Stephen Frears’ Untitled Lance Armstrong Project is no longer untitled. The film, a character study of the multiple Tour de France cheat, is now going by the name Icon. Don’t believe us? Look, it’s right there on this striking new teaser poster.
In the saddle is Ben Foster, bringing his craft and dedication to role of the former seven-times Tour winner. This is a man who ate dirt to get into character on Lone Survivor and no-one would be at all surprised if there'd been at least a little Lycra nibbling on this one.
Alongside Foster is Chris O’Dowd as sports writer David Walsh whose tenacity in the face of Armstrong's bullying helped reveal the truth of his drugs abuse. Jesse Plemons, of Breaking Bad fame, and Guillaume Canet also appear in the story penned by John ‘Trainspotting’ Hodge.
Frears, of course, is on a rich run of form. **Philomena **made a big impact with Academy members, scooping four Oscar nominations and making an entire planet wish Judi Dench was its auntie, and **Icon **looks to offer even more moral complexity. It will set out to dramatise what Alex Gibney’s documentary, The Armstrong Lie, had some difficulties capturing for real: the unknowable hero with pedals of clay. That tagline – ‘Champion. Hero. Legend. Liar’ – sells it quite nicely.