God of the Rodeo: Shia LaBeouf to ride rough in a film about the first-ever prison inmate rodeo

Shia LaBeouf (Holes, Megalopolis, The Tax Collector) might as well keep his prison jumpsuit on after wrapping production for the David Mamet-directed crime drama Henry Johnson because the Peanut Butter Falcon actor is heading back to the slammer for God of the Rodeo, a new film from writer-director Rosalind Ross. The project finds Giannina Scott producing through her Cara Films alongside Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss via Scott Free Films. Ross wrote the screenplay based on the reporting of Daniel Bergner.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, God of the Rodeo is set “against the brutal backdrop of Louisiana’s Angola Prison in 1967, God of the Rodeo tells the story of Buckkey, a hardened inmate serving a life sentence who finds a glimmer of redemption in an unlikely opportunity: the prison’s first-ever inmate rodeo. As Buckkey and his fellow inmates prepare for a last grasp at glory, they’re confronted with the reality that the rodeo is nothing more than a gladiatorial showcase — a grueling fight for survival designed to satiate the public’s bloodlust and fulfill the warden’s delusion of godliness.”

Before he risks life and limb for a showcase of twisted entertainment in God of the Rodeo, LaBeouf is behind bars in Pulitzer Prize-winning director David Mamet’s upcoming crime drama Henry Johnson. Mamet’s film “follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (LaBeouf) — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.”

If Rosalind Ross’s name looks familiar, it’s because she wrote and directed the 2022 biographical drama Father Stu, starring Mark Wahlberg as Father Stu Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people from self-destruction to redemption. She also has another pre-production project called Barbarian. No, not the Zach Cregger horror film. Ross’s Barbarian script tells the story of Celtic queen Boudicca, who leads an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.

Could you imagine a prison rodeo where rules and regulations are an afterthought? I shudder to think of how broken the prisoners who participate could become under such harsh conditions. Is Shia LaBeouf a great fit to lead Rosalind Ross’s God of the Rodeo? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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