Jenna Ortega is being swept up in the current of crime for Brian Helgeland‘s crime family drama “Finestkind.”
The “Wednesday” breakout star’s latest role is opposite Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, and Tommy Lee Jones who play a family of commercial fishermen that strike a deal with the Boston mob. “Finestkind” premiered at TIFF. Check out the IndieWire review from TIFF here.
The official synopsis reads: Written and directed by Helgeland, “Finestkind” tells the story of two brothers, played by Foster and Wallace, raised in different worlds, who are reunited as adults over a fateful summer. Set against the backdrop of commercial fishing, the story takes on primal stakes when desperate circumstances force the brothers to strike a deal with a violent Boston crime gang. Along the way a young woman (Ortega) finds herself caught perilously in the middle. Sacrifices must be made and bonds between brothers, friends, lovers, and a father (Jones) and his son are put to the ultimate test.
Ismael Cruz Cordova, Tim Daly, Aaron Stanford, Scotty Tovar, Lolita Davidovich and Clayne Crawford also star.
Oscar-winning “L.A. Confidential” and “A Knight’s Tale” helmer Helgeland said in a press statement, “‘Finestkind’ is populated with characters I once knew. But the film I probably should have made first in my career I saved for now. In it, a crew of fishermen in my hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, find themselves in dangerous water as debts they can’t possibly pay mount up.”
The film is produced by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Gary Foster, Russ Krasnoff, and MTV Entertainment Studios. “Finestkind” was originally slated to be filmed in 2018 with Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ansel Elgort cast.
“Finestkind” is produced by Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff of Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment, Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan of Bosque Ranch, David C. Glasser of 101 Studios, and in association with MTV Entertainment Studios. The film is executive produced by Jennifer Roth, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari and co-produced by Joseph Micucci.
The ensemble cast now behind the film include rising star Ortega and legendary actor Jones, who has seen a career resurgence with real-life legal drama “The Burial” also being released this fall.
“Finestkind” director Helgeland told Collider that he had to convince Jones to sign onto the project.
“I sent [the script] to Tommy Lee, and he called me up, and basically he said, ‘I read the script, liked it. Let me ask you something, what in the world is a guy from Texas doing in Massachusetts fishing?’ ‘You had a shrimp boat in Galveston and it sunk. You came up to New Bedford to make enough money to buy another shrimp boat and then go back down, but you met this woman, you had a child, and you never went home.’”
Helgeland added that if he did not have a character backstory prepared to tell Jones, the actor most likely would have passed on the project. “He’s always sort of testing you to see how deep you’ve thought things through,” Helgeland said.
“Finestkind” premieres December 15 on Paramount+. Check out the trailer below.
