‘The Master' Wraps, Probably Isn't About Scientology Still

One of the single, most common things in sports is having the general manager come out publicly and start insisting that whatever rumor about this player or that manager is dominating the press is 100% not happening or untrue. And then a week or two later, whatever was reported usually happens.

At a wrap-party for Ides Of March, one of the writers from Hollywood Elsewhere caught up with Philip Seymour Hoffman (allegedly known as "Philly" in that group) and he asked him directly about some of the endless Master/Scientology reports. Their conversation:

PSH: "It's not a scientology film."

HE: "But I've read an early draft and it seems to be about a Scientology-like cult...and I've read about the parallels."

PSH: "I don't know what you've heard and what script you've read...Trust me, it's not about Scientology."

So there you have it officially from The Master's mouth. It is, or is not, about Scientology. Sleep well until around December when we'll actually have the answer and perhaps the first teaser trailer.

Exclusive: PT Anderson Shooting on 65mm, Without Elswit?

It seems as though one of the two projects we keep hearing rumblings about is getting substantially closer to coming to life. A photo, we unfortunately cannot publish, was sent to us showing PTA shooting tests and operating a 65mm camera used by Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey on the backlot of a place we also cannot mention. Fear not, I have re-created the photo here to whet your appetite:

The e-mailer suggests that perhaps Paul was inspired by Nolan/Pfister's usage of the format on The Dark Knight & Inception. It's worth noting, though, that Nolan shot 65mm in a square, IMAX format whereas Kubrick kept the format at 2:35.1 to contain as much detail as possible for the optical effects. (thanks JZ) The last line of the e-mail also gloomily claims that whichever film Paul is shooting camera/format tests for will not be shot by Robert Elswit. More as it comes...

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

‘Inherent Vice' Might Shoot This Fall

According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Downey Jr. is "making plans" to film "Inherent Vice" this fall with PTA. It was reported in December that Downey was being thought of for the lead in the film but his busy schedule made his involvement a big question mark. But as we/everyone speculated recently when he bailed from "Oz The Great And Powerful," he now has room in his schedule for 'Vice.' THR says that Downey's commitment to the film has "recently grown serious" so it looks like a creative relationship might be blossoming for the two. Neither Paul nor Downey have spoken officially about the project, so as usual we will keep you updated as news comes in. For now, you can check out a trailer for the book below:

New PTA Project With Robert Downey Jr, Maybe

Yesterday an explosion of rumors hit the web about the next project from Paul being an adaption of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel "Inherent Vice" with Robert Downey Jr. being courted for the lead role.
Downey would be playing a pothead private eye from Los Angeles set in the late 60s in a novel that Wikipedia has summarized as:

Inherent Vice has been well-received among critics, particularly for its mainstream appeal. In a generally favorable review, the New York Times' Michiko Kakutani called it "Pynchon Lite", describing it as "a simple shaggy-dog detective story that pits likable dopers against the Los Angeles Police Department and its “countersubversive” agents, a novel in which paranoia is less a political or metaphysical state than a byproduct of smoking too much weed." 

A review by academic Louis Menand in The New Yorker declared the novel to be "a generally lighthearted affair", while adding that there were still "a few familiar apocalyptic touches, and a suggestion that countercultural California is a lost continent of freedom and play, swallowed up by the faceless forces of coöptation and repression." 

In a scathing review in New York magazine, Sam Anderson wrote that "with no suspense and nothing at stake, Pynchon’s manic energy just feels like aimless invention.

As reported, Downey is tied up for the next year but given the implied status of all aspects that will more than likely not slow anything down to severely. More news if/when it surfaces.

Note: After months of making terrible/awkward designs and layouts for the portfolio/media section of the site, the answer has finally revealed itself while trying to tackle similar issues for my own page that have plagued me for ages.

The site will feature a minimal amount of pages/clicking with all information for each project on one page in an easy to find format. A few of you have offered to help out along the last 6-8 months while the site, admittedly, was treated like a middle child so if you were one of those people, feel free to re-message me as I may have a little light-lifting for 1 or 2 of you.

