Jeff Nichols Says His Cormac McCarthy Movie Not Moving Forward: “I Was a Little Too Faithful to the Books”

Here’s a Variety piece on Jeff Nichols talking about how difficult it has become for an established American filmmaker to get an independently financed movie made in the U.S.

This comes off recenr frustration that, despite his strong track record, Nichols has struggled to secure financing for several passion projects. If you remember, Michael Shannon, who has appeared in many of Nichols’ films, described the situation as “mind-boggling.”

That said, the latest update on Nichols’ planned adaptations of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” is not good. Nichols says he was hired to adapt both books together, treating them as a single story. Turns out that project is now dead. New Regency, which was developing it, backed out: “I don’t think they’ll be moving forward with that one.”

Nichols says the material was difficult and that the resulting screenplay may simply have been too uncompromising: “Ultimately, they were looking for a more commercial story and I think I was a little too faithful to the books.”

Another project that’s been shelved is “Yankee Comandante,” based on David Grann’s article, which tells the true story of William Alexander Morgan, the American who fought alongside Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution. Nichols says the project was badly hit by timing. Adam Driver was originally set to play Morgan, but “now that won’t happen,” although Nichols says he and Driver have another project planned.

One movie that did go forward is “King Snake,” acquired by Neon, which Nichols shot in the spring, starring Margaret Qualley and Drew Starkey.

Nichols calls it “the first original piece I’ve made since “Midnight Special,” which came out 10 years ago,” and says it is “something that’s cut from whole creative cloth and completely out of my mind.” He adds, “I really go for it in this one,” with substantially more overt horror elements than in his previous work.

Nichols is the director of “Shotgun Stories,” “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” “Midnight Special,” and “Loving.” His last film, “The Bikeriders,” made little impact, earning $21M against a $40M budget — but he remains one of the more interesting American filmmakers working today.