Last time around, Toby Jones was playing second fiddle to Philip Seymour Hoffman when the latter's Truman Capote movie, "Capote," arrived before "Infamous." One went on to win an Oscar, the other didn't. This time around, Jones will get a leg up in his portrayal of another famous figure, Alfred Hitchcock, in "The Girl," beating Anthony Hopkins' turn in "Hitchcock," which won't arrive until next spring. And now we have our first taste.
HBO has dropped a limerick-driven teaser trailer for the movie, which promises a pretty compelling look at the making of one of Hitch's most well known works, which saw the drama spill offscreen as well. Directed by Julian Jarrold ("Becoming Jane," "Red Riding: 1974") and penned by Gwyneth Hughes ("Miss Austen Regrets," "Five Days"), the film focuses on Hitchcock's obsessive relationship with Tippi Hedren, who starred in "The Birds" and "Marnie." It looks like there will be a lot here for cinephiles to latch on to, in terms of dramatizations of the behind-the-scenes shooting on "The Birds," and a pretty interesting face off between Jones and Miller for everyone else.
Yep, we're intrigued. "The Girl" premieres on HBO on October 20th at 9 PM.
It seems that Toby Jones will only get a slight headstart before Hopkins' incarnation of Hitchcock will hit the screen. It was reported today that Fox Searchlight has set the release date to "Hitchcock" to Nov. 23, 2012, further adding to this year's Oscar contenders.
*sigh*
January Jones would have been an inspired choice.