Cinema Science

Two actors I never thought would appear in a Steven Soderbergh film have just been cast in his next movie. Joel McHale, host of E!'s The Soup, and Scott Bakula have joined Matt Damon in Soderbergh's darkly comic thriller The Informant. The story, based on New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald's 2000 best-selling book The Informant: A True Story, is about a corporate giant brought to justice by one of its employees. Damon plays Mark Whitacre, who worked for agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, and who leaked details of a price-fixing scam that ultimately resulted in a $100 million fine for the company. Bakula and McHale will play FBI agents working with Whitacre to stop the scam. Although the subject matter is serious, Soderbergh is expected to give it a darkly comedic spin. As such, in addition to McHale, the director has tapped several other actors with comedic roles on their resume, including Mike O'Malley (CBS' Yes, Dear), Andrew Daly (Semi-Pro), Adam Paul (Starz's Hollywood Residential), and Melanie Lynskey (CBS' Two and a Half Men).