At the very end of 2009 The Road director John Hillcoat sounded more than a little depressed when he was forced to announce that his follow-up project, the Prohibition-era family drama The Wettest County in the World, had fallen apart when the financiers backed out. He took it as yet another death knell for the independent film industry, and at the time didn't seem to have much faith that the project could get back on its feet.

Now almost an entire year later, the movie seems to be back in action again, with Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy now considered for the lead roles. According to The LA Times the film is back in action with the screenplay from Nick Cave that Hillcoat was working from previously, based on Matt Bondurant's historical novel about a family of criminal and bootleggers operating out of Virginia. Last year, when the project seemed close to getting made the first time, LaBeouf was on board to star with Ryan Gosling and Michale Shannon as his bootlegging brothers and Amy Adams in an unspecified female role. It's no surprise to see that Shannon has bailed-- his role on Boardwalk Empire is probably enough Prohibition for him for now-- but it seems possible that Gosling could come back, especially if the role Hardy is taking is the one originally meant for Shannon.

They're aiming now to start shooting in the spring, and it's not clear how that might conflict with Hardy's existing commitment to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (and I can't imagine he'd bail on that for this film, no matter how promising it is). I'll be thrilled if they can keep Hardy, but if this movie has the kind of sturdy roles it seems to, plenty of other actors will be anxious to get on board as well.