The rise and subsequent decline and fall of Lance Armstrong always had a cinematic quality. An American archetype of Shane-like proportions, he was a cancer survivor, champion cyclist, Dodgeball cameo-er and, at a push, could even pull off yellow. Then it all went up in a puff of smoke. Stephen Frears' new movie The Program will explore all of those elements (apart from maybe the Dodgeball bit), with Ben Foster playing this compelling figure. And here is the actor as centrepiece of the film's newest promo.
Adapted from sports journalist David Walsh’s book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit Of Lance Armstrong, the film will follow the cyclist’s meteoric rise, battles with cancer and equally fast fall once it was proved that he had been using performance-enhancing drugs during his successful years.
Frears has Chris O’Dowd playing Walsh, with Ben Foster as Armstrong. From the looks of the trailer, it’s a dramatic retelling of Armstrong’s Tour de France years and then what happened when the truth came out. The rabbit hole proved to be far deeper than anyone suspected.
With Lee Pace, Jesse Plemons, Guillaume Canet, Dustin Hoffman and Bryan Greenberg also in the cast, The Program is set to hit the UK on October 16.