Cut! Take two! Really?

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this one. They're remaking "True Grit."
 
Why, you might ask? How do you improve upon a classic?
 
Let's look back. John Wayne won the Oscar in 1969 for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn, the irascible federal marshal tracking down and generally killing various bad guys in the Oklahoma territories sometime after the Civil War. Yes, those were actual New Mexican mountains that appeared in Oklahoma, but that's Hollywood. This movie makes a lot of people's all-time favorites lists – it's in my top five – but let's be honest. Wayne was quite good, and I think he won the Oscar mostly for a couple of scenes toward the end when his character had to show real tenderness. However, Glen Campbell as the Texas Ranger was brutal (by his own admission), and Kim Darby seeking vengeance for Papa's death wasn't much better. (Robert Duvall was, as always, quite good, and so were Strother Martin, Jeff Corey and, wow, Dennis Hopper, but they had smaller roles.)
 
So why mess with it? Because, unless it's "Gone With the Wind," Hollywood will remake anything. "The Philadelphia Story" (1940, Jimmy Stewart's first Oscar) remains a gem. They remade it, as a musical no less, 16 years later with Frank Sinatra and others as "High Society." It worked. Of course, many remakes are irredeemably bad ideas. "King Kong," "Psycho" and "Planet of the Apes" spring to mind. Can they improve on "True Grit"?
 
This is where it gets interesting. It's being made by the Coen brothers. Right, as in "No Country for Old Men," "O Brother Where Art Thou" and, more recently, the so-so "Burn After Reading." Their work is consistently very good. Reportedly, they plan to be more faithful to the novel that first movie. I've read the novel. It's fine but less crisp that the John Wayne version. It's no "Old Yeller."
 
So, the big question: Who's the Rooster? My first thought was Russell Crowe, but I don't know. One rumor is Jeff Bridges. Really? I refer to the remake of "King Kong" (but he was good in "Iron Man" last year). Someone threw out Tom Wilkinson, who I really do think could play anyone or anything. It would be fun.
 
What do you think? Who's Rooster? Who's Mattie? And LaBouef? Quincy, Moon and Stonehill? How about Dennis Hopper as the judge? As for Lucky Ned Pepper, how about Robert Duvall all over again? He's still got it. I welcome your thoughts.