‘Foxcatcher’ Trailer: Steve Carell’s Shocking Transformation Is All the Rage at Cannes
The first 'Foxcatcher' trailer has hit the web, showcasing Steve Carell's shocking transformation into John du Pont, the man who tragically killed Olympic wrestling champion David Schultz.
Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo star opposite Carell as Mark and David Schultz, two sibling athletes who formed a relationship with du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic and the heir to the du Pont Chemical fortune. Those athletes who were under his sponsorship and often trained at the athletic center on his estate in Newton Square, PA, were known as Team Foxcatcher. In 1997, the real-life du Pont was found guilty, though mentally ill of killing David, after his behavior became increasingly more erratic. He died serving his sentence on December 9, 2010.
'Foxcatcher,' which premiered today (May 19) at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, seems like it could grab its director, Bennett Miller ('Moneyball,' 'Capote'), another Oscar nomination, given Carell's transformation and already buzzing performance. As Miller said, "John du Pont was a character who nobody thought was capable of doing something as horrible as he did. And I did not want to cast somebody who would feel dangerous in that way."
The film also stars Sienna Miller, and opens in select theaters on November 11, 2014. Here's more info from the official synopsis:
FOXCATCHER tells the story of Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Tatum), who sees a way out from the shadow of his more celebrated wrestling brother Dave (Ruffalo) and a life of poverty when he is summoned by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont (Carell) to move onto his estate and train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Desperate to gain the respect of his disapproving mother, du Pont begins “coaching” a world-class athletic team and, in the process, lures Mark into dangerous habits, breaks his confidence and drives him into a self-destructive spiral. Based on actual events, FOXCATCHER is a gripping and profoundly American story of fragile men who pinned their hopes for love and redemption on a desperate obsession for greatness that was to end in tragedy.