‘The Counselor’ actor: Cormac McCarthy’s script was an enigma

Film fans last week may have had trouble understanding the first release of the trailer for “The Counselor,” which before an English version hit the Web, was available only in Russian.

The finished film, directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy (the author’s first script), will be easier to understand, right?

Yes.

Probably.

Hopefully.

PHOTOS: Summer Sneaks 2013

According to one of the film’s actors, the script -- the English one, nothing Slavic about it -- is minimalist and enigmatic.

“I read it, and I don’t think I understood it,” said Dean Norris, who plays the outspoken Hank Schrader in “Breaking Bad” and the complicated Big Jim in “Under The Dome,” from the set of “Dome” this spring.

Norris -- who, oh yes, attended Harvard -- described a script containing far fewer of the normal connective tissue that sets up story and scene; instead McCarthy’s draft focused mostly on the human actions and interactions. And even those were stripped down.

In other words, it’s what you’d expect from Cormac McCarthy.

PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments

Norris, who in the movie acts opposite John Leguizamo in drug-deal scenes, added that there was a bit of an awards buzz on the set -- despite the dope-peddling theme, “Savages” this ain’t. (The pairing of Javier Bardem with McCarthy could offer it some of that “No Country for Old Men” vibe too.)

And Scott? He, too, may be due for a statue when the film hits Oct 25. The Brit has been nominated for directing Oscar three times in his career (“Black Hawk Down,” “Gladiator” and “Thelma & Louise”) but never won. The first release of the trailer last week built some early buzz among Oscar voters -- the Russian-oriented ones, and possibly soon some English-speaking tastemakers as well.

ALSO:

Trailer for Ridley Scott released -- in Russian

Cormac McCarthy’s rugged road to respectability

For James Bond’s ‘Skyfall,’ a delicate balancing act

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT