Paul Giamatti, undoubtedly glad to be back in the 21st century.
Variety notes that Paul Giamatti , recently freed from his duties as one of the Founding Fathers, has joined the cast of writer-director Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity. Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Tom Wilkinson are already set for the film.
Duplicity is Gilroy’s follow up to the generally well-received Michael Clayton (people seemed to really divide on that film, either really liked it or really hated it–I fall into the really liked it, in fact quite admired it, category).
Here’s how it all falls into place:
“Giamatti will play an industrialist engaged in a fierce game of corporate one-upmanship against a rival titan, played by Wilkinson. Roberts and Owen play two spies-turned-corporate operatives who work on opposite sides but are having a clandestine love affair. Billy Bob Thornton had been in talks for the businessman role.”
Duplicity indeed!! The could-not-be-busier Wilkinson was in Michael Clayton, and also appears in HBO’s John Adams miniseries as Ben Franklin, alongside Giamatti’s Adams (two big projects with Giamatti and Wilkinson in major roles? Triumph of the character actors!!!!!). By the way, I watched the first part of John Adams and was kind of lukewarm about it, even though I’m a huge fan of Revolutionary War history. I guess I’m just used to my favorite musical, 1776, and you know, the story of the Declaration of Independence really isn’t quite the same without the singing and dancing.
