49 Fun Facts About True Grit

Who wrote the 1968 novel True Grit?

Charles Portis, an Arkansas-born journalist and Korean War Marine, wrote True Grit in 1968; his other novels include Norwood (1966) and The Dog of the South (1979).

In which magazine was True Grit first serialised in 1968?

True Grit first appeared as a 1968 serial in The Saturday Evening Post; Simon & Schuster published the full novel in book form the same year.

The novel is narrated by Mattie Ross as an elderly woman looking back on events from how far in the past?

Mattie, 14 during the 1870s manhunt, narrates roughly a half century later as an unmarried old woman who lost an arm to the snakebite she suffered in the pit.

In the novel, how much money does Frank Ross take with him to buy horses on the trip where he is killed?

He spends only $100 on the horses, and Chaney robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces.

In which Arkansas county is the Ross family farm, near the town of Dardanelle?

Mattie later has Rooster buried in the family plot in Yell County in the 2010 film.

What is Rooster Cogburn's full first name in the novel?

Marshal Reuben J. Cogburn is described as aging, one-eyed, overweight, trigger-happy and hard-drinking.

How does the novel say the name LaBoeuf is pronounced?

In the novel Mattie notes that the Texas Ranger pronounces his surname La-beef, though it is spelled LaBoeuf; she finds his Texan vanity tiresome.

Which outlaw leader's gang does Chaney join after the murder?

Chaney falls in with Lucky Ned Pepper's gang of robbers in the Indian Territory; Barry Pepper, no relation to the character, played Ned Pepper in the 2010 film.

In which Arkansas town does Mattie hire Rooster Cogburn?

Fort Smith sat on the edge of Indian Territory, which is why federal marshals rode out from there.

Why has LaBoeuf been chasing Chaney for four months in the novel?

LaBoeuf says Chaney killed a Texas senator and his dog in Waco; the Ranger wants the Texas reward, while Mattie insists Chaney hang in Arkansas for her father.

Who directed the 1969 film True Grit?

Hathaway said he tried to make the film like "a fairytale... a fantasy that I couched in as realistic terms as possible."

Who played Mattie Ross in the 1969 film?

Darby was a 21-year-old dancer-turned-actress when she was cast as the 14-year-old.

Which singer played the Texas Ranger La Boeuf in the 1969 film?

Campbell said Wayne approached him backstage at one of his shows and asked if he wanted to be in a movie.

Which singer was the original choice for La Boeuf until his agent demanded top billing?

Elvis Presley was offered La Boeuf, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker insisted on top billing over Wayne; producer Hal Wallis refused, and the part went to another singer.

Which actress, cast as Mattie in 1969, quit after Mitchum warned her about the director?

Mia Farrow, then filming Secret Ceremony with Mitchum, asked producer Hal Wallis to replace the director with Roman Polanski, who had just directed her in Rosemary's Baby; Wallis refused and she left.

John Wayne recommended which future pop star for the role of Mattie after meeting her at a talent show?

Karen Carpenter, not yet famous with the Carpenters, was suggested by Wayne after he met her at a talent show, but the producers passed because she had never acted.

Who wrote the 1969 screenplay, which Wayne called "the best script he had ever read"?

Roberts had been blacklisted for alleged leftist affiliations, and the conservative Wayne was instrumental in getting her credited.

Where was the 1969 film mainly shot, despite its Arkansas and Oklahoma setting?

Filming centered on Ridgway and Ouray in Ouray County, Colorado, standing in for Arkansas and the Indian Territory; the Ouray County Courthouse served as Judge Parker's courtroom.

What was Wayne's eye patch made of so that he could still see?

Wayne's eye patch was made of gauze so he could see through it and keep his balance on horseback; the one-eyed marshal became his signature late-career role.

What is the name of Mattie's horse in the 1969 film?

Rooster carries the snakebitten Mattie on Little Blackie in a scene shot at Hot Creek in California's Sierra Nevada.

In the 1969 film's final scene, what does Rooster do to answer Mattie's jibe that he is too old and fat to jump horses?

Wayne insisted on doing the jump himself, on his horse Twinkle Toes, and it was left as the last shot in case he could not make it.

What was Wayne's favourite horse, seen in True Grit's last scene, called?

Wayne would not let anyone else ride Dollor; the lone exception was Robert Wagner, on Hart to Hart after Wayne's death.

What rating did the 1969 film receive after the makers cut "four-letter words" from some scenes?

True Grit was rated G after Paramount trimmed the profanity that had first earned it an M, the MPAA's mature-audiences rating of the time.

What did John Wayne win for playing Rooster Cogburn?

Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the April 1970 ceremony, his only competitive Oscar; he also took the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama.

Accepting his award for Rooster, Wayne joked he should have put on what "35 years earlier"?

Wayne's line was 'Wow! If I'd known that, I'd have put that patch on 35 years earlier', a joke about the eye patch he wore as the one-eyed Rooster.

Which real deputy US marshal is often cited as a model for Rooster Cogburn?