The Master: Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, Deborah Ann Woll

The latest rumors regarding The Master are that Emma Stone (banner photo competition winner) Amanda Seyfried and Deborah Ann Woll have been offered roles in the film. And yes, it is taken from The Playlist:

More details on the potential cast for Paul Thomas Anderson's forthcoming untitled Scientology drama are surfacing as it gears up for a shoot this summer. Last week we reported that Reese Witherspoon had been offered the role of the Master's wife Mary-Sue, who acts as his caretaker and vigilant lieutenant. This week, the print edition of Production Weekly reveals that Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone and Deborah Ann Woll are all being considered for the role of Elizabeth, The Master and Mary-Sue's daughter.

We reviewed the script for the film that was floating around earlier this year and while the role of the daughter is a small one (though that could've changed), it also does have some pretty salacious bits (that we won't spoil here) which will be an eye opener for any fans of the actress who lands the role.

So who will land it? It's hard to say. Seyfried seems like least likely candidate only because she is set to shoot Catherine Hardwicke's "Girl With The Riding Hood" this summer and depending on when Anderson's film goes in front of cameras, scheduling alone could take her out of the running. Emma Stone has been looking to break out of comedic roles, most recently adding the period based, racial drama "The Help" to her upcoming slate. She would be an interesting fit for the role and it would definitely add something very different to her resumé. Finally, there's Deborah Ann Woll, best known for her role as Jessica on "True Blood." She doesn't have much feature film experience (well, she has roles in three films that are awaiting release) but she's capable, and from a purely financial aspect, probably the most budget friendly to join the $35 million dollar picture.

All this said, while the actresses are said to be "choices" for the role its unclear at this time if any offers have been made. Our guess would be they've all read or tested in some capacity but obviously, decisions are still pending. For now, the only confirmed cast members remain Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of The Master and Jeremy Renner as Freddie Sutton, his troubled protegé. Frankly, those two could could go on screen and re-enact "Baby Geniuses" and we'd watch it, so whoever Anderson gets to surround them is icing on the cake. 

Mary-Sue played by Reese Witherspoon

Bam. The Playlist has another interesting rumor regarding The Master now saying an offer has been made to Reese Witherspoon to play Phil Hoffman's wife. Blockquotes:

Things have been pretty quiet on the Paul Thomas Anderson front and his new untitled religion picture, affectionately known as "The Master" by fans.

 

Loosely -- or not so loosely -- based on the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (read our review of a very early draft of the script), we know that Philip Seymour Hoffman will play the messianic lead, Jeremy Renner will play Freddie Sutton, the drifter character that becomes The Master's right hand man, and we know that Universal passed on the project and River Road is footing the bill (the company that produced Terrence Malick's "Tree Of Life" and Doug Liman's "Fair Game"; Honcho Bill Pohlad is also an investor in distributor Apparition, so don't be surprised if the film ends up there).



Now comes a few more details from the latest issue of Production Weekly. According to their intel, Reese Witherspoon has been offered a role in the picture and the production is eyeing a June start date. 

Producing is John Lesher, Pohlad and Jo Anne Sellar.

 June is next week if it actually starts on the first. Could the production really be this ready to go and no one's really reported that yet? 

Zero further details are given, but we would assume that if Witherspoon takes a role, it's that of the Master's daughter wife Mary-Sue, who acts as his caretakers and vigilant lieutenant. 

Witherspoon is also attached to McG's "This Means War," which is supposed to start shooting in July, so that could be a potential conflict if she even agrees to the role (she's also currently shooting "Water For Elephants"). However, all of the daughters' roles in the draft that floated around earlier this year were pretty tiny. 

Sure, it was an early script and things must have certainly changed, but we can't imagine it's been completely deconstructed.

There is one small role of a prostitute who also hooks up with Renner's character, but that role, while reoccurring throughout, does feel pretty small too. 

Witherspoon can be pretty commanding when she needs to be -- her company is called Type A productions after all -- and some have joked she's not that far removed from the Tracy Flick character she portrayed in "Election," so we think she would be pretty good for the key daughter who oversees her father's business and best interests.

