Briefly: Paul Thomas Anderson‘s new film, the currently untitled religious drama formerly called The Master, is really picking up steam. The Weinstein Company picked up distribution rights to the project that is being financed by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, and the casting process is in full swing.

The latest addition is Rami Malek (Breaking Dawn, The Pacific), who will play the son in law of Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s character. He joins a cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix as “an alcoholic drifter who becomes right-hand man and disciple” to Philip Seymour Hoffman. Amy Adams plays the wife of Hoffman’s character, and Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons and David Warshofsky are in the cast, too. The film will start to shoot later this month. [Variety]

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Paul Thomas Anderson is soon to shoot his untitled religious drama formerly called The Master, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix starring and Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons and David Warshofsky supporting. The last two were just announced yesterday, and today we’ve got one more name for the film. That would be Lena Endre, likely famous to audiences in the US as the actress who played Erika Berger in the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Update: Amy Adams has now officially signed on as well, playing the wife of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character. Original article follows. Read More »

The wounds of previously losing a new Paul Thomas Anderson film run deep, so the more news that breaks on that film now that it’s happening, the better. We’re finally going to see another film from the man behind Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood and the currently untitled project, formerly called The Master, has just added two names to its already impressive cast. Jesse Plemons, who became one of the best parts of NBC’s Friday Night Lights in its final seasons, has been cast as the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s character while David Warshofsky, who worked with Anderson on There Will Be Blood, will play a detective. Also in the movie are Joaquin Phoenix and Laura Dern. Read more after the break. Read More »

Paul Thomas Anderson‘s new movie is actually happening. This we confirmed earlier this month when The Weinstein Company picked up worldwide rights to the project, formerly called The Master, which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in a currently untitled movie about “a man who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls.” As the man behind Boogie Nights and Magnolia gets ready to start shooting next month, a very sparse teaser image has appeared across the Atlantic at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s not much but, if you’re a PTA fan, then this image just enhances the reality that this movie is finally coming to fruition. Read More »

Paul Thomas Anderson is truly getting back to work. We’ve known that he is prepping two scripts, one based on the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice, and the other a slight reworking of PTA’s own original ‘religious drama’ that has been said to be influenced by Scientology and once went by the title The Master.

Now we know that The Master is definitely going to be his next film. (Though ‘The Master’ is almost certainly not the final title, I’m going to use that to refer to the film here.) Harvey Weinstein has purchased worldwide rights to the film, which is already financed by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Productions. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix are confirmed for the two key roles, and the film will shoot starting June 13. Celebrate after the break. Read More »

Paul Thomas Anderson‘s latest film, referenced as The Master, but called just Untitled Religious Drama for now, has had an arduous path through development. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been attached for some time to the role of the founder of a Scientology-like religion. Jeremy Renner was attached for some time to play his disciple, but financing fell through and the script was taking some extra work, and Jeremy Renner moved on to Mission: Impossible, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and The Avengers.

Now Joaquin Phoenix, who hasn’t taken a role since his semi-retirement and the subsequent ‘documentary’ I’m Still Here, is in talks to play the key second role. Read More »

George Clooney is directing his fourth film, The Ides of March, right now. It’s a political satire based on Beau Williamson‘s play Farragut North, which in turn was based on Beau Williamson’s time working with the Howard Dean primary campaign in 2004. Clooney has a supporting role as a presidential candidate whose young, idealistic press secretary (Ryan Gosling) “succumbs to the evils and backhanded nature of the political machine.”

We’ve seen some set photos from the project, but this new image shows off some of the satirical bent of the film, as we see George Clooneys’ character front and center on a very Shepard Fairy-style poster that promises ‘more.’ Read More »

This article could have an alternate title: Megan Ellison, movie savior. Allow me to explain. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, has two children with movie business aspirations. David Ellison appeared in Flyboys, was trying to get that Taylor Lautner movie Northern Lights made, and he put up some of the money for Paramount films like True Grit and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. His 25-year old sister Megan is following in his footsteps, and is also listed as an exec producer on True Grit. She’s one of the people who put up money for John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World, thereby bringing that film back from limbo. And now it looks as if she is ready to co-finance not one Paul Thomas Anderson project, but two: the film referred to as The Master and the Thomas Pynchon adaptation Inherent Vice. Read More »

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