Black Bear announced today Academy Award® winner and Emmy® Award nominee Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, The Gentlemen, “True Detective”) will star in The Rivals of Amziah King, written and directed by Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night). Black Bear Pictures (I Care A Lot, The Imitation Game) will fully finance, with Heyday Films’ David Heyman (Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman (The Imitation Game, I Care A Lot) and Michael Heimler (I Care A Lot, Somebody I Used To Know), Heyday’s Jeffrey Clifford (Paddington 2, Up In the Air), Will Greenfield (Malcolm & Marie) and Patterson producing. Executive Producers include Heyday’s Rob Silva (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore), and Black Bear’s John Friedberg and Christopher Casanova.

Black Bear International will launch international sales in Cannes, with WME Independent representing the U.S rights.

While specific plot details are being kept under wraps, the film is a deeply atmospheric, character-focused crime thriller set against the unique backdrop of remote Oklahoma. McConaughey will star in the titular role of Amziah King.