Paul Thomas Anderson Is Gearing Up To Shoot His Next Feature This Summer
It's hard to deny Paul Thomas Anderson's status in our modern filmmaking canon. When he makes a new movie, it always is big news in the entertainment industry, and if recent rumors are true, then he's about to let the cameras roll once more. That's because a mysterious new project attached to his name has appeared on a casting website, despite the project's existence never actually being confirmed.
The Film Stage reported that a casting notice for an "Untitled CK/PTA Studio Feature Film" was released onto the Actors Access database on November 18. CK likely refers to Cassandra Kulukundis, who has served as the casting director for seven of Anderson's films. Although the notice is not available to the general public, /Film was able to read it, and if it is to be believed, then it sheds a tiny sliver of light on what this new film could be about.
According to the notice, Anderson is looking to cast a mixed-race, specifically half-Black and half-white, teenage girl in either middle or high school for one of the film's lead roles. Most interestingly, however, is that the notice takes great lengths to specify that the character practices martial arts, as it says that experience in the practice is preferred.
Proceeding with caution
While the director is known for taking a little bit of time in-between films, Anderson has alluded to having previously written a movie based in 1940s Los Angeles, specifically the Little Harlem district, but scrapped it due to its depressing nature. Unfortunately, the video interview this was seemingly discussed in has been deleted.
Despite this roadblock, there have been a couple of other hints to a Little Harlem-set project that dates back to 2018. When speaking to Vulture that year, actress Tiffany Haddish said she had talked with Anderson about a project "about Los Angeles, back when Central Avenue was the Sunset Boulevard of L.A..." The website also had an interview with composer Jon Brion this year, where he mentioned that he talked with the director about "a future film."
However, it's important to understand that, by all accounts, a new Anderson film has not been confirmed to exist. The director has not confirmed whether he was looking to make a new movie, nor has a studio formally announced this significant addition to its upcoming slate. Typically, casting boards such as Actors Access can also be a bit unreliable, so the notice shouldn't be taken entirely at face value. That being said, it's still fun to speculate on whether great directors like him have something new coming up. Here's to hoping the existence of this film is confirmed sooner rather than later.