Hollywood Tonight presents The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford synopsis and stills!

“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
  Jesse James [BRAD PITT] was one of the country’s first bona fide celebrities. There have been countless books written and tales told about America’s most famous outlaw—all of them colorful and fascinating, all focused on his larger-than-life public persona and daring exploits, and most of them bearing only incidental reference to the truth.

   To those he robbed and terrorized, and to the families of those he admittedly killed, he may have been just a criminal, but in the sensational newspaper articles and dime novels chronicling the James Gang throughout the 1870s, Jesse was the object of awe and admiration.

   He was a Robin Hood, they suggested, targeting railroad owners and banks that exploited poor farmers. He was a man with a tragic cause, a wronged and wounded Confederate soldier striking back against the Union that had ruined his life. Most importantly, to an increasingly buttoneddown and citified population leading ordinary lives, he was the last frontiersman—a symbol of freedom and the American spirit, a charismatic rebel who flouted the law and lived by his own rules…by all accounts, a legend. Foremost among his admirers was Robert Ford [CASEY AFFLECK], an idealistic and ambitious young man who had devoted his life to the hope of one day riding alongside his idol.

   He could never have imagined that history would ultimately mark him as the “the dirty little coward” who shot Jesse in the back. But who was Jesse James, really—behind the folklore and the selling of newspapers? And who was Robert Ford, just nineteen and a member of Jesse’s inner circle, who was able to bring down such a formidable figure when lawmen across ten states had tried and failed? How did they come to be friends and what happened between them in the days and hours leading up to the gunshot that would end one man’s life and become the definition and sum total of another’s? No one will ever know the whole truth.

   Based on the novel by Ron Hansen, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” delves into the private lives of America’s most notorious outlaw and his unlikely assassin to offer a new perspective on a legend and address the question of what really may have transpired in the months before that infamous shooting. The year is 1881 and Jesse is 34 years old. As he plans his next great robbery, he continues to wage war on his enemies who are trying to collect the reward money and the glory riding on his capture. But the greatest threat to his life could come from those he would trust the most.

   Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, a Scott Free / Plan B Entertainment production: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Zooey Deschanel and Sam Rockwell.

   Written for the screen and directed by Andrew Dominik, based on the novel by Ron Hansen, the film is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ridley Scott, Jules Daly and David Valdes. Brad Grey, Tony Scott, Lisa Ellzey and Benjamin Waisbren are the executive producers. The creative team includes director of photography Roger Deakins, editors Dylan Tichenor and Curtiss Clayton and costume designer Patricia Norris. Music is by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

   “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Rated R for “strong violence and brief sexual references.” Soundtrack Album on Mute Records Limited.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

   “Jesse James was bigger than you can imagine. You’d go to him, wanting to be with him, wanting to be like him…and you’d always come away missing something.” - Robert Ford

  When writer/director Andrew Dominik read Ron Hansen’s novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, he was intrigued by some of the same questions that had guided Hansen’s years of research into previously unexplored corners of Jesse James’ life, and by the insights it offered into the private man behind the public image.

   “I didn’t know any more about Jesse James or Robert Ford than the average person, but I was drawn into it as a story of people and emotions that were vivid and realistic,” he says. “Who are they? How do they feel? How do they interact with each other? The fact that they happened to be two legendary figures of American history added a level of drama but was really a secondary issue.

   “This was a portrait of Robert Ford I had never seen before,” the director reveals. “It gives you a sense of what that event might actually have been like for him—to shoot a man in his own house with Jesse’s wife and children nearby and then to wait around for days with a brother who was completely unnerved, and try to deal with the enormity of public reaction. You see his anxiety, his neediness and his ambition and you think, ‘That’s probably what it was like.’ That’s what moved me about the book and what I wanted to capture on screen.”

   Brad Pitt, who, in addition to taking on the leading role, is a producer on the film, found it equally compelling to address “the dissection of these myths, of Jesse James as a hero and Robert Ford as a coward.” “The film offers an intimate portrait of these two men and the world around them that humanizes the legendary outlaw and exposes his vulnerability,” says producer Jules Daly.

  “Few people even know Robert Ford’s real story. For him, it was about a young man’s desperation to become everything he wasn’t and everything he worshipped.” Though based upon comprehensive research into the principals, their history and the times in which they lived, the relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford in the film is speculative and meant more to stir the imagination than impose a point of view.

