In a casting coup, Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) and Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) have joined Kate and Rooney Mara in Werner Herzog’s latest film, Bucking Fastard, which completed principal photography in Europe last weekend. The project, marking the first onscreen collaboration between the Mara sisters, is set to make waves at the Cannes Film Festival, where HanWay Films will present exclusive footage to international buyers.
Bucking Fastard follows Jean and Joan Holbrooke, two sisters so intertwined they speak in unison, share the same romantic desires, and even stumble over words simultaneously. Their quest for an imagined utopia called the Orkneys—where they believe true love awaits—leads them to attempt an audacious feat: digging a tunnel through an entire mountain range. Bloom plays Gareth Mulroney, their boisterous former lover, while Gleeson portrays Timothy, a government-assigned social worker tasked with helping the sisters navigate modern life after they become tabloid sensations.
The film, backed by private equity, is produced by Clara Wu Tsai, Ariel Leon Isacovitch, and Agnes Chu, with Kieran Corrigan, Emanuele Moretti, and Andrea Bucko as co-producers. Herzog reunites with longtime collaborators, including cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger (Bad Lieutenant), editor Marco Capalbo (The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice), and composer Ernst Reijseger (Rescue Dawn).
In a statement, Herzog described Bucking Fastard as the final piece of an “operatic triptych” alongside his earlier works Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Grizzly Man (2005). “We cannot see the world as Jean and Joan Holbrooke see it,” he said, “but we observe how the world responds to them—through courts and media, through those who seek to help or exploit them, through the eyes of creatures both tame and wild, and even through their own echoes in the earth’s core.”
Gabrielle Stewart, chief executive of HanWay Films, praised Herzog’s vision. “Werner has crafted something wholly original, blending surprising humor and fantasy,” she said. “We’re thrilled to unveil Bucking Fastard to buyers at Cannes.”
Filming took place in Dublin and Sligo, Ireland, as well as Slovenia, with HanWay Films handling worldwide sales.
Herzog is represented by Gersh. Kate Mara is represented by CAA, Mosaic Media Group, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Rooney Mara is represented by WME, Entertainment 360, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Bloom is represented by WME, Untitled Entertainment, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan. Gleeson is represented by Paradigm, The Agency, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
The post Orlando Bloom & Domhnall Gleeson Join Kate & Rooney Mara In ‘Bucking Fastard’ With HanWay Boarding For Cannes; Werner Herzog Says Film Completes A Trilogy After ‘Fitzcarraldo’ And ‘Grizzly Man’ appeared first on Deadline.
