Collider is happy to exclusively reveal a brand-new poster forDead for a Dollar, the upcoming Western film by the director of the pilot groundbreaking neo-western seriesDeadwood. The film is set to premiere during the 2022 Venice International Film Festival that is taking place at the end of August and into early September, at which he will also be honored for his life’s work and will receive the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award. It was also announced that the film will open in theaters on June 15, 2025.
Dead for a Dollartakes place in 1897 and follows the story of Max Borlund, played byChristoph Waltz, a storied bounty hunter that finds himself heading far past the Mexico border. He has been hired to track down Rachel Kidd (Rachel Brosnahan), the kidnapped wife of a wealthy businessman, who has been abducted by Buffalo Soldier Elijah Jones (Brandon Scott). He discovers during the journey south that the woman and her alleged captor are actually lovers who fled from her abusive husband. Along the way, he comes across part-time outlaw and full-time gambler Joe Cribbens, (Willem Dafoe), who is Borlund’s sworn enemy after the bounty hunter sent Cribbens to jail years ago. How their meeting will play into his journey to find Rachel is still unknown.
Hill wrote the script with an assist fromMatt Harris, and the film is being produced byJeremy Wall,Kirk D’Amico, andCarolyn McMaster. Other announced cast members on the project includeWarren Burke,Benjamin Bratt,Hamish Linklater, andGuy Burnet. Hill is no stranger to the Western genre, with him having a trilogy of Westerns that started with the 1980 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or nomineeThe Long Riders, which was then followed up byGeronimoin 1993 and ended in 1995 withWild Bill.
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Hill has had a long illustrious career in the world of filmmaking with the projects he has been attached to ranging from quiet and intimate character pieces to large-scale blockbusters with acclaim and awards coming from both ends of that spectrum, including receiving both the Emmy and DGA Awards in 2005 for the previously mentionedDeadwood. He was a co-producer of 1979’s iconic sci-fi horror filmAlienstarringSigourney Weaverand went on to serve as producer or executive producer on the subsequent three sequels. Some of the most famous films he has directed include48 Hrs.andAnother 48 Hrs.,The Warriors,Streets of Fire,Brewster’s Millions, andExtreme Prejudice. Hill also directed the acclaimed Emmy Award-winning television movie,Broken Trail,receiving the DGA Award for his work and his second Emmy.Dead for a Dollarwill be Hill’s third film in the last 20 years following 2016’sThe AssignmentstarringMichelle Rodriguezand 2012’sBullet to the HeadstarringSylvester Stallone.
For his worldwide contributions to film culture, Hill has received retrospectives at the British Film Institute (1991), The Torino Film Festival (2005), Cinematheque in Paris (2005), and The Pacific Film Archives at the University of California (Berkeley, 2007). He was also honored with film retrospectives by the American Cinematheque (2006), San Sebastian Film Festival (2011), and the Munich Film Festival (2014).
Dead for a Dollarwill premiere at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival with it set to arrive in theaters on September 30. You can check out the new exclusive poster as well as read the western’s official synopsis down below.
Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens – a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before. Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel Kidd, the wife of a wealthy businessman, who as the story is told to Max, has been abducted by Buffalo Soldier Elijah Jones. Max is ultimately faced with a showdown to save honor.
