Stars: Nicolas Cage, Fred Hechinger, Jeremy Bobb, Paul Raci, Xander Berkeley, Rachel Keller, Amber Rose Mason | Written by Gabe Polsky, Liam Satre-Meloy | Directed by Gabe Polsky
Kansas, 1874. In a letter to his father, Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) details his decision to leave Harvard and travel west, searching for a purpose while exploring the country. His idealistic desire to experience a hunt leads Andrews to join experienced buffalo hunter Miller (Nicolas Cage), who promises a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Little do they realise that the unfolding journey will risk their lives and their sanity.
Amidst announcements about this adaptation of John Edward Williams’ 1960 novel, the most attention regarding this film occurred during an actor roundtable, where Cage mentioned a horse named Rain Man that he believed wanted to kill him. Such a fun story feels different from co-writer/director Gabe Polsky’s feature about man’s all-consuming nature and the destructive aftermath left behind.
Kansas, 1874. In a letter to his father, Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) details his decision to leave Harvard and travel west, searching for a purpose while exploring the country. His idealistic desire to experience a hunt leads Andrews to join experienced buffalo hunter Miller (Nicolas Cage), who promises a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Little do they realise that the unfolding journey will risk their lives and their sanity.
Amidst announcements about this adaptation of John Edward Williams’ 1960 novel, the most attention regarding this film occurred during an actor roundtable, where Cage mentioned a horse named Rain Man that he believed wanted to kill him. Such a fun story feels different from co-writer/director Gabe Polsky’s feature about man’s all-consuming nature and the destructive aftermath left behind.
- 11/14/2023
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
It’s been a bit more than a year since “Butcher’s Crossing” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, but the timing of its theatrical release could hardly be more propitious. Director Gabe Polsky’s grimly fatalistic Western has finally arrived at the megaplexes just days after the PBS airing of “The American Buffalo,” Ken Burns’ fascinating (and often infuriating) documentary about how bison were very nearly hunted into extinction in this country before an unlikely group of preservations saved the shaggy beasts. As Burns emphasizes in his two-part film, and Polsky’s drama duly notes during its end credits, an estimated 60 million bison roamed the American West as late as 1860. Two decades later, however, the bison population plunged to less than 300.
Working from a script he and Liam Satre Meloy adapted from the novel by John Edward Williams, Polsky suggests that this staggering decrease was caused largely by men like Miller,...
Working from a script he and Liam Satre Meloy adapted from the novel by John Edward Williams, Polsky suggests that this staggering decrease was caused largely by men like Miller,...
- 10/22/2023
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) goes from Harvard dropout to cowboy in Gabe Polsky’s new film Butcher’s Crossing, with the script written by Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy, based on a book by John Williams.
Andrews is looking for adventure on the open frontier. School wasn’t cutting it, and now he’s looking for people to travel with. He meets Miller (Nicolas Cage), a man in the Buffalo-killing business. Andrews asks to join Miller on his next journey, which is to hunt a mysterious herd of buffalo, and the young man can join them for a flat fee of 500. He promises this will be the biggest haul of his life. Will seems to lack social and life skills as he enters a cowboy ho-down and doesn’t know how to dance or talk to women. At least he’s aware and not trying to be someone he isn’t. That...
Andrews is looking for adventure on the open frontier. School wasn’t cutting it, and now he’s looking for people to travel with. He meets Miller (Nicolas Cage), a man in the Buffalo-killing business. Andrews asks to join Miller on his next journey, which is to hunt a mysterious herd of buffalo, and the young man can join them for a flat fee of 500. He promises this will be the biggest haul of his life. Will seems to lack social and life skills as he enters a cowboy ho-down and doesn’t know how to dance or talk to women. At least he’s aware and not trying to be someone he isn’t. That...
