In “Brother Save Us,” from first-time writer and director Jesse Behrenwald, Phillippe plays a farmer in a dystopian America who is trying to save his family farm and protect his younger brother (Thomas Murphy Molony) from a conglomerate replacing the human workforce with AI bots. “I just remember feeling surprised that someone could write exactly how I feel about my little brother,” Phillippe says, referring to Tennessee Toth, the son Witherspoon shares with her ex-husband Jim Toth. “That depth of love in a script is just something you rarely get to see.”
Deacon Phillippe on set with “Brother Save Us” writer and director Jesse Behrenwald.
Luke Holdom
“Brother Save Us” will have its world premiere at the Nashville Film Festival on Sept. 26.
In the 2011 Shawn Levy-directed “Real Steel,” based on the 1956 sci-fi short story “Steel” about robot boxing, Hugh Jackman stars as a former champion boxer who reenters the sport by training a robot to become a promising fighter.
“I love ‘Real Steel,’” Phillippe says. “I think bringing the nostalgia back from that IP would be really fun.”
You can watch an exclusive first look at “Brother Save Us” below.
