EXCLUSIVE: Argent Pictures has acquired the feature rights to The Good Time Girls, Courtney Hoffman’s widely acclaimed feminist western short film. The film production/financing company run by Jill Ahrens, Ryan Ahrens and Ben Renzo, will finance and produce the feature remake, and they’ve set a February start date in New Mexico.
That means that Hoffman, who scripted the film adaptation of the short with Lucy Teitler, and who directed the while establishing herself as a top costume designer on Hollywood films including Baby Driver, The Hateful Eight and Captain Fantastic, will make this her feature directorial debut. She separately signed on to direct the action film Ruthless for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, last month.
The Good Time Girls is a blood-soaked western that follows a group of brothel workers-turned female vigilantes who band together to exact revenge on the wanted outlaws who have been terrorizing the American West. Laura Dern headed the cast of the short film, which was part of the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women, in conjunction with Refinery 29’s Shatterbox Anthology series. The short was produced by Jordana Mollick, with Quentin Tarantino, Shannon McIntosh, Jayme Lemons and Refinery29 serving as executive producers.
The feature will be produced by Haven Entertainment’s Jordana Mollick, Nine Stories’ Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker, and Argent Pictures principal Jill Ahrens. Ryan Ahrens and Ben Renzo will exec produce along with Mandalay Pictures’ Jason Michael Berman, Jaywalker Pictures’ Jayme Lemons, Shannon McIntosh, and Haven Entertainment’s Brendan Bragg. The short was championed by the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program and the Sundance Catalyst Initiative.
Said Jill Ahrens: “Courtney is a refreshingly unbridled storyteller who embodies everything we want to be aligned with at Argent, so it really didn’t take long for us to commit to going all in on her vision for the Good Time Girls feature.”
Said Hoffman: “The Good Time Girls is dedicated to the ideaology that when women unite, incredible change is possible. I can’t imagine a more important time to tell this story than in our current climate. I am so grateful that Argent Pictures shares my vision and is supporting me along with my producers to homage a male dominated genre with a feminine perspective, on and off the camera.”
Endeavor Content is selling worldwide distribution rights. Hoffman is repped by WME, Haven Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham’s Logan Clare; Teitler is CAA and Anonymous Content.
Here’s the original short:
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