Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna Pictures has come on to finance Alexander Payne‘s next film “Downsizing,” which has enlisted Alec Baldwin, Jason Sudeikis and Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris to join Matt Damon and Reese Witherspoon, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
The long-gestating dramedy takes place in a not-so-distant alternate future in which humans have perfected shrinking themselves as a means of saving resources — namely money.
Damon’s character will consider undergoing the process when he finds himself down on his luck, while Witherspoon will play the film’s female lead.
Payne wrote the script with his longtime collaborator Jim Taylor, and the duo will produce with Jim Burke and Ellison. Payne has been trying to make the film since 2009 and fortunately, Ellison has stepped up to the plate, though there’s no distributor in place just yet. Production will begin early next year with an eye towards a late 2017 release.
Baldwin currently stars opposite Julianne Moore in “Still Alice” and will soon be seen in “Mission: Impossible 5,” Will Smith’s untitled NFL concussion movie and Cameron Crowe’s Hawaii movie starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams.
Sudeikis recently starred in “Horrible Bosses 2” and will soon be seen in Relativity’s comedy “Masterminds,” while Harris just co-starred in “Gone Girl” and is preparing to host the Oscars.
The news was first reported by Deadline.