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The Counselor

The Counselor
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ridley Scott
Produced by	Ridley Scott Nick Wechsler Steve Schwartz Paula Mae Schwartz
Written by	Cormac McCarthy
Starring	Michael Fassbender Penélope Cruz Cameron Diaz Javier Bardem Brad Pitt
Music by	Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Editing by	Pietro Scalia
Studio	Scott Free Productions Nick Wechsler Productions Chockstone Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 25, 2013 (2013-10-25)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States United Kingdom
Language	English

The Counselor is an upcoming drama / thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, from an original screenplay by Cormac McCarthy. The Counselor is set to be released in the United States and Canada on October 25, 2013 by 20th Century Fox

Plot

The film tells the story of a greedy lawyer (Michael Fassbender) who finds himself in over his head when he decides to delve into the dark world of drug trafficking. Along the way we meet his naive girlfriend Laura (Penelope Cruz), Westray (Brad Pitt), a seedy middleman, Reiner and Malkina (Javier Bardem and Cameron Diaz), a mysterious and dangerous couple from Argentina, and Ruth (Rosie Perez), a prison inmate represented by the lawyer.
The film will be dedicated to the memory of the director's brother Tony Scott.

Cast

• Michael Fassbender as The Counselor
• Penélope Cruz as Laura^[4]
• Cameron Diaz as Malkina^[5]
• Javier Bardem as Reiner^[6]
• Brad Pitt as Westray^[6]
• Rosie Pérez^[7] as Ruth
• Dean Norris^[8]
• John Leguizamo^[9]
• Goran Višnjić
• Natalie Dormer^[10] as The Blonde
• Bruno Ganz
• Rubén Blades as Jefe

Production

Pre-production

On January 18, 2012, it was reported that novelist Cormac McCarthy had sold his first spec script, The Counselor, to Nick Wechsler, Paula Mae Schwartz, and Steve Schwartz, who had previously produced the film adaptation of McCarthy's novel The Road. On January 31, it was reported that Ridley Scott was currently considering several directorial projects, but that there was a strong possibility that The Counselor would be his next film and his follow-up to Prometheus. On February 9, it was confirmed that Scott would direct. Soon after, it was reported that Prometheus star Michael Fassbender was in talks to appear in The Counselor. On February 21, Deadline confirmed that Fassbender had taken the film's lead role: an upstanding lawyer who gets sucked into the drugs trade.
On February 24, Deadline announced that Jeremy Renner, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt were all interested in playing the villain in The Counselor. On March 8, it was said that Bardem was Scott's top choice for the role, but that Renner and Pitt were also still in contention, and that Natalie Portman was in very early discussions for the role of the protagonist's fiancee Laura. On April 8, it was confirmed that Pitt and Bardem had signed on in the Westray and Reiner supporting roles, respectively.
On April 19, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Penélope Cruz might also join the cast as the film's female lead; reuniting her on-screen with husband Bardem for the first time since the Woody Allen comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Soon afterward, it was confirmed that Cruz had officially joined the film in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be Laura. On May 8, Twitch reported that Cameron Diaz has joined the film as Malkina, a role that was circled by Angelina Jolie.

Filming

Principal photography began on July 27, 2012 in London. On August 20, 2012, Ridley Scott halted production of the film due to his brother Tony Scott's death. He cancelled that week's shoot in order to travel to Los Angeles to be with his brother's family. Scott returned to London to resume production on September 3.