- 9/10/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Cage’s direct-to-video days may be over — we’ve come a long way from the “Kill Chain,” “Primal,” “Grand Isle” triple-header of 2019 — but the guy is simply too eager and too curious to just sit by the phone and wait for someone to call him with a script as strong and/or well-tailored to him as “Mandy,” “Pig,” or “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
While Cage’s latest creative renaissance is hopefully still just getting started, his current upswing was always going to be pockmarked by its fair share of forgettably solid genre films. We’re talking respectable programmers with compromised scripts, cool supporting casts, and just enough credibility to stride onto Redbox with their heads held high. The kind of movie whose director tried to get it made for more than a decade before deciding that driving a roadworthy Nicolas Cage vehicle would be preferable to leaving...
While Cage’s latest creative renaissance is hopefully still just getting started, his current upswing was always going to be pockmarked by its fair share of forgettably solid genre films. We’re talking respectable programmers with compromised scripts, cool supporting casts, and just enough credibility to stride onto Redbox with their heads held high. The kind of movie whose director tried to get it made for more than a decade before deciding that driving a roadworthy Nicolas Cage vehicle would be preferable to leaving...
- 9/10/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Nicolas Cage western premieres at TIFF on Friday, September 9.
Director Gabe Polsky and the producers of western Butcher’s Crossing talk to Chris Evans about shooting in the wilderness of Colorado in the company of Nicolas Cage ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 9).
Polsky first read the novel Butcher’s Crossing by John Edward Williams back in 2008 and it “hit me in the gut and the heart”, he recalls.
It tells the story of Harvard drop-out Will Andrews, played in the film by Fred Hechinger, who heads into the American West to join...
Director Gabe Polsky and the producers of western Butcher’s Crossing talk to Chris Evans about shooting in the wilderness of Colorado in the company of Nicolas Cage ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 9).
Polsky first read the novel Butcher’s Crossing by John Edward Williams back in 2008 and it “hit me in the gut and the heart”, he recalls.
It tells the story of Harvard drop-out Will Andrews, played in the film by Fred Hechinger, who heads into the American West to join...
- 9/9/2022
- by Chris Evans
- ScreenDaily
Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley Paul Raci join cast.
Altitude Film Sales has released a first-look image of Butcher’s Crossing starring Nicolas Cage, which has wrapped principal photography in Montana.
Cage stars in the western alongside Fred Hechinger and newly announced cast Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley and Paul Raci, who earned an Oscar supporting actor Oscar nod earlier this year for Sound Of Metal.
Gabe Polsky wrote and directs the frontier adventure about a Harvard drop-out that heads out Wet in search of his destiny and joins a
team of buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage). Together they embark on a...
Altitude Film Sales has released a first-look image of Butcher’s Crossing starring Nicolas Cage, which has wrapped principal photography in Montana.
Cage stars in the western alongside Fred Hechinger and newly announced cast Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley and Paul Raci, who earned an Oscar supporting actor Oscar nod earlier this year for Sound Of Metal.
Gabe Polsky wrote and directs the frontier adventure about a Harvard drop-out that heads out Wet in search of his destiny and joins a
team of buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage). Together they embark on a...
- 11/9/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley, Rachel Keller and Oscar nominee Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) will join Nicolas Cage and Fred Hechinger in Butcher’s Crossing, the Western directed by Gabe Polsky, which has just wrapped production.
The film scripted by Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapts John Williams’ 1960 novel of the same name. It centers on Will Andrews (Hechingeer), a naive Harvard student who heads west in 1874 to fulfill his dream of seeing the country and living off the land. Will agrees to fund a dangerous but potentially lucrative expedition to Colorado, led by Miller (Cage), an experienced hunter obsessed with a near-mythological buffalo herd he once glimpsed in the Rockies. But as the weeks and then months pass, Miller’s single-minded resolve to slaughter every buffalo in the enormous herd puts Will and the rest of the hunting...
The film scripted by Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapts John Williams’ 1960 novel of the same name. It centers on Will Andrews (Hechingeer), a naive Harvard student who heads west in 1874 to fulfill his dream of seeing the country and living off the land. Will agrees to fund a dangerous but potentially lucrative expedition to Colorado, led by Miller (Cage), an experienced hunter obsessed with a near-mythological buffalo herd he once glimpsed in the Rockies. But as the weeks and then months pass, Miller’s single-minded resolve to slaughter every buffalo in the enormous herd puts Will and the rest of the hunting...
