Now here is some Civil War movie news that gets me excited!  An interesting story, a top notch actor, and a writer-director whose movies are both deftly written and deeply beautiful.  This will be a must-see for me.

Matthew McConaughey and writer-director Gary Ross are pegged to team up on ‘Free State Of Jones,’ which is looking to go before the cameras in the first quarter of 2015. ‘Free State Of Jones’ is based on the incredible story of Newton Knight (McConaughey), who’s best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate Army deserters that turned against the Confederacy during the Civil War. To avoid capture, the Knight men would disappear into swamp hideouts such as “Devil’s Den” or “Panther Creek.” The Knight Company was aided by sympathetic local people, whites and blacks. In particular, a slave woman named Rachel helped supply Newt with food and information.  On the run, he rallied the support of fellow deserters to lead an uprising against their former comrades, in the process creating a free safe haven.

via Matthew McConaughey & Gary Ross Team-Up On The Civil War Saga ‘Free State Of Jones’ | FlicksandBits.com – Movie News, Trailers, Interviews, Features, Images, Posters, Art & More.