Matt Damon and Kenneth Lonergan Reteaming for 'Manchester-by-the-Sea'

Because of editing and legal issues it took more than six years for Kenneth Lonergan's last film, Margaret, to hit theaters after being completed way back in 2005. This after his prior film, You Can Count on Me, was met with incredible acclaim, earning two Oscar nominations for original screenplay and Best Actress for Laura Linney. So after only making two movies in nearly fifteen years, Lonergan is moving ahead on his next one now, and it will see him reunited with Matt Damon who he's worked with on multiple occasions.

Lonergan is set write and direct Manchester-by-the-Sea, which is described as very similar in tone to You Can Count on Me. Damon will take the lead, playing a Boston (of course!!) plumber who returns home after his brother passes away, and is forced to take care of his 16-year-old son. Problems arise when a secret tragedy from his past emerges.

Damon had a small role in Margaret and starred in Lonergan's stage production of This is Our Youth, so it's no surprise he's squeezing this film into his tight schedule. After coming together over the weekend production is beginning today for a fall shoot that Damon will fit in before filming Ridley Scott's The Martian.  [THR]

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Trailer Time: Margaret, starring Anna Paquin and Matt Damon

The road to seeing Margaret finally hit theaters has been a long, bumpy one fraught with legal entanglements. The follow-up directorial effort by Kenneth Lonergan(You Can Count On Me), the film stars Anna Paquin as a flirtatious teen whose reckless behavior inadvertently causes a fatal bus accident. Matt Damon stars as one of her teachers she seems to form some sort of relationship with. Mark Ruffalo, Allison Janney, Jean Reno, and Matthew Broderick also star.

Part of the issue surrounding the film had to do with Lonergan's rare status as a director with "final cut", which meant that neither studio or the producers could release anything other than his own vision. Margaret was completed way back in 2005(!!!), and Lonergan has been editing the film ever since. Screenings were set up then cancelled back in 2006 because Lonergan couldn't decide on a cut he liked. Lawsuits were filed, blah blah blah, and now finally we have a completed film, although the 150 minute run time indicates Lonergan didn't cut a hell of a lot out. Frankly I'm amazed he had final cut rights to begin with based solely on You Can Count On Me, although it did get nominated for two Academy Awards.

A trailer has been released for Margaret ahead of it's September 30th release, and it looks like an incoherent, heavy handed mess. Kinda reminds me of another film Mark Ruffalo starred in which was equally misguided, Reservation Road.  Here's hoping the performances by the extraordinary talent involved will make this film better than it appears here...

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