PITTSBURGH — The next solo Coen brother outing is going to be setting up shop around western Pennsylvania next month.
Pittsburgh Film Office director Dawn Keezer confirmed to the Post-Gazette Monday that Ethan Coen — who alongside brother Joel has directed cinematic classics like "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" and "No Country for Old Men" — will be filming a currently untitled road-trip comedy throughout the Pittsburgh region. The film is slated to start production in mid-to-late September, Keezer said.
It was revealed in April that Coen was planning to branch off from Joel for his next project, which is being produced by Focus Features and Working Title Films. Coen will be directing this film, which is based on a script he co-wrote with his wife, Tricia Cooke, in the mid-2000s.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ethan Coen to western Pennsylvania," Keezer said. "It's fun to have a comedy and something light and happy [filming around here]. We never really worry about content, though. We worry about the number of people getting hired in the region."
Last year, Joel Coen debuted solo directorial effort "The Tragedy of Macbeth," starring Denzel Washington as the titular Scottish general and his wife, Frances McDormand, as Lady Macbeth. Ethan's mysterious new endeavor "follows two queer young women in '99 on a road trip from Philadelphia to Tallahassee," according to a plot description contained in a Pittsburgh Film Office extras casting call.
This film has been around in some form for at least 15 years, with a 2007 Los Angeles Times report indicating that Coen was originally only going to produce the film. Prolific television director Allison Anders was expected to helm it back then, and actors like Selma Blair, Christina Applegate, Chloe Sevigny and Holly Hunter had been attached at various points in its development.
"The sensibility is exploitive but innocent," Coen told the Los Angeles Times' Jay A. Fernandez at the time. Fernandez went on to say that the film's tone was meant to mirror "the early-'70s exploitation romps [Coen] saw as a teenager, only with more sincerity."
Though there isn't any information available yet about who will be starring in this film, the production is already seeking extras for both speaking and background roles. Background opportunities range from "lesbian patrons (& staff) at lesbian nightclub" to "wealthy Floridian types," while parts with dialogue include waiters, hotel staff and specifically named characters like "Carla," "Amber," "Doreen" and "Aunt Ellis."
Both union and nonunion extras are welcome to apply for this project. The production is requiring, however, that "all performers and those working closely with them be fully vaccinated against COVID-19."
Anyone who would like to be an extra in this Ethan Coen feature should send three or four photos to castingpennsylvania@gmail.com with your first and last name, the role you would like to fill (if applicable) and your union status in the subject line. The casting call clarified that those submissions should all be "cell phone-style, honest portrayals of how you really look," as opposed to professional photos or headshots.
"No filters, retouching, or editing your real look!" it reads. "Don't 'hide' unique features, smooth facial lines, etc. We love INTERESTING faces with unique features!"
There will also be an open casting call taking place Aug. 20 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 3 Rivers Studios in Robinson Township.
Ethan Coen's road-trip comedy will be just the latest Hollywood set to pop up around Pittsburgh this summer. Both the Paramount+ series "Mayor of Kingstown" and Netflix horror film "The Deliverance" have been filming here since June. Season two of "American Rust," which in June was resurrected by Amazon Freevee after being canceled earlier this year by Showtime, is expected to return to the area for filming this fall.
It's been a big summer for major movies and shows that shot here in 2021 finally seeing the light of day. The film "Cha Cha Real Smooth" dropped on AppleTV+ in June, and Billy Porter's feature directorial debut "Anything's Possible" debuted on Prime Video last month. Amazon's "A League of Their Own" series will premiere its first season Friday, and Freevee will drop the locally filmed comedy "Sprung" on Aug. 19.
"To sit in our homes, watch it all happen and see the amazing work of all the people who work here, it's great," Keezer said. "I'm excited for more."
