James Franco and Selena Gomez Star in First Trailer for In Dubious Battle

Posted on September 4, 2016

James Franco directs and stars in the first trailer for In Dubious Battle, which is based on the lesser known 1936 novel by John Steinbeck. Selena Gomez co-stars in the film which deals with the beginnings of the modern labor movement in the United States.

In 1930s California it was the height of the Depression. Seasonal fruit pickers would be lured with the promises of wages around $3 a day, but when they arrived at the farms they were only paid $1 a day, which is not a livable wage.

Franco plays Mac McLeod, an activist for "the Party" who heads to California to instigate a strike for better wages. In those days striking was a very dangerous act: the violence against striking workers, inclding teh deaths of workers are what got the government to intervene and set the stage for the labor union movement.

The film has an amazing cast. Robert Duvall is Bolton, the main employer who considers migrant workers to be animals deserving of no rights at all. Nat Wolff plays Jim Nolan, a young worker who is determined to change conditions for the workers. Vincent D'Onofrio plays London, a worker who becomes an unwilling activist. Selena Gomez is Lisa London, a young wife whose predicament worsens as the strike goes one. Bryan Cranston, Ashley Greene, Analeigh Tiptop, Josh Hutcerson and Ed Harris also co-star.

The film does not yet have a release date, but has excellent reviews and buzz from the festival circuit. Take a look:

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