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Woody Harrelson remembers trying to rewrite a famous scene from “No Country For Old Men”

Woody Harrelson remembers trying to rewrite a famous scene from “No Country For Old Men”

Summary

  • Woody Harrelson tried to rewrite a scene in
    No country for old men
    but the Coen brothers preferred their original version.
  • The tension between Harrelson and Bardem in the hotel scene reflects the contrast in their characters’ personalities.
  • The Coen brothers’ meticulous approach to filmmaking includes strict adherence to their extremely detailed scripts.



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Woody Harrelson remembers trying to recreate a famous scene from No country for old men. The Coen brothers’ film, which won the award for Best Picture in 2007 and is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, is about a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and a suitcase full of $2 million in the desert, which triggers a relentless hunt by others to get the money back. Besides Harrelson, the No country for old men The cast also includes Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones.


At a recent appearance at Conan O’Brien needs a friend Podcast (via Team Coco), Harrelson recalled the time when he tried to recreate a famous scene from No country for old men. Watch the following part of the video:

Harrelson recalled reading the book and finding some elements that he thought would improve his scene with Bardem. After rehearsing the rewritten scene several times, they performed it for the Coen brothers, who preferred their original version. Harrelson was initially disappointed as he had put in a lot of work, but later admitted that the directors were right and praised their expertise. Read Harrelson’s full story below:


About that scene: At the same time, I was in Vegas shooting another forgettable movie, so I was on the road all the time, and that was in New Mexico, No Country. When I came back, I took the stuff from the book, because it was a book, No Country, and took these things from the book that I thought would be pretty cool in the scene. But I had heard that the Coen brothers don’t like to change the script a lot, but anyway, these things were so good, so I added those elements and rewrote the scene.

I come in, meet Javier, the other character in the scene, Javier Bardem, we meet in his hotel room and rehearse, rehearse, come back the next morning, rehearse some more, and then they come to my trailer and then Javier and I perform the rewritten scene for the brothers and at the end they say, “We like it the way it was. It’s good.” Not a word changed. I don’t think we laughed at that moment. We had done a lot of work. But anyway, of course, later it turned out they were right. These guys, man, they’re incredible.



Explanation of the scene from “No Country For Old Men” by Woody Harrelson and Javier Bardem

And why it is perfect as it is written

In No country for old menIn “The Last Man,” Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a hitman who is hired to get the money back. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this menacing role. Harrelson plays Carson Wells, a bounty hunter who is also hired to get the money back. Naturally, their paths cross, and About halfway through the film, Harrelson and Bardem’s characters face each other for the first time..

Harrelson and Bardem’s scene in No country for old men takes place in a hotel roomwhere Chigurh ambushes Wells and holds him at gunpoint. As a seasoned bounty hunter, Wells begins the scene cool and confident, believing he understands the rules of the world they live in. Chigurh, on the other hand, is the embodiment of chaos. His cold, calculating presence contrasts with Wells’ false sense of control. The tension in the scene slowly builds as Wells realizes his impending doom.


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A typical example: the scene was masterfully written as it wasand the Coen brothers won Oscars for screenplay and direction No country for old men. The Coens are known for their meticulous approach to filmmaking, which involves strict adherence to their highly detailed and carefully crafted scripts and generally does not allow the actors to rewrite or improvise. Although Harrelson’s attempt to recreate a scene from No country for old men was admirable, the scene between Wells and Chigurh was perfectly written as it was.

No country for old men
is streaming on Prime Video, Paramount+ and MGM+.


Source: Team Coco

No country for old men

No Country for Old Men is a western crime thriller based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by the Cohen Brothers. The film follows three protagonists and revolves around a large $2,000,000 stash of dirty money that goes missing near the Rio Grande. A veteran finds the money, a hitman will stop at nothing to get it, and a sheriff tries to solve the crimes involved. All roads lead to death and chaos as they find themselves in each other’s crosshairs.