#‘The Card Counter’ First Look: Oscar Isaac Looks Tense in the New Film From Paul Schrader

The Card Counter, the latest film from director Paul Schrader, had to shut down production to the coronavirus. But the film is reportedly 90% done, and Schrader plans to film the rest when production resumes in July. In addition to this news comes a Card Counter first look that reveals star Oscar Isaac, looking appropriately tense while clutching a gun.

Above you can see the first official look at Oscar Isaac in The Card Counter, Paul Schrader’s follow-up to First Reformed. The film was in production but shut down due to the coronavirus, and it was later revealed a cast member tested positive for COVID-19. Now, Schrader and company are gearing up to get back to work in July, with Deadline reporting: “The production will be implementing coronavirus preventative measures to keep cast and crew safe on set, and both the larger crowd scenes and scenes involving intimacy between actors are already in the can so the hope is it will be smooth sailing to completion.”

As Deadline adds, The Card Counter was only five days away from wrapping when it had to shut down, so there won’t be much more to film. In addition to Isaac, the movie featuresTiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, and Willem Dafoe. Schrader also wrote the script, and Schrader’s sometimes collaborator Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer. Here’s The Card Counter synopsis:

Tell (Isaac) just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk (Sheridan), a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel (Dafoe). Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. Gaining backing from mysterious gambling financier La Linda (Haddish), Tell takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the unlikely trio set their sights on winning a World Series of poker tournament. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

Schrader is a legend in the world of movies, so I probably don’t need to sell you on his bonafides. But after First Reformed, it’s clear that even as he gets older, Schrader still has the ability to deliver the goods. There’s no release date for The Card Counter set yet, but for now, you can watch an hour-long discussion between Isaac and Schrader about the film here.

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