scott bakula Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Damon + Soderbergh + Corn = New Trailer for 'The Informant!'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Thrillers », Awards », Warner Brothers », George Clooney », Trailers and Clips »
The way casting announcements and pics of a pudgier Matt Damon had come down the pike, one had every reason to think that Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (now with exclamation point) was going to skew more serious than its newly debuted trailer sells.It's not that there's anything wrong with telling the real-life story of a bi-polar whistle-blower (Damon) with a more decidedly comedic bent, but 'thriller', this does not scream. Then again, maybe Soderbergh just wanted to lighten things up after the epic Che and the austere The Girlfriend Experience, and if that's indeed the case, things do seem to be heading more towards the Ocean's Whatever lark end of his spectrum.
Although most sites seem to have The Informant! with an October 9th release date, the trailer and the page around it (you know, with the 40-Year-Old Virgin-like possible poster art) both state September (in line with a 9/18 date we've seen floating around elsewhere). Either way, I suspect that an appearance at one of this fall's high-profile festivals will help assure us that the film does indeed merit its especially enthused punctuation and that the Damon does indeed merit his schlub-tastic appearance.
First Look at Matt Damon as 'The Informant'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Thrillers », Warner Independent Pictures », Images »
I have to hand it to the wardrobe people for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant since it's not easy making a guy who normally looks like this look like such a schlump. The Bad and Ugly have posted some behind-the-scenes photos for the comedic thriller, and even though there is nothing earth shattering going on, they are definitely a step up from the other pics floating around out there.The Informant is based on the true-life novel by Kurt Eichenwald. The story revolves around Mark Whitacre (Damon), a rising star at the agriculture conglomerate, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). At the urging of his wife (who had threatened to go to the FBI), Whitacre spilled the beans to an agent that he had been involved in a price-fixing scam with other major corporations over the food additive, lysine. As if that wasn't enough of a story, it was later revealed that Whitacre (one of the most high profile, whistle-blowers in history) was suffering from Bipolar disorder and had defrauded millions from ADM.
For such serious subject matter, it came as a bit of a surprise when casting announcements first went out for the film and the list was chock-full of comedic actors (including Scott Bakula and Tony Hale). Soderbergh later confirmed that the film was going to be a "dark comedy", which makes sense because Damon is a pretty funny guy, and a great straight man. Soderbergh has just begun filming on location in Decatur, Illinois and there is no official release date, but The Informant is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.
'The Informant' Grabs More Cast, Including a Quantum Leaper
Filed under: Thrillers », Casting »
There have been some questions raised about the accuracy of Kurt Eichenwald's account of Mark Whitacre and ADM, but whatever might be the truth, The Informant should make for a pretty darned entertaining drama. Imagine a man who becomes the highest-level whistleblower in US history, switches sides to work for the FBI for three years, defrauds his company, lies, and ultimately reveals that he suffers from bipolar disorder.Paul Greengrass' film already has Matt Damon signed on to play Whitacre, and now The Hollywood Reporter posts that more cast have hopped onboard -- all of which, surprisingly, have notable comedic work. The new players are: Scott Bakula, Joel McHale (The Soup), Mike O'Malley (Yes, Dear), Andrew Daly (Semi-Pro), Adam Paul (Hollywood Residential), Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men), and "comedian-actors" Tom Wilson, Rick Overton, and Tom Papa. (This Tom Wilson, I wonder?)
If you think this looks like more comedy than could possibly be coincidental, you'd be right. A source told THR that Soderbergh wants the thriller to have "dark comedy elements. He chose comedic actors who haven't been overexposed on film, planning to have them play their roles seriously and have a humorous tone emerge naturally.
Great idea, or trainwreck waiting to happen? Weigh in.
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