Chris O’Dowd has been cast in Stephen Frears’ film about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong - with the ‘Moone Boy’ star set to take on the role of journalist David Walsh on whose book the screenplay is based.
The Working Title production will feature actor Ben Foster (‘Ain't Them Bodies Saints’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’) as Armstrong, with other cast members including Guillaume Canet (‘Tell No One’) and Jesse Plemons (‘Todd in ‘Breaking Bad’).
The film will follow Armstrong’s career through the 1990s and early 2000s as he becomes seven-time Tour de France champion, while battling cancer, before the extent to which he was abusing performance enhancing drugs was exposed.
The screenplay is by John Hodge (‘Trance’, ‘Trainspotting’), based on Walsh’s ‘Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit Of Lance Armstrong’.
Producers on the film are Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title; Tracey Seaward (‘Philomena’) and Kate Solomon (‘United 93’, ‘Green Zone’); with Liza Chasin and Amelia Granger executive-producing.
A rival Lance Armstrong film - ‘Red Blooded American’ - is also in production with Warner Bros, with Bradley Cooper attached to star and Jay Roach to direct.
The Stephen Frears-helmed one will be funded and distributed by Studiocanal and is aiming to start production on 18th October.
Stephen Frears’ latest film ‘Philomena’, which was partly filmed in Belfast and stars Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, is already attracting early Oscar buzz following critical acclaim at the Venice Film Festival.
As IFTN previously reported, Steve Coogan will discuss his role in ‘Philomena’ in the Merrion Hotel this Friday 18th October at a special IFTA lunchtime event.
