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Comedian-actor Paul Giamatti stars in Alexander Payne's upcoming comedy-drama, The Holdovers, which is set to hit theatres later this year on November 10 after a limited release on October 27.
Giamatti and Payne reunite nearly two decades after the premiere of their critically-acclaimed romance-comedy Sideways, which bagged an Academy Award in the Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) category. The filmmaker will be releasing new work six years after his previous film Downsizing released in 2017.
In The Holdovers, Giamatti headlines as the detested professor Paul Hunham at Barton Academy. The Oscar-nominated actor has previously starred in the highly recognized Cinderella Man and the Emmy-winning HBO drama, John Adams. His other well-known acting credits include Gunpowder Milkshake, Jungle Cruise and Showtime's hit series Billions, which is returning for season 7 this August.
Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne reunite after nearly 20 years for '70s-set dramedy The Holdovers
Focus Features revealed the trailer for Alexander Payne's upcoming comedy-drama, which stars Paul Giamatti in the leading role as bad-tempered professor Paul Hunham.
Giamatti's Paul teaches in a New England prep school and also babysits students who have nowhere to go during the two-week Christmas break, labelling them the holdovers.
The comedy-drama promises to take the audience back to the 1970s this October 27 with a limited release in the theatres of New York and Los Angeles before a nationwide premiere on November 10.
Payne and Giamatti will be reuniting after a good twenty years since the premiere of their Oscar-winning wine-tasting drama Sideways. This will mark the two-time Oscar-winner filmmaker's eighth feature. His other notable works are Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, The Descendants, Nebraska and Downsizing.
Also joining the cast of The Holdovers will be newcomers Dominic Sessa as Angus and Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Mary. Sessa will be making his acting debut with the dramedy while Randolph's acting credits include roles in The Idol, Only Murders in the Building, and The Lost City.
More about the plot of The Holdovers
Written by creator David Hemingson, The Holdovers narrates the '70s-set take of professor Paul Hunham (Giamatti), a grumpy instructor at a New England prep school who is compelled to stay on campus during the two-week-long Christmas break and babysit a handful of students who have nowhere to be.
During this short period, Paul establishes an unexpected bond with a troubled student named Angus (Sessa) and the academy's head cook Mary (Randolph), who recently lost her son in Vietnam.
In the trailer, Paul and Angus as seen getting into a hostile argument with the former asking:
"Do you think I want to be babysitting you? No, I was praying your mother would pick up the phone or your father would arrive in a helicopter or a flying saucer."
To this, a rather emotional and sad Angus, with his poker face, replies:
"My father’s dead."
Paul then forms a deep understanding of the happenings in Angus' life and is encouraged by Mary to treat the teen with more compassion and kindness.
The Holdovers premieres nationwide on November 10, 2023.
