Hello!
Happy weekend, happy summer, and a most especially happy birthday to Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson, who celebrates his 51st today.
In celebration, and in light of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival quickly approaching (Untitled PTA Project notably but not surprisingly will not be in contention), here's the full Punch-Drunk Love press conference from 2002 featuring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanne Sellar, and the man himself. Enjoy!
Against improbable odds, we've learned that Paul Thomas Anderson has completed shooting his ninth feature film, Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson High School Project aka Soggy Bottom, and now heads into post-production.
All things considered, while this is indeed very exciting news, our overwhelming impulse is to simply breathe a huge sigh of relief that the production was able to finish out safely as the coronavirus continues to spike nationwide.
With glimmers of hope for a vaccine on the horizon, it now seems slightly more likely than it once did that the virus will not interfere dramatically with the film's rollout plan -- whether that means a summer, fall, or holiday release for 2021 is anybody's guess.
Talk soon and stay safe!
Good Sunday to you!
Per The Film Stage, filmmaker/actor Benny Safdie has joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's forthcoming high school film, currently in production under the moniker Soggy Bottom.
Newly surfaced set photos indicate the Uncut Gems-director Safdie will play real-life LA City Council member Joel Wachs in the film.
Not much is yet confirmed about how this role figures into the story; our eyes are peeled.
You can revisit PTA's Gems discussion with Benny and his brother Josh for the A24 podcast from last year here.
Production has quietly gotten underway on Paul Thomas Anderson's 9th feature film in Encino, California and Bradley Cooper is indeed one of the stars:
