Watching him as the star of Boardwalk Empire, it may be easy to forget that Steve Buscemi tends to pop up in Adam Sandler movies from time to time, the most recent of which would be Grown Ups 2. It appears the two funny men will be reuniting once again in Tom McCarthy’s upcoming film The Cobbler, in which Adam Sandler will star as a shoe repairman who integrates himself into the lives of the people whose shoes he fixes. Also joining the cast is Dustin Hoffman.
When we learned back in September that Sandler was in the process of signing on for The Cobbler, The Wrap was calling it an indie drama, noting that Sandler was ready to get serious again, however this week, when The Wrap shared news of Hoffman and Buscemi’s casting, they specifically describe the film as a character-driven comedy. So it seems there’s been an update there. While comedy does tend to be Sandler’s cup of tea, he’s dabbled in drama before, and given the more recent casting additions, which — in addition to Hoffman and Buscemi — include Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens, it would be just as easy to assume the film might be a drama by its cast. Of course, all the mentioned names have comedic experience too, including Stevens, who appeared in Amy Heckerling’s Vamps, and has a role lined up for the third Night at the Museum film.
It’s also entirely possible this indie film will fall somewhere between genres, as director Tom McCarthy’s credits include Win Win and The Station Agent.
Whether it’s a comedy or drama, The Cobbler is certainly lining up a top notch cast. Dustin Hoffman is already linked to Tom McCarthy through Little Fockers, in which McCarthy is credited for playing the role of Dr. Bob, and Hoffman played Bernie Focker. Best known for roles in The Graduate, Tootsie and Rain Man, among other films, Hoffman’s been keeping busy in recent years with voice-roles in the Kung Fu Panda movies, and up until last year, a starring role in HBO’s horse racing drama Luck.
Buscemi’s had better luck at HBO -- likely due, at least in part, to far fewer horse injuries than Luck -- with the more successful drama Boardwalk Empire, in which he stars as Nucky Thompson. The series is about to wrap up its fourth season this Sunday.
The Wrap doesn’t have any details on either Hoffman’s or Buscemi’s roles, other than to note that Buscemi’s character’s name is Manny. As mentioned, Buscemi’s no stranger to films starring Adam Sandler, having played small roles in various Happy Madison films — The Cobbler is being produced by Voltage Pictures — including Big Daddy and The Wedding Singer…
The Wrap notes that The Cobbler is a rare move to indie films for Adam Sandler. The film has already begun production and is currently shooting in New York City.
