[NEWS] Jennifer's Co-Star Alden Ehrenreich & Director Alexandre Moors Talk About 'The Yellow Birds'

Actor Alden Ehrenreich as John Bartle on set of 'The Yellow Birds'

article by: Anthony Breznican

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY.com
"We'll get to see Jennifer star along side actor Alden Ehrenreich in a much grittier, more realistic battle as the star of the independent war drama 'The Yellow Birds'. Here's a first look of the 26-year old as Private John Bartle, a soldier deployed to Iraq who is trying to fulfill two duties - one to his country, and the other to the mother (Aniston's character) of a younger fellow fighter Daniel Murphy (played by actor Tye Sheridan) he vowed to protect.

The film is based on the 2012 novel by author and real-life Iraq War veteran Kevin Powers, and it's being directed by Alexandre Moors, best known for 2013's sniper drama 'Blue Caprice'. 'The Yellow Birds' - which also stars actor Jack Huston as Sergeant Sterling, actress Jennifer Aniston as Maureen Murphy, actress Toni Collette as Amy Bartle, and actor Jason Patric as Captain Anderson - is just being finished now, and production company Cinelou Films does not yet have a release date. Moors said, "Ehrenreich ended up in 'The Yellow Birds' by a lucky cascade of events. We had a previous actor attached, Will Poulter, who has worked with Aniston, who took to do another movie over the summer, and I found myself in a situation where we needed to cast a lead," Moors said. "Looking at all the young talent in Hollywood, I must say I was very early set on Alden. He's a stop above the bunch."

Director Alexandre Moors with Jennifer on set of 'The Yellow Birds'

Moors was impressed that Ehrenreich has already worked with a number of formidable directors in his short career: Francis Ford Coppola on drama film 'Tetro' in 2009 as Bennie Tetrocini and experimental/horror-thriller film 'Twixt' in 2011 as Flamingo, Woody Allen on drama film 'Blue Jasmine' in 2013 as Danny Francis, and most recently with Joel and Ethan Cohen on comedy film 'Hail, Caesar!' in 2016 as Hobie Doyle. "He was someone who had the maturity to take on a role like [Bartle], which goes to very dark places at times and needs somebody who has a gravitas and a certain ability to understand they layers in the script," said director Alexander Moors. "To me, when I cast, the first thing you think of is, 'I am going to be studying that actors face for two hours,' " Moors added. "You need somebody whose face is an emotional landscape that has layers and depth to it. Sometimes it's difficult when you're a young age to have that quality. It's not just about being pretty. I read somewhere and its true - something about Alden that calls for me actors of a past era." Ehrenreich said, "I have been compared to everyone from Cary Grant, to Jack Nicholson, to Leonardo DiCaprio, and - now, of course - Harrison Ford." Exactly! Moors says. "He's [Ehrenreich] very masculine and virile, but his comical talents are amazing. He's very light, very quick, and very sharp. It's an amazing contrast. It's a question of range, he has an amazing range." In 'The Yellow Birds', Bartle, Alden's character, makes a vow to the mother (Aniston's character) of another soldier (Sheridan) that he will look after her son on the battlefield, but that becomes increasingly difficult under the intense command of their sergeant (Huston).

Filming was split between Georgia and Morocco, with a one month hiatus in between. Alden said, "Instead of going back to Los Angeles, California, I rented a cabin somewhere in California just so I could go fish and be by myself and not lose my focus on the character during the one month time." Director Alexander Moors adds, "That should tell you what kind of actor he is. I don't think a lot of people would do that."