The script for the remake of True Grit has been seen, although I should say it's an adaptation of the novel that the original True Grit was based on, but there will undoubtedly be similarities, or will there? According to the read through it seems that there's quite a lot that's different from the original, mix an authentic western story with the Coen's strange humour and you get this new True Grit.

According to casting reports there's a desire to ensure that the characters are nothing like the original film.

Holding an open casting call in Oklahoma the word was that:

"…no acting experience is necessary…no make-up model types."

That was for the role of Mattie, the teenager that goes along with the U.S Marshall to track down the killer, they wanted some unknown who had…

"…to be a simple, tough-as-nails 14-year-old...steely nerves, straightforward manner"

Further more they were telling potential actresses:

"…hopefuls are advised not to make the mistake of trying to appear like or imitate Kim Darby, who played Mattie Ross in the original film."

So you can see that there's a clear push away from the John Wayne film, and that continues as we hear from Hollywood Elsewhere, who have read through the script from December, that the Coen style and humour is throughout, but the big thing is that the dialogue in the script is true western style, kind of a dialect unto itself like old Elizabethan English.

It'll be interesting to see if that makes it through to the final True Grit, and with the Coens behind it I guess it probably will, but not without some studio pressure I would imagine. They perhaps wanted something more akin to the John Wayne version of True Grit.

It's good to see the film taking a strong alternate direction to the Wayne film, and perhaps it's more that they are just adhering to the original novel more than the Wayne film did.