Matt Damon Tattletales in 'The Informant!'

The highest ranking corporate whistleblower. Ever.

Lying is a part of life. Some people are good at it, some are bad, and some people do it as a way of life. In Matt Damon's new movie, The Informant!, he plays a pathological liar that blows the whistle on a massive corporate money scandal.

Damon plays Mark Whitacre, a real-life executive who exposed a giant price-fixing scandal all while running his own shady extortion business behind the scenes. The film follows Whitacre as he tries to balance his work, his lies and his role as an FBI informant.

Lying serves as the dark comedy's main theme said director Steven Soderbergh, who has helmed other projects like Erin Brockovich and two movies about Che Guevara. "I think lying is very important and necessary. It does take a lot of energy. It is one of the ways I stay thin," Soderbergh told reporters.

But Matt Damon ended up doing just the opposite. To prepare for his new role as a high-powered executive, he had to gain an extra 30 pounds.

"It was very, very easy to gain the weight. Very, very fun," he said. "I just basically ate everything I could see for a few months."

The informant! premieres today at the Venice Film Festival and then opens nation-wide here in the States next week.

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