Why Did Charlize Theron Cross ‘The Road’?

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 16, 2008

No punch line here, sorry… but feel free to come up with your own. What is here though is the news that Miss Theron has signed on to the movie adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic novel, The Road. Variety reports she’ll be joining Viggo Mortensen in the tale of a father and son wandering a post-holocaust United States in search of food and lodging. The world has been reduced to a dusty and barren landscape filled with dying scavengers and brutal cannibals, and these two are on a bonding road trip. John Hillcoat, the director of the incredibly bleak The Propositionis directing, so that seems like a perfect pairing.

Theron will play the role of wife/mother in flashbacks. No telling how much we’ll see of Charlize as the character was quite minor in the book, but here’s hoping it’s as much as we saw of her in 2 Days in the Valley. I know I’m reaching back a bit, but seriously, has she been as fine since? She’s apparently a huge fan of McCarthy’s novel, which would explain her acceptance of such a tiny role. The screenplay’s already done, so unlike a lot of movies/shows, The Road is set to start filming next month.

Okay damnit, she was straddling the chicken. You happy now?

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