   Says producer Ridley Scott, “The universe of Robert Ford can only be imagined, as can Jesse James’ dilemma towards the end of his life, his private thoughts and possible regrets. The film raises questions best answered by each individual in the audience. Andrew poses the possibilities.”

   Producer Dede Gardner adds, “The story is authentic in its examination of human behavior, adoration, ego and resentment. What happened between these two men could be applied to countless stories throughout time. The relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford is about consequences and wishes fulfilled. It’s about how someone’s adoration for another has to be examined within the context of both their lives and individual needs. Hero worship cannot exist in purity. There are outside influences at work long before the two people in question even meet.”

   “It’s more a psychological drama than a Western,” says Pitt. “It deals with the anatomy of an assassination and its consequences.” It’s this character-driven perspective that makes “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” unlike many dramatizations about the notorious outlaw and his little-known killer. Although the action opens with a nighttime ambush and train robbery typical of the James Gang in their heyday, the real drama unfolds in the robbery’s aftermath—in Jesse’s personal demons, his intense dedication to covering his tracks and his increasingly cryptic interactions with the restless members of his gang who must sit idly by until he gives them word of their next job.

  Following the robbery, Jesse breaks with his brother Frank, who feels the time has come to abandon the outlaw life for a safer existence elsewhere. Meanwhile, the price on Jesse’s head has grown to more than any of his gang could hope to make in multiple heists. What would prevent them from turning him in or putting a bullet into his head in exchange for their own safety and a hefty reward? Loyalty? Fear? More likely a little of both.

   “One of the things I particularly like is how these characters struggle more with themselves than with each other,” Dominik observes. “Each is shaping reality to suit his desires and anxieties and they really do not connect with one another.”

   Jesse James came to prominence at a time when the concept of media image was just developing. Publishers of newspapers and dime novels were catering to a public hungry for thrilling entertainment and Jesse James was made to order. Tales of his crimes were often enhanced and, when that wasn’t enough, fabricated from whole cloth with an emphasis on his daring and charisma. Such was the reading material Robert Ford grew up on, and that inspired his own grandiose dreams.

   “It was fame and celebrity in the true sense of the word,” offers Scott. “But at that time there was a degree of simplicity attached to that kind of attention, even when applied to Jesse James and his notorious robberies.

  It became a romanticized vision, more hero and rebel than killer and criminal.”

   Says author Ron Hansen, “In some ways he encapsulated American individualism, doing things that other people thought about but were too conventional to do. They wanted to wag a disapproving finger at him but at the same time were glad he was around to represent them. His image was partly due to the publicist he had in John Newman Edwards, a Kansas City newspaper editor. Whenever Jesse committed a crime, Edwards would tailor it to make him appear a dashing rogue or some kind of avenger striking a blow against all those interests that were supposedly impoverishing people in Missouri, when, in fact, it was Jesse James doing most of the impoverishing. Consequently, a real-life criminal became an action hero and, from that, the adulation followed.

  ” In contrast, Ford was diminished by history and the media—his existence reduced to a single purpose, as if echoing the sentiment on Jesse’s tombstone, “In loving memory of my beloved son, murdered by a traitor and coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.”

   The irony is that Jesse James’ real personality needed no embellishment to fascinate: his unpredictable moods, his motives and complex interactions with the few people he considered confidants. Likewise, Robert Ford was a rich study, as was the relationship that developed, then deteriorated, between the two men.

   “As I delved into it, I realized that no one had ever told the story of how Ford killed Jesse James in all its authentic detail, and it’s such an intricate drama,” says Hansen.

   Following their introduction via Charley Ford and Robert’s successful debut as a member of the James Gang in the Blue Cut railroad job, Jesse enlisted Robert to help move his household to a new location, which was common practice for him after a high-profile robbery. Afterwards, his duty discharged, Ford stayed on as a houseguest, no doubt basking in the presence of his idol—and likely also beginning to see what he was really like.

   Clearly, Jesse also saw something in his young admirer that made Ford worth having around. “Ford may have stirred the thought processes already turning around in his mind,” Scott suggests. “At the same time, Jesse must have recognized the hero worship aspect of Ford’s devotion as well as the inaccuracies and ironies that go hand in hand with that idea.”

