Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, the screenwriters behind 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, have teamed up again for Good Joe Bell, a new film set to have its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14.
The film is based on the real-life story of Joe Bell, who in 2013 began a cross-country trek to raise awareness about his gay son, who had hanged himself after being bullied. Bell died during that walk after being hit by a semi truck. Towleroad reported on Bell’s death at the time.
Ossana told The Hollywood Reporter: “Larry had a difficult time initially, before we began writing. He was kind of not happy with Joe. I talked to him about what Joe’s psychological state would be. But Joe deeply loved his children, and I told Larry we had to come at it that way. We came to conclude that Joe was a very complex man.”
The film, which stars Mark Wahlberg and newcomer Reid Miller, does not yet have a release date. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green hopes it will be released sometime this fall or winter.
Here’s a news report on Joe Bell’s journey and death:
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