Paramount Pictures just released a new two-minute trailer for Downsizing, written by Alexander Payne (Election, The Descendants) and his frequent collaborator, Jim Taylor. Alexander Payne also directed and produced the dramedy, with Mark Johnson and Jim Taylor also producing. Megan Ellison, Jim Burke, and Diana Pokorny served as executive producers.
Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis, Hong Chau and Kristen Wiig lead the cast of what is likely to be one of Paramount Pictures’ awards season contenders. The ensemble cast also features Neil Patrick Harris, Niecy Nash, Laura Dern, Margo Martindale, Kerri Kenney, Maribeth Monroe, Mary Kay Place, and James Van Der Beek.
Early reviews are mixed, with Downsizing currently sitting at 65% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Tasha Robinson from The Verge says, “There’s so much to love about Downsizing, in its self-aware dialogue, its consciously corny gags, its sense of creativity and adventure, and its vivid creation of an entire new world.” Vanity Fair’s Guy Lodge wasn’t as impressed, writing, “Goes soft and strangely condescending on us, coming within perilous distance of white-savior tradition as Damon becomes the change he’d like to see in the new world.”
Paramount Pictures is planning a prime awards season wide release of Alexander Payne’s latest film. Downsizing is set to open in theaters on December 22, 2017.
The Plot: Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution to over-population, Norwegian scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global transition from big to small. People soon realize how much further money goes in a miniaturized world, and with the promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha in order to get small and move to a new downsized community — a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.
