Iconic John Wayne Role Redone

In 1969, John Wayne played Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit” — a grizzled, drunken U.S. Marshal hired by a 14-year-old girl to track down her father’s killer. The role ended up winning the aging Western star his first and only Oscar, prompting him to make a rare sequel — “Rooster Cogburn” — opposite Katherine Hepburn in 1975. The image of Wayne’s craggy, eye-patched visage from “True Grit” has become a cinematic icon.

So film mavens everywhere were taken aback when it was announced last year that Joel and Ethan Coen would been making their own version of “True Grit.” But don’t expect a straight remake; this movie is based more closely on the Charles Portis novel. And Jeff Bridges, fresh off his Oscar win, was tapped to play Cogburn; that’s right, the Duke has been replaced by the Dude.

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Sundance Favorite Finally Gets Released After Thirteen Years

Back in 1997, “Colin Fitz Lives!” was the darling of the Sundance film festival. The low-budget comedy was praised by Roger Ebert and Harry Knowles. It went on to win a slew of film fest awards and looked poised to be another breakout indie hit like Kevin Smith’s “Clerks“, Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” and Robert Rodriquez’s “El Mariachi.”

Instead, the movie just disappeared.

Over the years, “Colin Fitz Lives!” developed into something of a legend in the indie world. Fans everywhere wondered when the “greatest film never released” — as it was dubbed by the San Francisco Chronicle — was ever going to hit their local theater. Fourteen years and three presidents later, the movie is finally about to get its theatrical due.