Alec Baldwin to Play Western Outlaw in ‘Rust,’ Heading to Cannes Digital Market

The first projects heading to Cannes’ inaugural digital market have started rolling in, with an Alec Baldwin Western among those saddling up for buyers. 

The Oscar nominee and 30 Rock star is set to take the lead in Rust, which he is also producing under his El Dorado Pictures banner alongside Anjul Nigam (Never Have I Ever) and executive producer Matthew Helderman. Joel Souza (Crown Vic) will write and direct the action-Western based on a story by him and Baldwin. Rust is a reteaming for the trio with Baldwin and Nigam having previously produced Souza’s Crown Vic.

Also joining the team are Anna Granucci as a producer and Elizabeth Barbatelli as an executive producer. Highland Film Group will launch international sales at the upcoming Marché du Film Online, with CAA Media Finance handling the domestic rights and BondIt Media Capital on board for financing.

The story will follow infamous Western outlaw Harland Rust (Baldwin), who has had a bounty on his head for as long as he can remember. When his estranged 13-year-old grandson Lucas is convicted of an accidental murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to break him out of prison. Together, the two fugitives must outrun the legendary U.S. Marshal Wood Helm and bounty-hunter Fenton ‘Preacher’ Lang, who are hot on their tail. Deeply buried secrets rise from the ashes and an unexpected familial bond begins to form as the mismatched duo tries to survive the merciless American frontier.

Baldwin is represented by CAA and Cavalry Media. Baldwin’s El Dorado is repped by Marc  Simon at Fox Rothschild. Souza is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, The Gersh Agency and Miloknay Weiner. Nigam is repped by Stephen Foreht and DiSante Frank & Co.

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