'Flag Day': Production, plot, cast and everything you need to know about Sean Penn's upcoming movie
Families are difficult. Parents go to great lengths to provide for their children but it’s not always that easy for children to accept everything their parents do for them. Especially if what your parent does is con people for a living.
Actor Sean Penn's next movie is exactly about that and interestingly he will be seen sharing the big screen with his daughter Dylan for this one. Shooting is currently underway for ‘Flag Day’, the drama film directed by Penn exploring the complicated relationship between a con man and his daughter. Here’s everything you need to know about the con man drama:
Production
On June 19, it was reported that shooting for the movie had commenced. The project has been in the works for a very long time. Production was supposed to begin in early 2016 with Vendian Entertainment and Wild Bunch but after a long delay, a casting call was finally sent out for the movie in March 2019.
Wonderful Films, Rahway Road, New Element Films, and Clyde Is Hungry Films are now in charge of production with William Horberg ('The Kite Runner'), Jon Kilik ('At Eternity's Gate') and Fernando Sulichin ('Snowden') serving as producers. Rocket Science and Wild Bunch will executive produce and handle international sales. The project is being funded by Ingenious Media, New Element Media and Manitoba Film and Music.
Plot
‘Flag Day’ is based on Jennifer Vogel’s 2005 memoir 'Flim-Flam Man: The True Story Of My Father’s Counterfeit Life'. It tells the story of a daughter who must come to terms with her father’s legacy as a con man. The memoir has been described as the story of Vogel’s father John, who “robbed banks, burned down buildings, scammed investors, plotted murder, and single-handedly counterfeited more than $20 million. He also wrote a novel, invented a "jean stretcher," baked lemon meringue pies and arranged for ten-year-old Jennifer to see Rocky in an empty theater on Christmas Eve”.
Cast
Sean Penn
Penn is an acclaimed actor with years of experience behind him. He has won two Academy Awards, one for 2003’s ‘Mystic River’ and another for the Harvey Milk biopic ‘Milk’ (2008). He made his directorial debut with ‘The Indian Runner’ (1981) which he also wrote. Penn will be directing and starring in ‘Flag Day’, playing the role of a con man who runs multiple scams in order to support his daughter. Penn’s daughter in the movie will be played by his real-life daughter Dylan Penn ('Elvis & Nixon').
The film also boasts a star-studded supporting cast including Josh Brolin ('No Country For Old Men'), Norbert Leo Butz ('Fair Game'), Dale Dickey ('Hell Or High Water'), Eddie Marsan ('Happy-Go-Lucky'), Bailey Noble ('True Blood'), Hopper Penn ('War Machine'), Miles Teller ('Whiplash'), and Katheryn Winnick ('Vikings').
Writer
Jez Butterworth
An extremely successful playwright and director, Butterworth has adapted the screenplay for ‘Flag Day’ from the memoir by Jennifer Vogel. He is best known for his play ‘The Ferryman’, which opened on Broadway in November 2018 after a series of sold-out shows in London’s West End. He won a Tony Award for his 2011 play ‘Jerusalem’. With Penn’s directorial ability and Butterworth's writing, the movie is bound to be a touching portrait of a complicated family.
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