Hollywood Popular Artists

Sep 21st 2012, 20:11

Gus Van Sant has tackled some touchy subjects in the past, from school shootings to gay rights, but his new movie "Promised Land" is sure to ruffle even more feathers. Corporate America, be warned.

The first theatrical trailer for "Promised Land" has hit the web and it shows that the movie should be able to balance some of its touchy subject matter with an inspirational and uplifting story. The flick stars Matt Damon as a salesman who works alongside Frances McDormand's land leaser to try to acquire areas of the country rich with natural gas for a multi-billion-dollar corporation. He heads to the struggling fictional town of McKinley and seemingly has convinced them to sell their land when an environmentalist played by John Krasinski shows up and makes both Damon and the town change their perspectives on giving up their country.

As Krasinski's character says in the trailer, "We're not fighting for land ... we're fighting for people."

"Promised Land" has drawn a lot of attention ever since it was announced a year ago (although it got its title much later). The flick was originally pegged to be Damon's directorial debut off a script he co-wrote with Krasinski, which was based on an idea "The Office" star and Dave Eggers came up with. Van Sant ended up picking up the project after Damon decided not to direct. It will have a limited release stating December 28 to qualify for the 2013 Oscars, and we can see it having a pretty good shot based on this trailer.

When MTV News caught up with Krasinski back in January, he said that the movie mixes both comedic and dramatic elements in a way similar to a Coen Brothers movie.

"It's a little bit of both. I don't think anyone can do the Coen Brothers kind of thing [like they do], but it's in that world of there's a little bit of both," Krasinski explained. "We're just throwing everything into these characters. My theory is that if you care about the characters then you care about the movie, so that's where we're going with it."

What did you think of the "Promised Land" trailer? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

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