Is ‘The Master' Heading To Venice?; Harvey Weinstein Talks Working With PTA

Over the weekend, The Playlist came across upon an Italian newspaper called La Repubblica who ran down a preview of the Venice Film Festival (August 29-September 8) festival which included several notable titles like the new Terrence Malick film "To The Wonder," "A Place Beyond The Pines" and most notably "The Master." We pegged the fest back in March as a possibility for a premiere and heard as recently as May that they were actively pursuing the film. While nothing is confirmed yet (the lineup isn't announced officially until July 26) it does seem like it's a strong possibility. Whether the film will make a showing at TIFF or NYFF is still unknown as well but those should also firm up their selections in the next month or so.

Update: On the latest episode of "The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell" podcast, Harvey Weinstein stopped by to promote his latest box office smash, the French production "The Intouchables" and towards the end of the episode got into some other films he's got on tap for later this year which led to "The Master."  (via xixax)

‘Breaking Bad' Star Aaron Paul ♥'s PTA; Paul Dano Has Seen Bits Of ‘The Master'

We know that PTA already has hisa fair amount of fans across the industry -- Filmmaker John Milius recently expressed his admiration -- and today we can add another name to that list: Aaron Paul. The actor is probably best known for playing Jesse Pinkman on AMC's "Breaking Bad," which is currently making a strong case for being the best show on TV. In a recent interview with GQ to promote the upcoming fifth season, the Emmy winning actor dropped the following plea.

GQ: What other directors [do you admire]?
Aaron Paul: Rian Johnson's fresh in mind. He's just so brilliant and such an incredible writer. Or speaking of writer-slash-directors: Paul Thomas Anderson.

GQ: Yeah, wow. I think he's the best there is.
Aaron Paul: He's completely fucking unbelievable. I don't understand how he does it.

GQ: What's the plan after Breaking Bad wraps?
Aaron Paul: Not an idea. Maybe start accosting Paul Thomas Anderson. Seriously: turn this interview into a love letter to Paul Thomas Anderson, and kind of beg him to put me in a film. I don't care if it's as an extra, I'll do whatever. 

Side note/name drop: I met Mr. Paul at the Season 3 premiere party for "Breaking Bad" in NYC and (in addition to being an Emmy winning actor), he was an incredibly nice dude! So there you have it, we've done our part. If you weren't already aware the 5th Season of 'Breaking Bad" premieres this Sunday on AMC and judging by the first two episodes, it's going to be cra-mazing.

In other Paul related news, @TheFamilianaire dropped us a line on Twitter to let us know that like Emily Watson, Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Sr., Paul Dano had also seen some of "The Master."

Just met Paul Dano at a screening for Ruby Sparks. Said his "buddy" PTA has screened him a few bits from The Master. [He said] "PTA's the master", then went on a tangent about how The Girl Next Door taught kids how to masturbate.

So it appears that much of the inner circle has been privy to quite a bit of the film. Now if we could just find our invite...

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates. 

Scientologists Reportedly Unhappy With ‘The Master'

A while back we heard that Tom Cruise (who has remained friends with PTA since "Magnolia") had been shown "The Master" and that he "had issues" with it. Yesterday, in light of his recent divorce, the NY Daily News did some digging (or speculating) by intimating that the Church of Scientology was unhappy with certain aspects of the film.

A source familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson ’s film about the founder of a Scientology-like religious movement tells us officials of the controversial church group “hit the roof” when they learned — presumably through Cruise — that the movie contains a scene which suggests the belief system was little more than a product of the leader’s fertile imagination.

According to our insider, one scene that didn’t sit well with Cruise takes place on a patio where Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Freddie Sutton, a troubled drifter who becomes Dodd’s right-hand disciple, watches Dodd pontificate about the religion he has created.

During the scene, the source says, another character close to the founder turns to Phoenix and says of Dodd, “You know he’s making it up as he goes along.”
Referring to the actual Church of Scientology, our source says, “Tom Cruise’s people are grumbling about this line — amongst others — but Anderson is not taking it out.”

Cruise’s spokeswoman declined to comment on this story. Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw responded: “No one in the church has seen the film, and we have no comment. ”

Given the media circus surrounding the TomKat divorce right now it's hard to tell the fact from fiction but it certainly wouldn't surprise us.

Revisiting Little Boston By Visiting Big McGuire

If you've ever wondered if Paul Thomas Anderson can/cannot open a gate, the wait ends today: Our dear friends The AV Club sent out Kyle Ryan to interview David Williams, manager of Marfa's Mcguire Ranch who was heavily involved with the filming of There Will Be Blood and has alot of new/interesting things to share with you. In Kyle's words:

In charge of all of it was David Williams, McGuire Ranch manager and the production’s go-to guy for pretty much everything. Need to hose down the roads so they’re passable? Talk to David. Need supplies? Talk to David. Need to cast another part in the film? Hey, David can do it. (Williams appeared in several scenes opposite Daniel Day-Lewis.) Even after production wrapped, his There Will Be Blood duties continued: Once the film came out and quickly earned awards-season buzz, Williams found himself answering questions from reporters and frequently taking them on tours of shooting locations around the ranch. It happens less frequently now, but here it is, six years later, and he’s still doing it.

