This collaboration marks a long-anticipated reunion for Giamatti and Roth. The two initially crossed paths during the filming of their respective projects, Hostel and The Illusionist, in Prague. Paul Giamatti revealed in a 2013 interview with EW that there were talks of him making a cameo in the first Hostel film, though it ultimately didn’t happen.
While preparing to work with Paul Giamatti in Hostel, Roth, known for his directorial debut with Cabin Fever in 2002 and other horror features like Knock Knock, was also busy with other projects. Recently, he wrote, directed, and produced the slasher film Thanksgiving, which earned $31.9 million domestically and has a sequel in the works.
His upcoming film Borderlands is slated for a summer release.
