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Upon being offered the role of Rooster Cogburn, Jeff Bridges said that he couldn’t understand why the Coen Brothers wanted to make True Grit in the first place, especially when taking into account the popularity of "that" John Wayne film. They told Bridges that they were actually adapting the book rather than remaking the 1969 film, so he went and read the book. “Once I read the Charles Portis novel I understood what they were talking about, because the book reads like a Coen Brothers script,” said Bridges. Most people found it easier to just call the Coen Brothers’ True Grit a remake.

Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, their Oscar win for No Country for Old Men (which itself had western elements) meant that your parents finally knew just who the Coen Brothers were. Bagging Oscars for Best Film, Directing and Adapted Screenplay (Javier Bardem also won one for Best Supporting Actor), the Coen Brothers now had the clout to make any film they wanted. And they did. They followed up with A Serious Man. The news came in March 2009, during the post-production of A Serious Man, that they would adapt Charles Portis’ True Grit.

Upon travelling to Fort Smith to collect the body of her dead father, 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) stays and hires U.S Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help hunt down the man who killed him, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Joining them on their travels is Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), who is also after Chaney for the murder of a senator.

True Grit is really about Mattie Ross. With the novel told from her point of view, it’s essentially a coming-of-age story about a young teenager who has lost her father. Yet, Mattie is not exactly grieving (maybe she already has); she is after revenge. Outspoken and determined, she is a character who quick-talks her way into getting $320 and asks for Tom Chaney to be hanged at Fort Smith for killing her father rather than being hanged at Texas for an entirely different crime. When casting Mattie, the Coen Brothers put out a casting call saying that they were looking for “a girl who’s tough, strong and tells is like it is.” Out of the 15,000 that auditioned they cast unknown Hailee Steinfeld.

At the film’s core is Steinfeld’s performance. Ethan emphasized this, saying to the New York Times, “We were aware if the kid doesn’t work, there’s no movie.” Joel said, “We only cast her three or four weeks before we started shooting the movie, and we had been looking for a long time. But that was a crucial, maybe the crucial aspect of making the film.”

“It’s such a coveted role,” said Steinfeld. “It’s the role of a lifetime. I mean, who wouldn’t be attracted to it?” It was a role that also got her an Oscar nomination. There was also the excellent casting choice of Jeff Brides as Rooster Cogburn. Bridges was at the height of his career, building upon a memorable supporting role in Iron Man and winning an Oscar for Crazy Heart. He also appeared in Tron Legacy, released just days before True Grit. Bridges was also Oscar nominated for his role. Both Bridges and Steinfeld share most of their screen time together and their performances were reason enough to go see the film. It’s actually quite amusing hearing Cogburn talking to Mattie about anything and everything, such as his ex-wife and owning a restaurant, and she doesn’t seem to mind listening.

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