Heck Thomas (Henry Andrew Thomas), one of Oklahoma's 'Three Guardsmen' with Bill Tilghman and Chris Madsen, hunted outlaws across the Indian Territory and is often cited as a model for Rooster Cogburn.

Which 1969 cast member played the gang leader and reportedly nearly came to blows with Wayne?

Robert Duvall, playing the gang leader, clashed constantly with the director on set, and Wayne reportedly threatened to punch him if the arguing did not stop.

Who co-starred with John Wayne in the 1975 sequel Rooster Cogburn?

Wayne and Hepburn were born two weeks apart in May 1907, yet this was the only film they made together.

What is the name of the spinster who teams up with Rooster in the 1975 sequel?

Hepburn's Eula Goodnight is a missionary's daughter who joins Rooster to avenge her father's killing, a pairing critics likened to The African Queen.

What stolen cargo drives the plot of Rooster Cogburn?

A gang led by Hawk steals a wagon of nitroglycerin and a Gatling gun; the unstable nitro must be moved slowly, setting up the river-raft finale.

Who played Rooster Cogburn in the 2010 film?

Bridges earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, a year after winning for Crazy Heart.

Roughly how many applicants were considered for Mattie Ross before Hailee Steinfeld was cast?

About 15,000 girls were considered for Mattie before 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld was cast; the open call sought an unknown who could handle the novel's formal, contraction-free dialogue.

Who played Tom Chaney in the 2010 film?

Josh Brolin played Tom Chaney, the hired hand who shot Mattie's father; Matt Damon took the Texas Ranger and Barry Pepper the gang leader.

Under what pseudonym did the directors edit the 2010 True Grit?

Roderick Jaynes is the fictitious editor credited on most of the directing brothers' films, True Grit included; the name even drew an Oscar nomination for editing Fargo (1996).

Which 1887 hymn serves as Mattie's theme in Carter Burwell's 2010 score?

'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms' (1887) is Mattie's theme throughout Burwell's score; Iris DeMent's recording of the hymn plays over the end credits, and the hymn-based score was ruled ineligible for the original-score Oscar.

Whose recording of "God's Gonna Cut You Down" was used in the 2010 theatrical trailer?

Johnny Cash's 2006 recording of 'God's Gonna Cut You Down', from American V: A Hundred Highways, drove the theatrical trailer, though the song does not appear in the film itself.

Where was most of the 2010 film shot?

Most of the 2010 film was shot around Santa Fe, New Mexico, in early 2010, with additional scenes in Granger, Bartlett and Austin, Texas.

How many Academy Award nominations did the 2010 True Grit receive, winning none?

The 2010 True Grit earned ten nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Supporting Actress, and went home empty-handed, joining Gangs of New York among films with ten nominations and no wins.

Which earlier film by True Grit's 2010 directors did it surpass as their highest-grossing?

True Grit passed No Country for Old Men's $74.3 million domestic gross within two weeks of release and went on to more than double it in North America alone.

From roughly how far away does LaBoeuf shoot Ned Pepper to save Cogburn in the 2010 film?

LaBoeuf spends the film boasting about his Sharps rifle, and the shot finally proves his point.

In the 2010 film's epilogue, which two outlaws tell the adult Mattie that Cogburn has died?

Cole Younger and Frank James, touring with a Wild West show, tell the 39-year-old Mattie that Cogburn died days earlier; she has his body moved to her family plot.

Who was cast as the one-armed body double for the adult Mattie in the 2010 film?

Ruth Morris, a social worker born without a forearm, doubled for Elizabeth Marvel's adult Mattie so the lost arm could be shown without effects work.

The 2010 True Grit holds what distinction in Netflix history?

True Grit (2010) was the last DVD the company mailed: Netflix shipped it on September 29, 2023, as it ended its 25-year DVD-by-mail service.

Which novelist wrote the afterword in Overlook Press's 2010 tie-in edition of True Grit?

Donna Tartt, author of The Secret History, wrote the afterword carried in Overlook Press's 2010 tie-in edition; in it she recalls discovering the novel as a child in Mississippi.

Before turning to fiction, the author of True Grit worked as London bureau chief for which newspaper?

The author ran the New York Herald Tribune's London bureau before quitting journalism in 1964; his first novel, Norwood, followed in 1966.

Where did the 1969 True Grit hold its premiere on June 12, 1969?

The premiere was held in Little Rock, Arkansas, the novel's home state, on June 12, 1969; the film opened at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles the next day.

Who played Rooster Cogburn in the 1978 made-for-TV sequel True Grit: A Further Adventure?

Warren Oates took over as Rooster in the 1978 TV movie, with Lisa Pelikan as Mattie; it aired three years after Wayne's own big-screen sequel.

Roughly how much did the 2010 True Grit gross worldwide?

True Grit grossed about $252 million worldwide, $171 million of it in North America, against a production budget of roughly $38 million.

Which BAFTA did the 2010 True Grit win from its eight nominations?

Roger Deakins won the BAFTA for Best Cinematography; the film's other seven nominations, including both lead acting categories, went unrewarded.