Writer/director Tom McCarthy has made two minor indie classics to date, the bittersweet character study “The Station Agent,” and the measured immigration drama “The Visitor.” However, for his next film, he’s doing a 180 from drama to “a light-hearted comedy” with “Win Win.” The film, drawn from the director’s own experiences, is “about how a rough-and-tumble runaway changes the lives of a suburban New Jersey family and turns around the luck of a high school wrestling team.”
The film is “loosely based on the friendship between him and former wrestling teammate Joe Tiboni” and the director is looking to cast an unknown in the lead role of Kyle “who has a kind nature, but also a simmering anger from having been in an unstable and abusive home.” While McCarthy has previously worked with a director’s dream of acting talent including Richard Jenkins, Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson, he was recently turned onto the idea of casting “real people” after filming the pilot of HBO’s “A Game Of Thrones” last fall.
McCarthy was recently in New Jersey scouting for Kyle along with friend Paul Giamatti, who we assume is going to have a role in this as well (we’re guessing as the team coach). If you’re a scrawny 14-year old, under 5’7″ and weighing less than 135 pounds click on the source link about where to get in touch with casting people. The seven week production is set to begin in early March and will shoot in New York and New Jersey.