 

But again, it is just an offer. She could easily turn it down, there were some salacious bits with the daughter in that early draft, we'll just have to wait and see and hope this report uncovers more info.

River Road Entertainment to finance The Master

Mike Fleming has posted an exclusive report regarding the current state and speculations surrounding The Master. We have copied/pasted it here for your convenience:

EXCLUSIVE: After the disappointing box office returns on Paul Greengrass’s thoughtful but vastly expensive action polemic Green Zone, what’s gonna happen with a new Paul Thomas Anderson drama that won’t get made by Universal because of its $35 million budget? I’m hearing talks are serious for Bill Pohlad’s River Road to fully finance a film that will star Philip Seymour Hoffman as a charismatic intellectual who in the 1950s becomes the leader of a start-up religion that takes off like wildfire. The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner is circling the role of a young drifter who becomes his right hand man but begins to question his mentor and the whole belief thing. The presence of Oscar winner Hoffman and Oscar nominee Renner gives PTA another Oscar-bait movie, and a topical one, as the storyline questions long established religions as well as comparative upstarts like Scientology and Mormonism. But the $35 million price tag was blasphemy to some indie distributors who considered the package.

Jeremy Renner- I’m also hearing that PTA’s longtime agent and former Paramount honcho John Lesher is likely to join as producer alongside Anderson’s longtime collaborator, Jo Anne Sellar. River Road seems a strong fit, given Pohlad's affection for auteur fare. He made possible the Terrence Malick-directed The Tree of Life with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, as well as the Warner Bros castoff Fair Game, the Doug Liman-directed drama about outed CIA op Valerie Plame which stars Penn and Noami Watts. Pohlad is principal investor and partner with Bob Berney in the distribution shingle Apparition. It's unclear if Berney will get the PTA film, though it seems right in the distributor's wheelhouse. Apparition next distributes The Runaways for Pohlad.

Freddie played by Jeremy Renner

The Playlist is reporting now that Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner is set to play Freddie in The Master. Here is their latest post which will more than likely contain slight/major spoilers:

File this under rumor if you like, but the buzz and noise about this has become too deafening to ignore.

It all started in the comments section of our script review of Paul Thomas Anderson's gestating and untitled Scientology project, though called the "The Master" in some circles for shorthand. We posited that Paul Dano might be a good fit for the Freddie, a young, naive, misguided and semi-alcoholic youth in his '20s who slowly becomes mentored by The Master (Philip Seymour Hoffman has this role according to Variety). Some readers took that to believe we had some sort of inside information there, and things began to snowball.

In the comments section an Anon says "when was Paul Dano confirmed to be in this??" which is followed up by another Anon post, "I don't think he was/is. Everything I've heard is that an offer is out to Jeremy Renner." We normally wouldn't pay attention to this, but right around the same, Jeremy Renner revealed to the NY Times, that he had taken five meetings already on a "secret project" he was unable to talk about. We took pause at that, but Movieline and Cinematical definitely started to speculate, pointed to our comments section and lo, and behold the rumor began taking some real shape.

It's been two weeks now, and the rumors have quietly, but substantially persisting. An Anon poster on IMDB says what we too have heard: that Renner has met with Paul Thomas Anderson several times, but that Anderson is not convinced that Renner is right for the role. Age is the factor here as Freddie is supposed to be in his '20s, and Renner is 39. And yes, they note our comments section could have just spiraled this out of control, but we've heard this from a number of different sources and are frankly surprised someone like Deadline hasn't caught wind of it yet. Furthermore, a source in L.A. confirms to us that Renner has met with Anderson, but cannot say more.

It could all add up to nothing, but our gut tells us this is something that we shouldn't not ignore. We're also betting if he doesn't get the role — in our minds, as much as we love him, he probably shouldn't, he is too old for it— it will at least come out after the fact that he was in the running.

But as the script that has circulated for "The Master" is still a very early draft, some may wonder if Anderson might rework the role, aging the character slightly to match the 39 year-old Renner. We think that it's a slight possibility, but pretty much doubt it will happen. Freddie is a lost soul on the run, who needs a bit of guidance which makes it far easier for him to come under The Master's spell. And while a cult figure like The Master can weave his spell on anyone, of any age, that has fallen on hard times, in a film, it's probably a much easier and more dramatic sell if that character is younger. Simply put, we don't see Freddie being rewritten as older. It could work, we suppose, but we like the way it was written. It feels right.

