Ever since word first came that Oliver Stone was teaming up with author Don Winslow to bring his amazing SAVAGES to the big screen, fans have been cautiously optimistic. Don co-wrote the screenplay and has been very enthusiastic from the start. That first meeting, over dinner, convinced Don that Oliver understood the story he set out to tell.
Then came the cast names:Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Selma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Emile Hirsch. That line-up also appeared promising.
SAVAGES is about a pair of marijuana growers horticultural genius and bleeding heart do-gooder Ben (Johnson) and ex-Navy SEAL Chon (Kitsch) and their girlfriend O (Lively). The three are like family and that bond is used by Elena (Hayek), a ruthless cartel boss, to convince them to work for her. She kidnaps O and forces Chon and Ben to help her take over their business. Del Toro is one of Elena’s henchmen.
Today, we get the first full trailer and it looks pretty damn good.
One of the things that really impressed me about the book is the youthful energy. One would never guess that an experienced, 50some author wrote it. The trailer gives me the same feeling, it looks like Mr. Stone ate his wheaties this morning and maybe also started taking growth hormones because this has a certain amount of energy that I have not seen from Stone in a long time.
SAVAGES lands in theathers on July 6th.
