After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, The Double has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures with an unspecified release date planned for 2014. The Double is based on an 1846 novella of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Both the novel and film tell the tale of a man who meets someone who looks exactly like him, but is the exact opposite in behavior and personality, and slowly drives him insane. Dostoyevsky is often praised for his depictions of human psychology.
The movie version of The Double is directed and co-written by Ricard Ayoade. Fans of British television may recognized Ayoade for his comedic roles as Moss on The IT Crowd (which aired on IFC in the US) and Dean Learner in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (which also aired in the US on Adultswim), while less international-minded film goers might remember him as Jamarcus in 2012’s The Watch. The Double is Ayoade’s third writing/directing project after the BBC Three television film AD/BC: A Rock Opera in 2004, and the theatrical film Submarine in 2010.
Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, The Social Network) stars in the The Double as both the protagonist and his titular doppelganger. Other cast members include Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre), Ayoade’s It Crowd co-star Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, This is 40), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, Never Let Me Go), and Paddy Considine (Blitz, The World’s End) – Hawkins and Considine previously worked with Ayoade on Submarine.
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