Is Paul Giamatti Teaming With Tom McCarthy? Please, God, Yes

Beloved character actor, and recipient of one of the most shameful Oscar snubs of all time, Paul Giamatti is doing the publicity rounds for the Tolstoy movie “The Last Station,” and let slip some exciting news – he may be teaming with writer/director/expert-at-flying-away-from-anything-Roland-Emmerich-can-throw-at-him Tom McCarthy on the helmer’s next project “Win Win.”

Little is known about the project at present, other than a Production Weekly tweet last month, suggesting that the film would film in New York and New Jersey from late February. But McCarthy’s a hugely exciting talent – “The Station Agent” and “The Visitor” were some of the most original, distinctive independent films of the last decade, and we’re even excited about “Game of Thrones,” the HBO fantasy pilot he’s directing.

Teaming with Giamatti makes an enormous amount of sense as well. McCarthy’s strengths so far have been with taking character actors like Peter Dinklage and Richard Jenkins and giving them meaty leading roles, so we’re excited to see what the two can come up with together. It’s not certain yet – MTV were told by McCarthy’s rep that the “project being discussed, but this film is not sure. It would be very premature to say anything.” – but fingers crossed; Giamatti’s an actor who’s eminently watchable, even in rubbish like “Shoot ‘Em Up” or “Fred Claus,” but when the material fits, there’s few actors we like more.