Paul Giamatti

It's hard to go wrong with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in a movie together. The two starred in Closer as a couple in a toxic marriage. This time around they play two corporate spies who are intoxicated with each other. The sexy part comes from the way they look (Owen is tan, Roberts is back with that big ol' movie star smile) and the fact that the characters' day jobs make it hard for them to trust each other, despite the longing between them.

I was expecting Duplicity to be the kind of movie at which I could kick back and enjoy the chemistry between the two stars. You know, the kind of movie in which double-crossing is just a spy's way of flirting, and covert operation lingo is laced with innuendo. I'm sad to report that's not the movie I viewed at all. I'll tell you why if you read more

I've been mulling over this movie news all day because it's this bizarre mix of intriguing and "whaaaaaaa?" I'm not sure I've figured it all out entirely, but I'll relay the stuff we know so far.

The good news is that this project, titled Downsizing, will be directed by Alexander Payne, the man behind Election and Sideways. And awesomely enough, he's gotten stars from both of those movies, Reese Witherspoon and Paul Giamatti, to sign on for this latest endeavor.

The plot is what loses me, however. Giamatti will play "a man low on money who decides he can have a much nicer life if he undergoes a process to shrink himself." What? Why will his life be nicer? And though the original article that posted yesterday stated that Giamatti and Witherspoon were married and that they both decide to become little people, now Variety is reporting that Witherspoon "would play a woman Giamatti meets on his journey as a miniature person." Variety also claims that Sacha Baron Cohen "would play a pint-sized foreigner." (in the earlier report, Baron Cohen was playing two different men, twins, one of whom is a "pint-sized Spaniard").

The way the article was originally written made me believe the "shrinking" meant that Giamatti would become a little person. But now I'm thinking this is more in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids realm. Apparently "Downsizing would require considerable special effects."

I'm not sold on this project just yet. Then again, maybe the details will completely change all over again and it'll seem like a fantastic movie. It is a great cast and a director I like very much. Hmm . . . Thoughts?

Source

The next project from Tony Gilroy, writer and director of Michael Clayton, is Duplicity, a spy thriller with a sexy couple at the heart of it. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play two corporate spies with a romantic past who "hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses." Paul Giamatti and the awe-inspiring Tom Wilkinson also star.

I watched the trailer a few times because I'm easily distracted by how good-looking Clive Owen is, but in the end I think it looks like an intriguing enough film. There's not a lot of chemistry going on with the main duo, but the premise seems fun. And I think the song used in the second part of the trailer is that Bitter:Sweet tune used as the theme song for Lipstick Jungle (it drove me a little crazy at first trying to figure that out). Duplicity opens March 20. To check out the trailer, read more