In The Descendants, director Alexander Payne (creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways) follows the unpredictable journey of an American family at a crossroads. Set in picturesque Hawaii, Matt King (George Clooney), husband and father of two girls, is forced to re-examine his life when his wife is incapacitated in a boating accident. While attempting to repair his relationship with his 17-year old daughter Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller), he learns things about his wife and his family that he was never even aware of, but that send him down the path toward rebuilding his life.

At the film’s press day, Alexander Payne talked about wanting to bring such a human story to life, how happy he was to get to work with George Clooney on this film after deciding that he wasn’t right for Sideways, what led him to cast Shailene Woodley, and what draws him to atypical love stories. He also talked about having his next two projects lined up – a film about a father-son road trip from Montana to Nebraska, tentatively called Nebraska (scheduled to shoot in May 2012) and an adaptation of a Daniel Clowes graphic novel, called Wilson (scheduled to shoot in late 2012 or early 2013). Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Writer-director Alexander Payne has a likely Oscar-contender on his hands with The Descendants, his first movie since 2004′s Sideways.  We shouldn’t expect another seven-year absence from Payne since he’s gearing up for an April start date on his next movie, Nebraska. The film will shoot in black-and-white and is searching for a respected veteran actor to play the lead role of an aging alcoholic father.

Empire reports that Payne is already planning his follow-up to Nebraska by adapting Daniel Clowes‘ graphic novel, Wilson.  We reported last year that Fox Searchlight had acquired the book as a directing vehicle for Payne.  The movie follows “a middle-aged misanthrope who’s left floundering after the death of his father and tries to reconnect with his ex-wife and the teenager daughter he’s never known.”  Clowes (Ghost World) wrote the screenplay and the movie will be set in Oakland, California.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of Wilson.  I haven’t read the book yet, but I’m interested to see anything Payne does.  The Descendants opens in limited release on November 16th.

Fox Searchlight is developing an adaptation of Wilson, a comic book from Daniel Clowes (Ghost World). The titular character is “an opinionated middle-aged loner who loves his dog and quite possibly no one else.”

the project is conceived as a potential directing vehicle for Alexander Payne (Sideways). Payne’s next film, The Descendants stars George; it’s scheduled for release sometime in 2011.

More, including a synopsis of the comic, after the jump.