Sideways star Paul Giamatti collaborates with Alexander Payne once more, playing a new kind of curmudgeon
The Holdovers is a Christmas comedy-drama film produced by Miramax and Gran Via for Focus Features. The film is directed by Academy Award-winner Alexander Payne, who is known for his films Sideways, Nebraska, and Downsizing. The screenplay is written by David Hemingson, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay for the film. Danish cinematographer Eigil Bryld, who is known for his work on House of Cards, In Bruges, and Becoming Jane, stands behind the camera.
The Holdovers stars beloved American actor Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, a disagreeable classics teacher with an unfortunate condition that makes him smell like fish. Giamatti previously starred in director Alexander Payne’s 2004 film Sideways. He is joined by newcomer Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully, a student left to stay at Barton over the Christmas break. Da'Vine Joy Randolph joins as Mary Lamb, the head cook at Barton who is dealing with her own recent bereavement. Other cast members include Carrie Preston, Jim Kaplan, Andrew Garman, Gillian Vigman, and Darby Lily Lee-Stack, among others.