- 11/9/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Fred Hechinger has landed a lead role opposite Nicolas Cage in Gabe Polsky’s Western Butcher’s Crossing, adapted from John Williams’ 1960 novel.
In the film scripted by Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy, Hechinger will play Will Andrews, a naive Harvard student who heads west in 1874 to fulfill his dream of seeing the country and living off the land. Will agrees to fund a dangerous but potentially lucrative expedition to Colorado, led by Miller (Cage), an experienced hunter obsessed with a near-mythological buffalo herd he once glimpsed in the Rockies. As the weeks and then months pass, Miller’s single-minded resolve to slaughter every buffalo in the enormous herd puts Will and the rest of the hunting party at risk of losing their sanity and their lives.
Polsky and Phiphen Pictures’ Molly Conners are producing the adventure pic alongside Will Clarke and Andy Mayson for Altitude Film Entertainment...
In the film scripted by Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy, Hechinger will play Will Andrews, a naive Harvard student who heads west in 1874 to fulfill his dream of seeing the country and living off the land. Will agrees to fund a dangerous but potentially lucrative expedition to Colorado, led by Miller (Cage), an experienced hunter obsessed with a near-mythological buffalo herd he once glimpsed in the Rockies. As the weeks and then months pass, Miller’s single-minded resolve to slaughter every buffalo in the enormous herd puts Will and the rest of the hunting party at risk of losing their sanity and their lives.
Polsky and Phiphen Pictures’ Molly Conners are producing the adventure pic alongside Will Clarke and Andy Mayson for Altitude Film Entertainment...
- 11/1/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Production slated for October start in US.
The UK’s Altitude Film Entertainment is producing, financing and handling international sales on Gabe Polsky’s frontier adventure Butcher’s Crossing heading into this week’s Pre-Cannes Screenings.
Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapted the screenplay from the novel by John Williams exploring man’s relationship with nature and focuses on a little-known chapter in US history.
When a young Harvard dropout seeks fortune in the West by teaming up with buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage), they embark on a harrowing journey that places their lives and sanity at risk.
Production is...
The UK’s Altitude Film Entertainment is producing, financing and handling international sales on Gabe Polsky’s frontier adventure Butcher’s Crossing heading into this week’s Pre-Cannes Screenings.
Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapted the screenplay from the novel by John Williams exploring man’s relationship with nature and focuses on a little-known chapter in US history.
When a young Harvard dropout seeks fortune in the West by teaming up with buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage), they embark on a harrowing journey that places their lives and sanity at risk.
Production is...
- 6/22/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage has been set to star in Butcher’s Crossing, an adventure adapted from John Williams’ seminal 1960 novel about the rugged frontier of the American West. Gabe Polsky is set to direct. Altitude Film Group, which is producing and financing, has landed UK and Irish distribution rights and also will handle selling international at the Cannes Virtual Market that kicked off today. Shooting is set to begin in October in the U.S.
Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapted the screenplay, about a young Harvard dropout seeks his destiny out West by tying his fate to a team of buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage). Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity. The title refers to the small Kansas town where the two intersect in the novel’s story, which was set in the 1870s.
Polsky and Phiphen Pictures’ Molly Conners will...
Polsky and Liam Satre-Meloy adapted the screenplay, about a young Harvard dropout seeks his destiny out West by tying his fate to a team of buffalo hunters led by Miller (Cage). Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity. The title refers to the small Kansas town where the two intersect in the novel’s story, which was set in the 1870s.
Polsky and Phiphen Pictures’ Molly Conners will...
- 6/21/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Cage is lined up to play a buffalo hunter in an adaptation of John Williams’ novel “Butcher’s Crossing,” directed by “Red Army” helmer Gabe Polsky.
The film, which is being shopped to buyers at this week’s Cannes virtual market by sales agent and financier Altitude, is set in the 1870s and finds the “Mandy” star playing Kansas buffalo hunter Miller, who takes on a young Harvard dropout seeking his destiny out West. “Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity,” read promotional materials for the pic.
