When I read that Val Kilmer was “going west” I got excited to see him in another western! His portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone was so entertaining. But sadly that is not the case, in fact, its not even the part of the article that I liked.

MovieWeb reports:

Val Kilmer has joined the cast of ’60s indie drama A West Texas Children’s Story, which Polly Platt, Ryan Howe and Thom Mount are executive producing, according to Variety.

Written and helmed by Brad Isaacs in his directorial debut, the movie stars Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, AnnaSophia Robb and Cayden Boyd. The film is shooting in Albuquerque, N.M.

The story revolves around two precocious youngsters who embark on a cross-country trip in search of adventure and a better life.

At first thought after reading this article I thought “If this movie is about two kids, why are so many adults attached??” I love these impacting dramas like Stand By Me. This generation needs more stories like this. But one thing that made Stand By Me so consuming was how it dealt with the interaction of the kids with very few adults. Hopefully we will see some of that here.

But as for the kids, I had to look up the names and I was pleasantly surprised to see who they were. Cayden Boyd was last seen in an emotional scene in XMen 3:The Last Stand, as the young Angel trying desperately to grind off his offending wing sprouts. Previous to that Boyd was “Max” the boy who dreams up the world Lava Girl and Shark Boy came from (super dumb movie). AnnaSophia Robb was the prissy competitive Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as staring along side our very own John Campea in next year’s “Jumper” (ok, John is just an Extra!)

Both of these actors show a lot of potential even in their youth. Hopefully the choice to move these two youngsters into a leading role in a dramatic film will only back up their skills. Someone clearly believes in these short people, and hopefully we will get a wonderful film about it.