Based on the true story of matt bondurants grandfather and two granduncles, the. Matt bondurant, born in 1971, is an american novelist. So much so that the movie lawless was made in 2012 based off of the bondurant brothers illegal moonshine business as written by matt bondurant, one of jacks grandsons, in his bestselling book. Grandpa jack was an imposing man, a patriarch of the family and. Although the book is fiction, it is based on the lives of bondurant s grandfather and his two brothers who made moonshine in the county, which has long been described as the moonshine capital of. Franklin county moonshine history depicted in movie.
Tom hardy shines as forrest bondurant, the oldest and smartest of the brothers. The book tells of the trio during the depression and prohibition in rural. During the prohibition period, the bondurant brothers of franklin county, virginia howard, forrest, and jack were legendary for running moonshine. The book tells of the trio during the depression and prohibition in rural virginia, who made a living bootlegging moonshine. They scared me, bondurant said recently, over a glass of corn. Howard, forrest and jack, were bootlegging brothers during the prohibition era. I thought it was a history lesson as well, she said. The bondurant boys become the heroes of the mountain area as they fight to preserve their product and property. Likewise, matts father, andrew, had no idea his father had been shot. In retrospect, i think that in writing this book i was trying to make up for lost time. The real story behind lawless by matt bondurant newsweek. So as the history of his grandfathers life began to dim, bondurant decided to write it as fiction. Jason clarke standing, tom hardy left and shia labeouf are the bondurant brothers, reallife bootleggers from 1930s virginia, in the new film lawless, based on the book by mount vernon. Jackson bondurant, known as jack, and jacks older brothers forrest and.
Shia labeouf and tom hardy star as moonshining brothers in a movie too studied to do full justice to. Bondurant brothers are usually a name that comes up. He is the youngest son of the late jack bondurant, one of three franklin county. The film is based on the wettest county in the world, subsequently republished as lawless, a historical novel by matt bondurant, a grandson of jack. The morning delivery december 19, 1930 surviving the shootout moonshine continues forrest bondurant nov. To research the historical period, bondurant listened to family stories and. But he knew nothing of his grandfathers past when he was growing up. Lawless helps grow virginia bootlegging trios legend. Matt bondurant lawless the film powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. Over several years of studying his familys history for the book, matt bondurant learned that jack, the youngest of the trio, was considered a hothead and a bit immature. Fast forward 80 years, jack bondurants grandson, robert, has taken over the family.
Although the book is fiction, it is based on the lives of bondurant s grandfather and his two brothers who made moonshine in the county, which has long been described as the moonshine capital. Bobby recalled his father working in the moonshine business until he was about 11 years old. These 3 men bootlegged gallons and gallons of moonshine all. Bobby bondurant is the son of jack bondurant, the main character in the new movie lawless. Matt bondurants book is about so much more than the hot mountain liquor that. Shia labeouf plays jack bondurant in lawless in theaters aug. Home books contact bio lawless manuscript consultation. Grandpa jacks bootlegging businessand a shooting that my family didnt. I think my grandfather would be delighted at being portrayed by as talented a young actor as shia labeouf. The true history of the bondurant boys only came to light in the late nineties, when. He is the youngest son of the late jack bondurant, one of three franklin county moonshinemaking brothers portrayed in the film, which is based on his nephew matt bondurants book the wettest. Id gone in expecting a tough, bossy big brother, but hardys quiet portrayal of the strongest brother was a pleasant surprise. Lawless and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle.
The story of the bondurant brothers running moonshine during prohibition is interwoven with the story several years. Author matt bondurant wrote the exciting novel the wettest county in world a historical fiction based on his own family history. They are the main characters in the 2012 film lawless and in matt bondurant. Matt bondurant, a novelist and creative writing teacher at the university of dallas, is jack bondurant s grandson. Lawless, while relatively faithful to the book, does amplify the growing legend. Among his works are the books the third translation, the wettest county in the world and the night swimmer. History vs the movie lawless with matt bondurant an. Bondurant brothers prohibition franklin county virginia. Tom hardy, shia labeouf, jason clark play the bondurant brothers in lawless, a story of moonshine and crime in prohibitionera virginia, writes killian fox. Intrigued by the movie lawless, on which the book the wettest county in the world is based, i decided to read mr bondu. Matt is the grandson of jack bondurant, the man portrayed by shia labeouf in the film, as well as the author of the wettest county in the world, the book the movie is based on.
To optimistic jack, bootlegging is both a bond to his older brothers, forrest and. But the real heart of the book is bondurant s grandfather, jack, a sensitive young man illsuited to the violent world of whiskey running, yet determined to escape from a sisyphean life of back. Matt bondurant, the author of lawless, on which john hillcoats film was based, says. The wettest county in the world is a 2008 historical novel by matt bondurant, an american writer who features his grandfather jack and granduncles forrest and howard as the main characters in the novel. To optimistic jack, bootlegging is both a bond to his older brothers, forrest. Bondurant family has mixed emotions about lawless local. Amherst man part of moonshinerunning family portrayed in. Matt bondurant mines his own family history to offer a novel thats both a gritty.
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