The film is based on the 1960 transcendentalist novel by Williams, which explores man’s relationship with the natural world and details a largely untold but significant chapter in American history. Polsky is adapting the novel alongside Liam Satre-Meloy. “1917” director Sam Mendes was believed to have been interested in adapting the book around 10 years ago.
Altitude has also secured the film for U.
The film, which is being shopped to buyers at this week’s Cannes virtual market by sales agent and financier Altitude, is set in the 1870s and finds the “Mandy” star playing Kansas buffalo hunter Miller, who takes on a young Harvard dropout seeking his destiny out West. “Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity,” read promotional materials for the pic.
The film is based on the 1960 transcendentalist novel by Williams, which explores man’s relationship with the natural world and details a largely untold but significant chapter in American history. Polsky is adapting the novel alongside Liam Satre-Meloy. “1917” director Sam Mendes was believed to have been interested in adapting the book around 10 years ago.
Altitude has also secured the film for U.
- 6/21/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Wild Bunch expects to sell out on Ken Loach’s competition title.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or contender Jimmy’s Hall for North America on the eve of its Competition screening in Cannes.
The film is inspired by the true tale of Jimmy Gralton who came up against political and religious opposition when he tried to revive an abandoned dance hall in rural Ireland in the 1930s.
Wild Bunch, which is handling sales, expects to sell-out on the title which premieres in competition on Thursday.
‘We’ve already done deals three-quarters of the world and expect to close the remaining territories this market,” said Wild Bunch sales chief Carole Baraton.
First territories due to show the film include the UK, where eOne will debut the film on May 30, and France, where Le Pacte has set a July 2 release.
Wild Bunch sold Spc all North American, Eastern Europe...
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or contender Jimmy’s Hall for North America on the eve of its Competition screening in Cannes.
The film is inspired by the true tale of Jimmy Gralton who came up against political and religious opposition when he tried to revive an abandoned dance hall in rural Ireland in the 1930s.
Wild Bunch, which is handling sales, expects to sell-out on the title which premieres in competition on Thursday.
‘We’ve already done deals three-quarters of the world and expect to close the remaining territories this market,” said Wild Bunch sales chief Carole Baraton.
First territories due to show the film include the UK, where eOne will debut the film on May 30, and France, where Le Pacte has set a July 2 release.
Wild Bunch sold Spc all North American, Eastern Europe...
- 5/20/2014
- ScreenDaily
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American, Eastern European and Asian rights to director Gabe Polsky's new documentary "Red Army" ahead of its premiere in the Cannes Film Festival Special Screening section. Here's the synopsis: Red Army is about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Filmmaker Gabe Polsky tells an extraordinary human story from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the friendships, the betrayals, and the personal dramas, which led to his transformation from national hero to political enemy. The film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union. Red Army is an inspiring story about a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians.The film was Executive Produced by Jerry Weintraub,...
- 4/23/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
The distributor has picked up all North American, Eastern European and Asian rights to the documentary from filmmaker Gabe Polsky.
Red Army will be a special screening on the Croisette and chronicles the highs and lows of the Soviet Union hockey team during the 1970s and 80s from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov.
“At its heart, this is a film about the Russian soul,” said Los Angeles-based filmmaker Polsky. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with Tom [Bernard] and Michael [Barker] and very excited to present the film in Cannes.”
Jerry Weintraub, Werner Herzog and Liam Satre-Meloy served as executive producers.
Polsky is best known for producing Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant in 2009 and co-directing The Motel Life, starring Emile Hirsh and Stephen Dorff, which won the audience award and screenplay prize at the Rome Film Festival in 2012.
Red Army will be a special screening on the Croisette and chronicles the highs and lows of the Soviet Union hockey team during the 1970s and 80s from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov.
“At its heart, this is a film about the Russian soul,” said Los Angeles-based filmmaker Polsky. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with Tom [Bernard] and Michael [Barker] and very excited to present the film in Cannes.”
Jerry Weintraub, Werner Herzog and Liam Satre-Meloy served as executive producers.
Polsky is best known for producing Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant in 2009 and co-directing The Motel Life, starring Emile Hirsh and Stephen Dorff, which won the audience award and screenplay prize at the Rome Film Festival in 2012.
- 4/22/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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