Giamatti’s Babylon

In the pantheon of cinematic odd couples, there are some real doozies. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in TWINS, Tom Hanks and a volleyball in CASTAWAY and perhaps the most twisted of them all, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in MR. AND MRS. SMITH. Yikes.

Well move over guys, y’all are getting a new neighbour. Paul Giamatti has just been cast to star alongside Anthony Mackie in the indie film BABYLON, which starts shooting this February in Jamaica. Mackie will play a Rasta from the isolated hills of Jamaica and Giamatti will play a British minister, both of whom accompany a 12-year-old Jamaican boy from the Kingston ghetto as they try to outrun gangsters. Like I said–odd pairing. Ian Stone wrote the script, and Andres Baiz (SATANAS) will direct. Not exactly a high profile production here, but the daring choice of casting as well as what seems to be a very human story should bode well for a film that I think has some serious potentioal.