Aside from The Master and Freddie, the other major characters are the Master's fiercely protective daughters and that's about it. There is a minor role of The Master's son, but it's so small, we don't see Renner being interested.

The only other possibility, is that Philip Seymour Hoffman is out and that Renner is eyeing the lead role, but again, we highly doubt that. The role is written for someone who already has adult children in their '20s and '30s and while Hoffman is only a few years older than Renner, he can play older a lot more convincingly.

As Renner said to the New York Times, a decision will need to be made soon as he's also eyeing a role in Peter Berg's "Battleship" and both films are aiming for summer shoots. That said, as far as we know, Anderson's film is still awaiting a greenlight from Universal who will need to approve the finished script so its possible that "The Master" might start at a later date depending on when all the pieces fall into place.

So yes, consider this rumor now if you like, but expect to hear some kind of news soon.

 

January 18-21, 2002

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

UK's Hotdog Magazine has an interview with Mark Wahlberg in their January 2002 issue. He talks a bit about a possible upcoming musical project with PTA as well as the Sandler/PTA project. Thanks to site reader Lianne for sending this in. Here's the excerpt:

Hotdog - Jordan Riefe: What about a Musical?

MW: Actually, me and Paul Thomas Anderson have discussed it at length. Just a matter of finding the right thing. He's actually writing one, which is going to be crazy, a Paul Thomas Anderson musical. A lot of cocaine.

Hotdog: This isn't his next film, the Adam Sandler one?

MW: No, this is a kind of like a weird action drama thing he wrote. Kind of like the Chest and Brock movie, the characters we came up with in Boogie Nights, but a real, full-blown action feature with these guys running around crazy.

On a related note, Variety ran an article on PTA's current home, Joe Roth's Revolution Studios & they are reporting a Fall 2002 release for Project X4. We'll just have to wait & see. You can read the whole story here.

Lastly, here's an extremely well researched & fascinating analysis of Magnolia by site reader Natalie McDonald from Philadelphia, PA. Check it out here.

May 10, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

It looks like the long & winding road for the Magnolia & Boogie Nights DVD's just got a bit longer. It's being reported that the expected street date of July 25th has been pushed back to August 29th! Why the delay? I tend to be optimistic, so my inclination is that more time was needed for all the supplemental material. I think this will be the last delay, so get ready to clear your calendar in late August....

One final note: the VHS will still be released on July 25th (minus most or all of the supplements). 

It seems that rumors about future PTA projects are appearing at an alarming rate. IGN movies.com is reporting that PTA is pitching an animated film revolving around Fiona Apple to Pixar. As usual, this has not confirmed by any reliable sources at this time. I will add this to my questions for Paul, the next time we speak.

May 5, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Those rumor mongers over at Ain't It Cool News are reporting that PTA may direct The Underworld based on Don DeLillo's book. Scott Rudin is producing. (As with most rumors, this probably does not have much validity. PTA has said numerous times that he does not want to direct something that he did not write at this time. I will try to get more information on this in the near future.)

Readers have been asking for more information about the novel & potential future PTA project "A Conspiracy of Paper", so here is a plot summary: (Thanks to Phil!) 

"Benjamin Weaver is an outsider in eighteenth-century London: a Jew among Christians; a ruffian among aristocrats; a retired pugilist who, hired by London's gentry, travels through the criminal underworld in pursuit of debtors and thieves." "In A Conspiracy of Paper, Weaver investigates a crime of the most personal sort: the mysterious death of his estranged father, a notorious stockjobber. To find the answers, Weaver must contend with a desperate prostitute who knows too much about his past, relatives who remind him of his alienation from the Jewish faith, and a cabal of powerful men in the world of British finance who have hidden their business dealings behind an intricate web of deception and violence. Relying on brains and brawn, Weaver uncovers the beginnings of a strange new economic order based on stock speculation - a way of life that poses great risk for investors but real danger for Weaver and his family. 

