First Trailer Released For Lance Armstrong Biopic ‘The Program’

Over the last few years, there have been several Lance Armstrong biopics in the works. Even before his eventual fall from grace, his story was worth telling: the downfall just made it more enticing. Here is the first trailer for The Program.

Lance Armstrong Biopic The Program

From Stephen Frears, the director that brought the world The Queen, Philomena and High Fidelity, The Program looks to add Hollywood insight to the controversial Lance Armstrong story.

With a humongous cast — Ben Foster as the disgraced hero, Chris O’Dowd as journalist David Walsh, Jesse Plemons as whistleblower Floyd Landis, Lee Pace as Armstrong’s agent Bill Stapleton and Dustin Hoffman — this seems like a flick that will both engage audiences and garner some award season attention.

As for the actual subject matter, the Armstrong lie is extremely interesting: especially when you hear all he did to keep his cheating a secret. At the same time, he raised over $500 million for cancer research through the Live Strong brand. On one hand, he looks like a sociopath, but on the other he is a saint: so it is not all black and white when it comes to the disgraced cyclist, as his actions lie very much in the grey.

Needless to say, it will be interesting to see a more humane approach to the material, as Ben Foster’s character looks more like the anti-hero archetype than straight villain. The Program does not have a current U.S. release date, but will premiere in France on September 23.