Miramax has acquired the worldwide rights to “The Holdovers,” the next film from director Alexander Payne that will star Paul Giamatti, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
Payne will now reunite with Giamatti after the two partnered on the Oscar-nominated “Sideways” in 2004. “The Holdovers” has now been given a green light to begin filming this January in New England. Additional terms were not disclosed.
“The Holdovers” is a comedy set in 1970 and follows Giamatti as a curmudgeonly, universally disliked teacher who finds himself stuck at the Deerfield Academy over the course of the holidays along with a trouble-making student and the school’s African American cook, who recently lost her son in Vietnam.
David Hemingson (“Whiskey Cavalier”) wrote the screenplay for “The Holdovers.” Mark Johnson is producing.
“The vision of Alexander Payne is cinematically singular, and his realization of David Hemingson’s script and its central character Professor Hunham by Paul Giamatti will be one for the decade. With Mark Johnson, producing we are grateful to bring this to the world,” Bill Block, CEO of Miramax, said in a statement.
CAA Media Finance handled domestic rights, while FilmNation handled international markets. CAA Media Finance brokered the deal with Miramax.
Payne’s last film was 2017’s “Downsizing” with Matt Damon. He won an Oscar for Best Screenplay along with Jim Taylor for “Sideways” with Giamatti, and the film was nominated for Best Picture. Giamatti stars on “Billions” and will next be seen in “Gunpowder Milkshake” and “Jungle Cruise.”
Deadline first reported the news.
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