An interesting article about the increase of movie running times & the effect on their Box Office from the Irish Times is available here. Here are the quotes from New Line & PTA:

Robert Friedman of New Line Cinema, which financed Magnolia and released it in the US, says, "The problem for us, quite simply, was not only having a three hour film, but also having a film that's not easily defined in a single line. The challenge was to get people in to see the movie."

Paul Thomas Anderson, the film's young director, comments: "Making a movie of this length does set you up for criticism. It's slightly arrogant and a little bold to require three hours of someone's life to tell a story. It means you really have to deliver. Like, if I hear a movie I'm going to see is three hours, I get a little uneasy."

April 21, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

According to a recent book review by The Chronicle ( A Duke University Newspaper), PTA has purchased the movie rights to David Liss's new book, "A Conspiracy of Paper". This is a mystery novel set in eighteenth century England. Obliviously this information has not been confirmed by PTA & it's not clear whether it was purchased by Ghoulardi for PTA to direct or produce. I will add this to the new Unconfirmed Section of Future Projects & Rumors until I have more information.

PTA was listed by Premiere Magazine in their annual Power Elite (Who's Running Hollywood Now) May issue at #100. This is his first time on the list. Here's their comments:

100. Paul Thomas Anderson
 

Rank Last Year: Not Ranked 


Job Title: Cocksure Auteur
 

Status Report: Icon for a new generation of writer-directors. After porn epic Boogie Nights, said next would be intimate film, a 30-day shoot. Instead turned in 190-page Magnolia script to New Line, and got $40 million green light, final cut, control over marketing, and Cruise at a discount. Production company, Ghoulardi, seeking to provide safe haven for virgin talents.
 

Yes. It's True: Scott Rudin passed on Anderson project because of elaborate demands for creative control.

April 3, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

As promised, here's the update on all those rumors floating around (some for years) on PTA's future projects. I asked Paul about these back in December & here's what he had to say:

Lennon
: PTA has never been approached about this & said that he has no intentions to do this. He would love to make a musical & he obviously has an affinity for the Beatles, but expect an original concept that has nothing to do with the Beatles or John Lennon.

Blue Movie
: Total Film, the UK magazine, reported that PTA was interested in reuniting Mark Wahlberg & Heather Graham for an adaption of the Southern novel, Blue Movie, which details how a brother & sister from an American acting dynasty decide to make a porn film as an expression of high art. PTA laughed this off & said, "not a chance." When I originally reported this back in November, I thought it was wishful thinking as PTA has already covered this topic in Boogie Nights.

Rule of the Bone
: PTA did adapt this Russell Bank's book (Sweet Hereafter) for director Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress) years ago, but the Sony/Columbia Tri-Star project seems to have stalled. I will follow up with PTA the next time we speak, to see if there's been any progress.

Untitled Jonathan Demme Project: 
There still appears to be a collaboration on the horizon that is not related to the Bob Downey, Sr. project I reported last month. I believe the project is with Universal & any updates will appear here!

I will have an image link up shortly to check the latest news on these & other proposed projects. I do not want to become a rumor mill, so anything that is posted will have to come from a credible source & won't gain validity until I have checked with PTA's camp.

November 29, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

More Entertainment Weekly Tidbits

Magnolia partially graces the cover of the November 26th issue which proclaims 1999 - The Year That Changed Movies. This article has many comments from Paul and is a definitive must read.

In addition, I have collected the rest of the highlights of the issue below:

They rank Magnolia as one to see for the rest of the year and into 2000:

After 1997's electric Boogie Nights, director Paul Thomas Anderson delivers an Altmanesque epic intertwining the lives of a guru (Tom Cruise), a cop (John C. Reilly), a salesman (William H. Macy), a dying father (Jason Robards) and other denizens of the San Fernando Valley. (Dec. 17 - L.A./NY)

They also list the new directors for the next millennium. The entire article is here, but this is what they had to say about Paul:

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON: Hard Eight (1997) and Boogie Nights (1997) are the work of a Valley Boy full of nerve and verve gunning for the deluxe adrenaline rushes of Scorsese.

