Laura Dern Talks ‘The Master,' Working With PTA

As you know, things have been very quiet on "The Master" front for quite some time now. Principal photography is finished and the cast have all moved on to other projects. But lucky for us, those projects will inevitably include interviews in which some intrepid journalist will ask the actor in question about the mysterious 'Master.' Actress Laura Dern, who plays a still unknown role in the film, is currently promoting her new HBO series "Enlightened" when she was asked by The Press Assocation (whatever that is) about her experience on the project.

"It's an amazing experience. Joaquin's such an incredible actor and Philip Seymour Hoffman was in the film, they're doing such incredible work. I think [Paul's] so brilliant and one of our most important visionaries ever in film."

And there you have it, the vault once again becomes sealed. As always, more information when it arrives.

Ambyr Childers Joined ‘The Master' As Elizabeth

You may have noticed it's been a while since our last update but fear not, we have not gone on hiatus. The film, which wrapped up principal photography a few months ago, is now in post-production which means Paul and co. have basically gone into hiding. But just believe that it's killing us as much as it's killing you. But to tide you over until we see some sort of official look at the film, we do have a bit of late-casting news via The Playlist. Ambyr Childers, a vet of daytime soap "All My Children" was cast as Elizabeth, the daughter of Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) in the film. You can now see her in our updated "The Master" cast.

In other news, The AV Club recently had an interview with "Hung" star Thomas Jane. He talks about peeing in Paul's lawn and choosing to do a Gene Hackman movie over a second role in "Magnolia." You will probably want to read it.

If you've been following our Twitter account you'd already know that you might want to check out "Elmer Gantry" for a bit of inspiration. Carry on and stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

‘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.

It's A Boy!

Major congratulations are in order to Paul & Maya on the birth of their first son, Jack. Congrats guys! People Magazine writes...

The Bridesmaids star, 38, and director Paul Thomas Anderson welcomed their third child, son Jack, on July 3, her rep tells PEOPLE.

Jack – who is home and doing great – joins big sisters Pearl, 5½, and Lucille, 20 months.

While pregnant, Rudolph said she was especially excited to discover the sex of the baby, which she and Anderson chose not to find out prior to the delivery.

"The exciting part is not knowing who's coming," she explained. "You have to wait nine months for a surprise, but then it's a good payoff because it really is a surprise."

Feel free to leave them some well wishes in the comments on the off-chance that they might read them. Though we can only imagine how stressful it is having a baby while filming your movie, things have been very quiet since "The Master" moved to LA. The only thing of note we've come across is a short piece on Hollywood Elsewhere that points out the script's similarities to Herman Melville. Very interesting indeed.
Once again, congrats to Paul & Maya from C&RV and stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates (and babies).

Sound Mixer Michael Semanick Talks ‘Magnolia,' ‘There Will Be Blood'

Quiet week for news on "The Master" as we hear filming has moved to LA for the remainder of the shoot so it looks like we've seen the last of our set images until Paul decides to release one of his own. If you follow us on Twitter you'll see we had heard from one of the extras working on the final days of the Bay Area shoot that Paul was "very hands-on, very present" while filming and not content to hang out in video village.

In lieu of any new news, site contributor Zablotny recently pointed us to this video interview with two time Academy Award winning Sound Mixer Michael Semanick who has worked with Paul on all of his films since "Magnolia." You can check out the full video above though we've transcribed the PTA-related bits. At about the 32:45 mark, Michael spoke a little bit about working with Paul on "There Will Be Blood"

‘Hollywood Comes To Berkeley' Video From The Set Emerges

Things are still very quiet on "The Master" set as virtually no images of principal cast members have leaked out despite filming in residential communities full of people. And if they don't emerge soon we may not see them for quite some time as we hear the production is gearing up to move from the Bay Area back to LA for the remainder of the shoot. But thanks to Xixax we do have this little video about the production along with a short article over at Berkely Side (which you may have seen on our Twitter earlier this week). No real revelations here though the video does feature a somewhat hilarious mix-up of PSH's name.

They've also uncovered a few pictures from the archives of Paul at the Sundance Labs in 1993 and 2000 (2). We're sure you will find them as amusing as we do.

Check out "The Master" cast.
Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

First Look At Fiona Dourif; More Photos From The Set

Despite weeks of filming on "The Master," only a few pictures have leaked out from the set and until now the only actors that have appeared have been extras. Above you have your first look at a principal cast member as we believe that's actress Fiona Dourif (whose role is still unspecified). In a case of mistaken identities that recalled the great "Vincent Froio incident of 2006," these images were initially posted on an Amy Adams fansite yesterday morning (where we first saw them) as well as a few gossip blogs. But The Film Stage was first to correct their mistake so you can head over there for a larger look at these photos.

You may have noticed that the local spa that had proven to be quite an inside source for updates has suddenly vanished (along with all the posts in question), so we don't imagine we'll be seeing any future updates from them. We did however come across a few more set pics in the Mare Island Yardbird and it's nothing we haven't seen before, just another look at the mansion, some extras and some cars but you can check them out after the jump courtesy photographer Kim Kulish:

Happy Birthday To Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson

Despite it being Paul's birthday -- no, we didn't forget -- we here at The Vines thought you should be the one to receive wonderful things for coming back and finding us. And this clip, which is essentially additional That Moment-esque footage, is very much that and more. The highlight naturally being Paul providing a "Smiling Peanut" state-of-the-union to everyone on location.

Happy birthday from us. Thank you for everything.

‘The Master' Shooting Exclusively In 65mm?

We recently received an unconfirmed tip from a source close to production who told us "The Master" isn't utilizing a mix of 65mm and 35mm as previously suspected but instead is shooting exclusively in 65mm. We realize you may need a minute to compose yourselves as we did when we first heard the news but HOLY SHIT. If this report turns out to be true then we're all in for one stunning looking film. Additionally, The South Wing tumblr posted the above image which apparently is the camera Stanley Kubrick used on "2001: A Space Odyssey" which you already know is the same camera currently being used by Paul Thomas Anderson on "The Master." You can read a bit more about the 65mm format at Wikipedia.

Update: Since posting this article only a short while ago, another source close to the production has assured us that it's a split format shoot (both 35mm and 65mm). Whichever turns out to be true, we're sure it'll still be a beautiful looking film. Carry on.