Alexander Payne Visits "Nebraska"

Based on his past work, Alexander Payne and the road movie genre is usually a pretty damn good mix. The past two feature films he has directed, 2002's "About Schmidt" and 2004's "Sideways" were both road trip films and the latter might be considered his best work.

With his next film, "The Descendants" starring George Clooney, in post-production Payne has set his sights on another road project that he has held onto for quite a few years, the simply titled "Nebraska."

According to The Playlist the story is about an aging alcoholic father who thinks he’s won a million dollar Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes prize.

While his family thinks he's crazy for wanting to take the long trip from Montana to Nebraska to claim his alleged winnings, they can't dissuade him. Along for the ride is the man's estranged twentyish year old soon, who was forced to come along to keep him out of trouble, alowing the two to bond after years of separation.

According to the site Payne has had the script around since 2004 and had really taken a liking to it, but after back-to-back road films ("Sideways" and "About Schmidt") he wanted to step away from that for a bit. Clearly he thinks enough time has passed because Payne is now working on rewriting Robert Nelson's original script along with Phil Johnston ("Cedar Rapids").

While Payne has never been the type of filmmaker to churn out projects year after year his work is always top notch. "Election" is one of the best and underrated films of the past twenty years and I thought "Sideways" was just pure genius. This type of story seems perfect for a filmmaker like Payne, who seems to know exactly how to portray realistic middle-aged male emotions.

In a sense Payne is like Judd Apatow, but instead of showing a realistic portrayal what it's like to be a late-twenty something slacker who looks like Seth Rogen, it's more like a fifty something guy that looks like Paul Giamatti.

Currently there are no actors attached to the film but the site mentions Casey Affleck and Robert Forster as two "very" early candidates. Payne aims to kick off shooting on "Nebraska" later this year while "The Decendants" should be released later this fall or winter.

Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup Join "The Convincer"

Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Billy Crudup are teaming for the indie crime drama "The Convincer," reports Variety.

According to Variety: Tony Award-winners Alan Arkin and Billy Crudup, along with Greg Kinnear, will star in the crime drama movie, “The Convincer.”

The story follows a desperate insurance salesman whose scheme to get a hold of a rare violin leads to unforeseen consequences.

Jill Sprecher will direct the film, which uses a screenplay she's co-written with Karen Sprecher. Mary Frances Budig, Elizabeth Redleaf and Christine Walker are producing.

Jill Sprecher's helming credits include "Clockwatchers" and "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing," which were both co-written by Karen Sprecher. Walker and Redleaf produced "Howl," which stars James Franco and was the opening film this year at Sundance.

All three actors are excellent and the plot sounds as if it will give them room to show off their skills. Arkin has played a salesman before, most famously in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” so he should slide into his role very easily. Kinnear always is excellent, while Crudup is a very underrated actor--he was great in “Without Limits” and he was easily the best thing in “Watchmen”.

Shooting starts off February 8, 2010 in the Minneapolis area.