Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since Alexander Payne last directed a movie, but it’s true… Sideways was released back in 2004. Since then he directed a segment for Paris, je t’aime and also directed the pilot episode for HBO’s Hung (which he is also executive producing). Oh, and then there’s that unfortunate little screenplay credit for I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, but we’ll just keep that between us.

There have been a couple of other projects on his plate as well, most notably Downsizing, a comedy starring Paul Giamatti and Reese Witherspoon “as a married couple who opt to retire as ‘little people’.” I’ve been curious to see this one develop, especially since Sacha Baron Cohen is also co-starring, but now it appears that Payne may be pushing that aside for an adaptation of the book The Descendants instead. Written by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the story is described as a “family dramedy” about a rich land owner who finds out that his wife, who is in an irreversible coma, was cheating on him. Has anyone out there read it? Are you looking forward to a new Alexander Payne movie, or is he in danger of becoming redundant what with all the other indie dramedies out there nowadays?