Paul Giamatti May Join David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’

If Cosmopolis – a story about a 28 year-old billionaire who takes a jaunt across town just to get a haircut from a proper barber and ends up blowing his fortune – sounds peculiar, just remember it’s being brought to life by the guy who made movies about mutant children, evil gynecologists, and Jeff Goldblum as a giant insect.

David Cronenberg is the man behind the Cosmopolis film adapation and he’s already lined up Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard to star in the film. Now it seems that Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti may sign up for this strange cautionary tale as well.

According to The Playlist, Giamatti’s rep says that the actor is in active discussions to join the cast of Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, but denies that a deal has been secured. The John Adams star signed on for The Hangover 2 recently, but his upcoming schedule is otherwise fairly open. Cosmopolis is unlikely to begin production for few months anyway, since shooting on the Total Recall remake is tentatively scheduled to begin by Spring 2011 and that could keep Farrell busy for the next while.

Cronenberg is currently in the midst of post-production on his latest collaboration with actor Viggo Mortensen, the Sigmund Freud pic A Dangerous Method, which will also prevent Cosmopolis from beginning production in the immediate future.

Cosmopolis is an unorthodox horror tale that deals with the transformation of a character’s existence (a theme Cronenberg has explored throughout his filmmaking career) over the course of a single day. Farrell is set to play Eric Packer, the rich protagonist who cheats on his wife (Cotillard), is attacked by a bizarre assortment of individuals (stalkers, protesters, etc.), and finds his life spinning utterly out of control as his fortunes start to dwindle away.

No word yet on who Giamatti would portray in Cosmopolis or if he’ll play a central or supporting role in the film, but he’s a flexible character actor who can portray anything from a hammy, guns-blazing villain (Shoot ‘Em Up) to an officer of the law in a period piece (The Illusionist) and still be convincing. We have little doubt that he is up for whatever Cronenberg throws at him.

It’s also good to see Cotillard getting more work and sticking with projects that involve quality filmmakers. She was good as Leonardo DiCaprio’s deceased wife in Inception, but hopefully the actress will get to play a larger and more fleshed-out part in Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis.

We’ll keep you posted on the development of Cosmopolis.

Source: The Playlist

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Bill Clinton & Paul Giamatti To Appear In ‘The Hangover 2′

Todd Philips and his Hangover crew are off wreaking havoc in Thailand in The Hangover 2, the sequel to their 2009 hit comedy.

Now The Hangover 2 has added an Oscar-nominee to its cast and even managed to snag a former U.S. president to make a cameo in the film, which will also feature a brief appearance by Liam Neeson.

Deadline has confirmed that Paul Giamatti is officially onboard for The Hangover 2 in an as yet unknown role. The man – whose presence in a movie is always a plus – got up to drunken antics of the slightly more somber kind back in 2004's Sideways and his appearance in this year’s Barney’s Version has been generating Oscar buzz for a while now. Giamatti is a versatile performer who lends an air of authenticity to even his comedic roles and he’ll be a delight to see onscreen alongside the likes of Ed Helms or Zach Galifianakis.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was in the capital city of Thailand over the weekend and shot a brief cameo for the Hangover 2, according to People. Is there anything more appropriate than having a (former?) political playboy like Clinton turn up in a Todd Philips’ raunchfest?

There’s no word yet as to what sort of mischief Bradley Cooper, Helms, and Galifianakis will be getting up to in The Hangover 2, though the tomfoolery this time around looks to include a tattoo parlor and Galifianakis becoming a monk (or, at least, shaving off the scruffy mop atop his head).

The Hangover actually had an amusingly mysterious plot that became increasingly complicated as the main trio of characters suffered the repercussions of misremembered acts of debauchery. Hopefully the sequel will up the ante even more.

Philips and Galifianakis’ most recent collaboration, Due Date, is doing well enough in theaters, but the next Hangover promises to be more of a no-holds-barred venture, ripe with deliciously low-brow humor and over-the-top physical comedy – which is exactly what we all want  to see anyway, right?

The Hangover 2 arrives in theaters in the U.S. on May 26th, 2011.

Source: Deadline, People

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