The Coen brothers -- the Academy Award-winning filmmakers responsible for such modern classics as "No Country for Old Men," "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" -- are looking for a Memphis girl with "steely nerves," a "straightforward manner" and, yes, true grit.

An open casting call will be held from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the East Memphis Hilton at 939 Ridge Lake Blvd., for the potentially star-making role of spunky young Mattie Ross, a lead character in the Coens' upcoming remake of the famous 1969 western, "True Grit."

According to a release from the casting office, the filmmakers are looking for "a 12- 16-year-old Caucasian girl who is tough, strong and tells it like it is. They are open to all looks, so come give it a try. No acting experience is necessary."

Writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen "would love, love, love to find somebody unknown," said casting director Rachel Tenner, who worked with the Coens on "A Serious Man," "Burn After Reading" and "No Country for Old Men," which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2008. "Any girls with an instinct to try should come and give it a shot."

Each girl should bring a current picture of herself, along with only one family member.

Tenner and her casting associates will handle the Memphis auditions. The Coens will not be in town for the event.

The Paramount Pictures production is set to begin shooting March 20 in Texas and New Mexico.

Tenner said she could be in Memphis as long as a week. She and her assistants already have looked at hundreds of girls in Dallas-Fort Worth, Lubbock, Waco and Austin, Texas. After Memphis, the casting call moves to Nashville; Little Rock; Jackson, Miss.; and Oklahoma.

The process begins with Tenner talking to groups of girls, "and getting to know them," she said. "I look to see if they're right for the role. I use the example with the girls that it's not like Jessica Simpson was going to play 'Juno' -- that role was perfect for Ellen Page."

Girls who make the first cut will be asked back for video auditions.

Based on a novel by Charles Portis, the original "True Grit" earned John Wayne a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a straight-shooting, hard-drinking, tough-talking "one-eyed fat man" named Rooster Cogburn.

Jeff Bridges will play Cogburn in the remake, with Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger originally played by Glen Campbell and Josh Brolin as the villainous Tom Chaney (originally Jeff Corey). Kim Darby first played Mattie Ross, a headstrong Arkansas girl with precise enunciation and Puritanical moral values.

A release from the casting office describes 14-year-old Mattie -- who really is the central character in the story -- as "tough as nails."

"Her steely nerves and straightforward manner are a shocking contrast to the way women behaved in the early (20th) century. She's possessed of true grit and plenty of determination. Enough so, that she insists on going with two marshals to hunt down the killer of her father."

Could the role transform the girl who wins into an instant movie star? The "True Grit" remake is certain to be one of the most-hyped releases of 2010, because it's a remake of a beloved Hollywood Western and also a return to the themes of the Coens' most successful film, "No Country for Old Men."

-- John Beifuss: 529-2394