Bernthal can currently be seen in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, and he next stars in Ric Roman Waugh’s Shot Caller, Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River and Jamie M. Dagg’s Sweet Virginia. Bernthal will also reprise his bad-ass role as the title character in Marvel’s Punisher TV series on Netflix. Bernthal is repped by WME and the Burstein Company.
Haden Church earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting performance in Sideways, and he currently stars opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in HBO’s Divorce. He’s repped by CAA and Finley Management.
Yelawolf is an American hip-hop artist known for the album Love Story and his upcoming release Trial By Fire. He’s repped by WME for film and television.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
