True Grit has all the elements of a classic Western film – revenge, retribution and redemption. Based on the book by Charles Portis, True Grit was an instant sensation when it hit the silver screen the first time. The film starred the legendary John Wayne who gave a tour-de-force performance as Rooster Cogburn, earning him his only Oscar. Four decades later the Coen Brothers put their own unique spin on this classic and proved that audiences still have a big appetite for Westerns. The story centers on the unlikely partnership between Mattie, a prim, sharp-tongued 14 year-old girl and Rooster Cogburn, the grizzled, one-eyed deputy Marshal, who join forces to avenge her father’s death. Their hunt takes them deep into Indian Territory, a haven for murderers, thieves and rapists. Hangings, shoot-outs and kidnappings are only a few of the dangers they encounter in their quest for revenge. In traditional Westerns there’s no confusing who’s who - the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats. The True Story will show how True Grit turns this archetype on its head. Its hero, Rooster Cogburn, always shoots first and asks questions later. He walks a fine line between good and evil and we discover that in the real Wild West outlaws and lawmen were often interchangeable. Rooster Cogburn is a larger-than-life character who couldn’t be anything other than fictional. But, The True Story will reveal that there was a one-eyed deputy Marshal who was just as nasty and ruthless as Rooster. In a time before feminism could someone like Mattie have existed – a headstrong young girl who has no compunction about hiring a ruthless man hunter like Rooster. The True Story reveals that the West attracted legions of non-conforming women because it offered them opportunities they couldn’t find anywhere else. Mavericks like Calamity Jane who dressed like a man and was just as tough and skilled with a gun as the best of them. The True Story travels to For