   “Perhaps Ford reminded Jesse of better times, or even of the ambition that he once had himself at that age,” adds Gardner.

   Regarding the potential danger of inviting Ford into his home, Hansen believes the answer to that can be found in Jesse’s nature. “This was a man who robbed banks and trains; he liked being in situations where death was a possibility. He needed that rush. What he was doing with Robert Ford was like walking to the edge of a cliff and looking down.”

   “It’s also possible,” posits Pitt, “that he was taunting Ford. It certainly is curious that he would remove his gun belt and turn his back. That action has led to much historical debate and speculation but remains ambiguous. With all his research, even Ron Hansen would say that there are questions that remain unanswered.”

   As for what Ford was seeking from this man he’d spent his adolescent years admiring, the director says, “Robert is a person who seems easily hurt. He might have imagined that if he was with Jesse James—more to the point, if he was Jesse James—it would be a kind of armor that would protect him. We’ve all read about these cases. A person imagines himself having a special connection to someone, then discovers it’s not true, or it’s not enough. Adoration turns to anger. I think Ford’s feelings are always running side by side between the two emotions.”

   “Ford’s transition from hero worshipper to assassin isn’t as drastic as the words may suggest, and this is one of the points of the film,” states Gardner.

  “Bob never contemplates the role his ego has in pursuing a friendship with Jesse. What he comes to realize is that, with Jesse in his life, there is too much Jesse and not enough Bob. In a petulant moment, he soars with the idea of being the man who will bring down this famous outlaw. Once he puts it into motion, it’s all he can do to keep up; it’s eternally more than he bargained for or could ever fathom.” In the final analysis, there were myriad factors contributing to Robert Ford’s decision to kill Jesse James, not the least of which were the very practical considerations of self-defense and the reward money. Added to the mix, Daly counts, could have been “fear, fate, envy, disappointment and the irresistible opportunity to be ‘great’ and to matter. In some ways, their bond was like destiny. It was as if Jesse chose Robert Ford as much as Ford chose him.”

   But even as he delivers the fatal shot, and long afterwards, Daly says, “Ford’s position never shifts from hero worship. He never stops admiring Jesse.”When writer/director Andrew Dominik read Ron Hansen’s novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, he was intrigued by some of the same questions that had guided Hansen’s years of research into previously unexplored corners of Jesse James’ life, and by the insights it offered into the private man behind the public image.

  “I didn’t know any more about Jesse James or Robert Ford than the average person, but I was drawn into it as a story of people and emotions that were vivid and realistic,” he says. “Who are they? How do they feel? How do they interact with each other? The fact that they happened to be two legendary figures of American history added a level of drama but was really a secondary issue.

   “This was a portrait of Robert Ford I had never seen before,” the director reveals. “It gives you a sense of what that event might actually have been like for him—to shoot a man in his own house with Jesse’s wife and children nearby and then to wait around for days with a brother who was completely unnerved, and try to deal with the enormity of public reaction. You see his anxiety, his neediness and his ambition and you think, ‘That’s probably what it was like.’ That’s what moved me about the book and what I wanted to capture on screen.”

   Brad Pitt, who, in addition to taking on the leading role, is a producer on the film, found it equally compelling to address “the dissection of these myths, of Jesse James as a hero and Robert Ford as a coward.”

   “The film offers an intimate portrait of these two men and the world around them that humanizes the legendary outlaw and exposes his vulnerability,” says producer Jules Daly. “Few people even know Robert Ford’s real story. For him, it was about a young man’s desperation to become everything he wasn’t and everything he worshipped.”

  Though based upon comprehensive research into the principals, their history and the times in which they lived, the relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford in the film is speculative and meant more to stir the imagination than impose a point of view.

   Says producer Ridley Scott, “The universe of Robert Ford can only be imagined, as can Jesse James’ dilemma towards the end of his life, his private thoughts and possible regrets. The film raises questions best answered by each individual in the audience. Andrew poses the possibilities.”

   Producer Dede Gardner adds, “The story is authentic in its examination of human behavior, adoration, ego and resentment. What happened between these two men could be applied to countless stories throughout time. The relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford is about consequences and wishes fulfilled. It’s about how someone’s adoration for another has to be examined within the context of both their lives and individual needs. Hero worship cannot exist in purity. There are outside influences at work long before the two people in question even meet.”

