Although Lexington native, actor Michael Shannon, sadly, had to cancel his upcoming Lexington appearance at the Friday fundraiser for Friends of the Kentucky Theatre, his new movie Mud (reviewed here) will still premiere at the Kentucky this weekend. The landmark theatre turned 90 last October and a capital campaign for much needed repairs and renovation is underway.
Shannon was scheduled to introduce Mud, and participate in a Q&A afterward, and VIP tickets were available for a pre-show reception. Shannon plays Galen, the oyster-diving uncle of the character Neckbone. His co-star in Mud is Matthew McConaughey, but it isn’t the first time their cinematic paths have crossed. McConaughey secured permanent indie cred for himself in last year’s Killer Joe, the white trash gothic Texas noir NC17 collaboration from director Willliam Friedkin and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts. Those two had last worked together on the supremely creepy 2006 Bug, a respectable indie vehicle for two Kentuckians, Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon. Prior to that, Shannon actually played the stage version of the dimwitted son Chris in Killer Joe at Chicago’s Steppenwolf when he was first establishing himself as an actor. Shannon later had to miss out on performing in Letts’ play August: Osage County… in order to take the role in Revolutionary Road that won him an Oscar nomination.
He plays General Zod in this summer’s Man of Steel, and plays contract killer Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman, scheduled for May release. In addition to his Oscar-nominated role for Revolutionary Road, he was robbed (robbed!) of a nomination for the under-rated Take Shelter in 2011.
Friday’s scheduling conflict temporarily quashes any local hope that he would perform a Live reading of a Delta Gamma’s angry email to her sorority sisters, as he did in the recent video for funnyordie, which has gone viral. (Explicit language alert.)
If you have ideas for other missives Michael Shannon might adapt for potential Kentucky Theatre fundraisers, please include them in the Comments section below.