Lastly, they review various movie posters and here's what they had to say about the theatrical poster for Magnolia"

MAGNOLIA C

What's New Line's solution to selling a three-hour-plus drama with eight plots that are only tangentially related, and a superstar, Tom Cruise, reluctant to overshadow his fellow thespians? The Magic Eye route: Tom is tucked behind two petals near one o'clock. (You'll need to look at the real poster to find him.) While hiding Cruise's mug is risky business, the studio gets extra credit for referencing the movie's inexplicable plague-of-frogs scene with a Kermit in the corner.

Mike De Luca Article

Here's a nice article on Mike De Luca, president of New Line from Newsweek. It has a nice summary of his career and the fact that he is finally putting his "bad boy" image behind him.

 

The Latest Rumor on Paul's Next Movie

The latest rumor about Paul's next project seems to be the most unlikely to me. This scoop comes from the wonderful UK film magazine Total Film:

Southern book Blue Movie – detailing how a brother and sister form an American acting dynasty decide to make a porn film as an expression of high art – is looking like the next project for Paul Thomas Anderson to direct, reuniting Boogie Nights’ Mark Wahlberg and Heather Graham.

Courtesy of Total Film Magazine - November 1999

I find this rumor very far fetched as Paul has been down the porn road before, and I doubt he's ready to revisit it. 

October 19, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Illustrated Screenplay Coming Soon

You heard right, folks. I got word from the owner of the best cinema book store in Seattle, Cinema Books that the illustrated screenplay is due to ship in Mid-November. Here are the details:

Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay includes the complete shooting script, introduction and script notes by Paul Thomas Anderson, a photo section with about 40 photos in color, an interview with the writer/director and complete cast and crew credits.

This will be released by Newmarket Press and will be available in Hardcover ($29.95) and Paperback ($19.95).

Is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com among others. Here's the direct link:

Pre-order Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay

Is Lennon Next?

There has been speculation for some time that Paul was going to tackle a biography on John Lennon. I first heard rumors of this after Boogie Nights was released. Well, it looks like those rumors are surfacing again. The Internet Movie Database is reporting that Paul will begin work shortly after post production is complete on Magnolia. Their update is very cryptic and says little else. I will keep you updated if I hear any additional information. (Thanks to Matthew Wilder)

September 16, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul Shooting New Fiona Apple Music Video?

According to the nice folks over at the Unofficial Fiona Apple Website - Never is a Promise, Paul is shooting the first video from Fiona's upcoming new album. No word yet on the concept of the video, which was reportedly shot last weekend. I will keep you up to date on the latest happenings.

August 15, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia

: Starring William H. MACY, Julianne MOORE, Philip Baker HALL, John C. REILLY, Jason ROBARDS, Felicity HUFFMAN, Tom CRUISE
directed by Paul Thomas ANDERSON
what's the big deal? The much-anticipated follow-up to Anderson's critically hailed ''Boogie Nights'' -- the movie that made Marky Mark a big deal (at least in its last scene).
release date Dec. 25

''I'm going to get final cut once in my career, so I might as well abuse it to the hilt,'' says the 29-year-old director. Exactly how he'll abuse it isn't entirely clear, though we do know, based on ''Boogie Nights,'' that Anderson isn't afraid of complicated story lines or sprawling running times. Nor does he shy away from risqué subject matter. But Anderson, who also wrote the script, is keeping ''Magnolia's plot details double top secret.

This much we do know: The film is set in modern-day San Fernando Valley, takes place over the course of 24 hours (except for a 15-minute prelude set at the turn of the century, which Anderson filmed using an old-fashioned hand-crank Lumiere camera), and features a brief cameo by Tom Cruise.

''It's about family relations, how they need to be mended -- or broken, depending on your point of view,'' is all Anderson will (cryptically) reveal. Hall (who'll also appear in ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'') isn't much help either: ''It's a multiple-story format, with about five different plotlines running through it,'' he says. ''It's a little like Robert Altman's 'Short Cuts'... but that's really all I can say about it.'' BUZZ FACTOR: 7