   “It’s more a psychological drama than a Western,” says Pitt. “It deals with the anatomy of an assassination and its consequences.” It’s this character-driven perspective that makes “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” unlike many dramatizations about the notorious outlaw and his little-known killer. Although the action opens with a nighttime ambush and train robbery typical of the James Gang in their heyday, the real drama unfolds in the robbery’s aftermath—in Jesse’s personal demons, his intense dedication to covering his tracks and his increasingly cryptic interactions with the restless members of his gang who must sit idly by until he gives them word of their next job.

   Following the robbery, Jesse breaks with his brother Frank, who feels the time has come to abandon the outlaw life for a safer existence elsewhere. Meanwhile, the price on Jesse’s head has grown to more than any of his gang could hope to make in multiple heists. What would prevent them from turning him in or putting a bullet into his head in exchange for their own safety and a hefty reward? Loyalty? Fear? More likely a little of both.

   “One of the things I particularly like is how these characters struggle more with themselves than with each other,” Dominik observes. “Each is shaping reality to suit his desires and anxieties and they really do not connect with one another.”

   Jesse James came to prominence at a time when the concept of media image was just developing. Publishers of newspapers and dime novels were catering to a public hungry for thrilling entertainment and Jesse James was made to order. Tales of his crimes were often enhanced and, when that wasn’t enough, fabricated from whole cloth with an emphasis on his daring and charisma. Such was the reading material Robert Ford grew up on, and that inspired his own grandiose dreams.

  “It was fame and celebrity in the true sense of the word,” offers Scott. “But at that time there was a degree of simplicity attached to that kind of attention, even when applied to Jesse

   James and his notorious robberies. It became a romanticized vision, more hero and rebel than killer and criminal.”

   Says author Ron Hansen, “In some ways he encapsulated American individualism, doing things that other people thought about but were too conventional to do. They wanted to wag a disapproving finger at him but at the same time were glad he was around to represent them. His image was partly due to the publicist he had in John Newman Edwards, a Kansas City newspaper editor. Whenever Jesse committed a crime, Edwards would tailor it to make him appear a dashing rogue or some kind of avenger striking a blow against all those interests that were supposedly impoverishing people in Missouri, when, in fact, it was Jesse James doing most of the impoverishing. Consequently, a real-life criminal became an action hero and, from that, the adulation followed.”

   In contrast, Ford was diminished by history and the media—his existence reduced to a single purpose, as if echoing the sentiment on Jesse’s tombstone, “In loving memory of my beloved son, murdered by a traitor and coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.”

   The irony is that Jesse James’ real personality needed no embellishment to fascinate: his unpredictable moods, his motives and complex interactions with the few people he considered confidants. Likewise, Robert Ford was a rich study, as was the relationship that developed, then deteriorated, between the two men.

   “As I delved into it, I realized that no one had ever told the story of how Ford killed Jesse James in all its authentic detail, and it’s such an intricate drama,” says Hansen.

   Following their introduction via Charley Ford and Robert’s successful debut as a member of the James Gang in the Blue Cut railroad job, Jesse enlisted Robert to help move his household to a new location, which was common practice for him after a high-profile robbery. Afterwards, his duty discharged, Ford stayed on as a houseguest, no doubt basking in the presence of his idol—and likely also beginning to see what he was really like. Clearly, Jesse also saw something in his young admirer that made Ford worth having around.

  “Ford may have stirred the thought processes already turning around in his mind,” Scott suggests. “At the same time, Jesse must have recognized the hero worship aspect of Ford’s devotion as well as the inaccuracies and ironies that go hand in hand with that idea.” “Perhaps Ford reminded Jesse of better times, or even of the ambition that he once had himself at that age,” adds Gardner.

   Regarding the potential danger of inviting Ford into his home, Hansen believes the answer to that can be found in Jesse’s nature. “This was a man who robbed banks and trains; he liked being in situations where death was a possibility. He needed that rush. What he was doing with Robert Ford was like walking to the edge of a cliff and looking down.”

   “It’s also possible,” posits Pitt, “that he was taunting Ford. It certainly is curious that he would remove his gun belt and turn his back. That action has led to much historical debate and speculation but remains ambiguous.