ROTTEN TOMATOES: Matt Damon Gets Company for Soderbergh's Informant

Matt Damon Gets Company for Soderbergh's Informant

Group of TV comedy vets joins cast.

by Jeff Giles | April 02, 2008

The cast of Steven Soderbergh's The Informant is filling out -- with some unexpected names.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, star Matt Damon will be joined in the "darkly comic thriller" by a number of television vets known for their comedic gifts, including The Soup's Joel McHale, Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula, and Yes, Dear's Mike O'Malley. Other names attached to the project include Andrew Daly, Adam Paul, Melanie Linskey, Tom Wilson, Rick Overton, and Tom Papa. From the article:

Bakula and McHale, who is in final negotiations, will play FBI agents working with agri-business insider Mark Whitacre (Damon) to stop a price-fixing scam. The film is based on Kurt Eichenwald's 2000 best-seller "The Informant: A True Story."

The Reporter describes the film's subject matter as "serious," but says Soderbergh "is looking to create a thriller with dark comedy elements," and wanted to use "comedic actors who haven't been overexposed on film, planning to have them play their roles seriously and have a humorous tone emerge naturally."

No release date is listed for the Warner Independent film, but principal photography is scheduled to begin this month.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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(1-16 of 16 posts) | Reply

dracus writes:
on Apr 02 2008 06:10 AM

If it wasn't for Matt Damon's involvement I would not have even taken the time to read this article so in my books Informant is already one to watch.

(Reply to this)

glenbo writes:
on Apr 02 2008 06:15 AM

Mike O'Malley was the bomb on Guts. All hail the Agro Crag.

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selke99 writes:
on Apr 02 2008 06:28 AM

I may be an old bag, but that guy on the soup can't compare to the old soup hosts like Jim Henson and Greg Kinnear. I don't think he's funny at all, he just has a lot of canned laughter after anything he says.

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Bloody Mathias writes:
on Apr 02 2008 06:33 AM

Joel McHale rocks and no that's not canned laughter. It's real.

Count me in.

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bacoby13 writes:
on Apr 02 2008 06:41 AM

In reply to this comment (#1665566)
Jim Henson was on Talk Soup?! I'm sure that must have been a gas...
John, my friend... The word we were going for was John... But thanks for playing!
And no, that is not canned laughter. It is genuine. And I find McHale incredibly funny, right up there with Kinnear, Sparks and Tyler, and I guess Henson (not my favorite).

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martinscorsese25 writes:
on Apr 02 2008 07:27 AM

In reply to this comment (#1665560)
yeah your right.. matt damon is really one of hollywood's best. he hasn't reached this HIGH star quality if it werent for the bourne series(supremacy and ultimatum really did it), oceans series and the departed.. because of these films. matt damon is one of the most wanted in hollywood

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AnthonyDidge writes:
on Apr 02 2008 08:09 AM

Gotta agree with the McHale supporters. Friggin' hilarious.

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arendr writes:
on Apr 02 2008 08:49 AM

Haha, Jim Henson on Talk Soup.

This sounds like an interesting project...Scott Bakula is an interesting choice...um okay.

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ihatecarneys writes:
on Apr 02 2008 09:08 AM

Mchale rocks. Henson is doing TV guide channel. Enough said.

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nathanpoitras writes:
on Apr 02 2008 09:59 AM

I've lost all faith in Soderbergh, but not in Damon. This could be one to see.

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dahluzz writes:
on Apr 02 2008 10:01 AM

i hope as a promotion they give out glowing pieces of the radical rock. d-d-d-do ya have it? and now to the leader board, MO!

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dahluzz writes:
on Apr 02 2008 10:10 AM

and yeah, looking at steve's filmogrpahy since cranking out the amazing 'traffic' and 'erin Brok' in the same year, he's made some really questionable choices (as well as three ocean's films, one was fine thanks) and nothing that really stands out as being more than "meh."

(Reply to this)

opTIMus Nerd writes:
on Apr 02 2008 10:21 AM

That book is pretty freaking awesome...I really hope the movie is even half as good!

(Reply to this)

BuckyUnderbelly writes:
on Apr 02 2008 10:32 AM

Hey, isn't Melanie Lynskey the other girl from Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures? The one that wasn't Kate Winslet? She was terrific in that. (According to IMDB, it looks like she's been doing mostly TV work lately.) Good to see she's getting back up on the big screen.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Apr 02 2008 11:28 AM

I could care less for Soderbergh. Damon's not bad, and I like Bakula but I don't have much faith in this being any good.

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wiggins writes:
on Apr 02 2008 02:39 PM

the old talk soup host is john henson, not jim. and yes, mchale is a beast.

(Reply to this)