Downsizing (2017 film)

Downsizing is an upcoming American science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Alexander Payne and co-written by Jim Taylor. The film stars Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Maribeth Monroe and Jason Sudeikis. Principal photography on the film began on April 1, 2016 in Ontario, Canada.

The film will premiere at the 74th Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2017 and be released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 22, 2017.

Premise

A man and his wife who, deciding that their lives have gotten out of hand, decide to voluntarily have themselves shrunk down. Unfortunately for the man, his wife backs out at the last minute.^[2]

Cast

• Matt Damon as Paul Safranek, Audrey’s husband
• Kristen Wiig as Audrey Safranek^[3], Paul’s wife
• Christoph Waltz^[4]
• Alec Baldwin
• Neil Patrick Harris
• Maribeth Monroe
• Jason Sudeikis
• Hong Chau^[4] as Gong Jiang
• Rolf Lassgård^[5]
• Don Lake as Matt
• Margo Martindale
• Paul Mabon as Roger
• Laura Dern
• Niecy Nash
• Joaquim de Almeida as Dr. Oswaldo Pereira
• Brigette Lundy-Paine as Mariette
• Bruce Willis
• Udo Kier^[6] as Joris

Production

During the seven-year hiatus between the releases of Sideways (2004) and The Descendants (2011), Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor spent two and a half years on the script for Downsizing, which was originally meant to have been the director's next film after Sideways. However, the project was superseded by the productions of The Descendants and Nebraska (2013).^[7] On November 5, 2014, it was officially announced that Downsizing will be Payne's next film after Nebraska.^[8] 20th Century Fox was originally going to distribute the film until October 2, 2015, when it was announced that Paramount Pictures acquired distribution rights.^[9] On January 8, 2015, it was announced that Annapurna Pictures will finance and produce the film.^[10] Payne's production company, Ad Hominem Enterprises, is also involved with the production.^[8] Payne and Mark Johnson would produce the film, whose script was co-written by Payne and Jim Taylor.^[4]

Rolfe Kent composed the film's score.^[11]

Casting

Reese Witherspoon has been attached to project since 2009, when Paul Giamatti and Sacha Baron Cohen were both originally set to star.^[12][13] On November 5, 2014, Damon was officially cast in the film.^[14] On January 7, 2015, it was confirmed that Witherspoon was still participating in the project, marking her first collaboration with Payne since Election (1999).^[15][16] On January 8, it was announced that Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Sudeikis have joined the cast.^[17] On March 10, 2016, Christoph Waltz and Hong Chau joined the film.^[4] On March 29, 2016, it was announced that Kristen Wiig had replaced Witherspoon for the female lead role.^[3] In August 2016, it was announced that Margo Martindale had been cast in a small role.^[18]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on April 1, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at York University. Filming was also taken place in Omaha, Los Angeles, and Trollfjorden in Norway.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Release

Downsizing is scheduled to be released on December 22, 2017, by Paramount Pictures.^[23]

References

External links

• Downsizing on IMDb