In a shrinking Hollywood, Payne aims big in 'Downsizing'
TORONTO (AP) — There are rituals to an Alexander Payne production. Movie nights on Wednesdays during pre-production at Payne's house, with pizza and soft drinks. Friday night screenings during post-production with martinis. And, reliably, an endless struggle to secure financing.
"Only one studio guy said what I needed him to say, which was: 'I know it doesn't make sense on paper. We're making it anyway,'" Payne says of his latest, "Downsizing." ''Those are the words on which my career has hung."
At a cost of $68 million, "Downsizing" is double the budget of any previous film by Payne.