Ed Harris will direct a film adaptation of Kim Zupan’s The Ploughmen, Deadline reports.
Zupan’s novel, published in 2014 by Henry Holt, follows Val Millimaki, a Montana deputy sheriff who forges an unlikely bond with John Gload, a jailed 77-year-old serial killer. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “It’s not the paucity of action but the flawed characterizations that hurt this oppressive work the most.”
It is the first, and so far only, novel from Zupan, a former professional rodeo rider, ranch hand, and fisherman who teaches carpentry at the University of Montana.
Harris, the four-time Academy Award–nominated actor who directed the films Pollock and Appaloosa, will write, produce, and helm the adaptation of The Ploughmen. The film will star Nick Nolte (The Prince of Tides, Affliction) as John Gload, Owen Teague (The Stand, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) as Val Millimaki, and Bill Murray (The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation) as the county sheriff. Also starring will be Amy Madigan (Pollock, Gone Baby Gone) and Lily Harris (Chicago Med).
“I’ve been trying to get this film made for a while,” Harris said. “It’s worth the wait to tell this intriguing story with a great cast and crew and the beauty of Montana.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
