Trailer for Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land

Universal pictures Ireland has sent us over the trailer for director Gus Van Sant’s next film Promised Land.

Matt Damon stars as a corporate salesman, whose plans to exploit a downtrodden town for gas are scuppered when a local (John Krasinski) starts a grass-roots campaign to stop him.

The two stars, Damon and Krasinski, actually wrote the script. Damon was set to direct but had to pull out due to scheduling concerns. That’s a shame but with Van Sant he has a worthy replacement.

Promised Land is out in Ireland April 19th.

Synopsis:

Mr. Damon plays Steve Butler, a corporate salesman who arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (Frances  McDormand). With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company’s offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Steve Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John  Krasinski) who counters Steve both personally and professionally.