The race to make the first film adaptation of the story of Lance Armstrong‘s drug enhanced success, and subsequent downfall, has in itself become like the Tour de France that Armstong fraudulently won so many times. It looks like the drug enhancement-free Stephen Frears is winning the race at the moment, as he has assembled a quality cast and his effort will presumably see release some time next year.
“Quality cast?” I hear you ask, “Who is this quality cast?”
Well, Chris O’Dowd – long a star in the UK after finding fame as Roy in The IT Crowd, and now hot property in Hollywood after a star turn in Bridesmaids, a recurring role in Girls, and a leading role in Family Tree (both on HBO) – has joined the cast, along with Guillame Canet (appeared in The Beach, wrote and directed Tell No-One) and Jesse Plemons (the psychotic Todd, in Breaking Bad).
Stephen Frears cast Ben Foster was a while back as Armstrong, and the script was written by frequent Danny Boyle collaborator John Hodge (who wrote Boyle’s Trance, The Beach, and Trainspotting). It’s based on David Walsh’s book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit Of Lance Armstrong, which profiles Walsh (played by Chris O’Dowd) and his pursuit of the truth behind Lance Armstrong’s success.
At the time, David Walsh was an investigative reporter working for The Sunday Times (London) when he began putting together evidence as early as 1999, and was vindicated with the release of the damning US Anti-Doping Agency’s report in 2012 which set off the chain of events for Armstrong’s downfall. It’s an incredible story.
Stephen Frears’ film is as of yet untitled, and is expected to be released in 2014. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
