EXCLUSIVE: Alexander Payne has set Paul Giamatti to star in The Holdovers, a David Hemingson-scripted film that Mark Johnson is producing.
FilmNation will rep international rights and CAA Media Finance will handle domestic as the film is shopped next week in the Cannes Virtual Market.
Production will begin early next year in New England.Payne and Giamatti teamed memorably on the 2004 wine tasting road trip comedy Sideways, which won Payne and Jim Taylor Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Holdovers is a comedy, with the poignancy and grounded characters of past films including Nebraska, The Descendants and Sideways.Giamatti plays a universally disliked teacher at the prep school Deerfield Academy.
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