Paramount Pictures is seeking an actress for the lead role in a remake of the 1969 movie “True Grit, ” and representatives from the company will hold auditions in Jackson Saturday.

The remake, directed by the Coen brothers — Joel and Ethan — requires a girl age 12 to 16 to play 14-year-old Mattie Ross, the lead character.

If you go

Auditions will be from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hilton Garden Inn, 235 W. Capitol St., Jackson. E-mail.

Auditions will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 235 W. Capitol St., from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and are free. Production is scheduled to begin March 20 in New Mexico and Texas.

Participants are asked to bring a current photo to leave with the casting director. One parent or guardian will be allowed to accompany the child.

The Coen brothers “would love, love, love to find somebody unknown,” said casting director Rachel Tenner in a press release. “Any girls with an instinct to try should come and give it a shot.”

Directors are looking for “real, scrubbed down, no make-up, gritty girls,” the press release said. Rodeo girls who ride and rope are a plus.

The remake is set in 1928 and is told from Mattie’s point of view. She tells how, in 1873 at 14 years old, she and a U.S. Marshal named Rooster Cogburn avenged her father’s murder.

The original movie featured Kim Darby as Mattie Ross and John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn. It was directed by Henry Hathaway, and Wayne won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his role. Darby is best known for her role in “True Grit,” which served as an advancement for her career. The original movie also features Glen Campbell and Robert Duvall.

The Coens other movies include “A Serious Man” and “No Country for Old Men.”

*

Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com