You can read the full write-up which has a good chunk of extra anecdotes about production. There, we distracted you for another 24 hours while we wait patiently for TMZ to stop posting spoilers via TomKat divorce details the Master.

‘The Master' Actor Barlow Jacobs Says The Film Is Epic

We have a quick Friday update for everyone. In a recent interview with Indiewire for his new film "Dead Man's Burden," actor Barlow Jacobs was asked about his involvement in "The Master" and gave the following tight-lipped details...

Now I have to ask about your part in "The Master." I'm sure you're not privy to tell me a lot. But what can you tell me about your role in the film?

It was amazing. Becoming an actor in your head you make this list of directors you want to work with. Somebody like Paul Thomas Anderson is at the top of my list. It was a huge honor to get to work with him. When you step onto one of his sets, you know that you're going to be working with the best at every level of production. I think it's going to be a super, super powerful film.

So who do you play?

I'm trying to be very careful about what I'm allowed to say. I play a young powerful lawyer in the film...in Philadelphia. That's all about all I feel comfortable saying.

Is it a movie about Scientology?

I can't say! I will say that obviously with this cast -- I feel like everybody just gave phenomenal performances. I cannot wait for it to come out in October and see how people respond to it. It's epic.

Now you've never worked on anything so tight lipped. What is it like to be a part of something like this, that has this level of secrecy surrounding it?

For me it's just more about being respectful of the people who made it. For me it's just exciting being a part of something that's just so big. It's the biggest thing I've ever been a part of. Laura Dern -- getting to work with her; I've admired her forever. I remember my first day on set where I was having dialogue and there's Philip Seymor Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern and Joaquin Phoenix -- you go into it and you just sit there going, "What is happening?!"

Are we excited yet? 105 more days to go...

In case you missed it The Weinstein Company set up a Facebook page for "The Master" though nothing is up yet, you may still want to 'Like' it for future reference.

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates. 

Happy B-Day PTA

As promised, here is our second post for today: a very simple Happy Birthday to Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson. A year ago, you were just beginning filming on "The Master" and today that film is almost ready to be unleashed onto the world. We can't wait to see it.



Thank you for everything.

- CJ & Cory

Fiona Apple - Hot Knife (TBD)

According to an interview with Fiona Apple in V Magazine in June of 2012, Paul started work on a video for the track "Hot Knife" off her record "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do."

“I have this weird thing where I’m friends with my ex-boyfriends, and I really care about them. I care about their lives with their girlfriends. I feel like maybe an annoying mother or something.” Among these exes are illusionist David Blaine, in whose office/apartment Apple crashes when in New York, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who started to make a video for Apple’s new song “Hot Knife” before having to work on a movie, and most notably writer Jonathan Ames, the subject of one of the album’s sweeter tracks, “Jonathan.”

Whether the video will be completed or ever see the light of day is still unknown. For now you'll just have to close your eyes and imagine it.

PTA Began Work On A Video For Fiona Apple's ‘Hot Knife'

Fiona Apple's first album in 7 years -- The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do -- dropped this past week and we have had it on pretty constant rotation here at Cigs & Vines. With a sudden flurry of attention comes a deluge of interviews and some of them are really great too, like this one. If you follow us on Twitter, you already know Fiona has dropped a few mentions of Paul here and there, saying to Interview Magazine...

"I'm actually very goofy. I hate this feeling like I'm name-dropping, but Paul Thomas Anderson [the director and Apple's ex-boyfriend] told me that two of the funniest people he knows are me and Daniel Day-Lewis. He was like, "You're both hilarious, but everybody thinks you're awful."

 And from the aforementioned NYMag profile...

I assumed she wanted to talk about her album; she said she didn’t care. I told her I thought it was her best work; she said it was funny because she’d run into her ex-boyfriend, the filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, and “he remembers me as somebody’s who’s been down on themselves from years ago,” and when he’d asked about the album, she told him she felt “really, really happy, I felt like I can die now, I’ve done what I want, this is me.” 

So it appears the formal couple are still very friendly, which is good news for anyone who adored Paul's string of music videos for her back in the late 90s and hoped that one day he might return to the short format. According to an interview with Fiona in V Magazine, that may still happen.

“I have this weird thing where I’m friends with my ex-boyfriends, and I really care about them. I care about their lives with their girlfriends. I feel like maybe an annoying mother or something.” Among these exes are illusionist David Blaine, in whose office/apartment Apple crashes when in New York, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who started to make a video for Apple’s new song “Hot Knife” before having to work on a movie, and most notably writer Jonathan Ames, the subject of one of the album’s sweeter tracks, “Jonathan.”

2nd Trailer For ‘The Master' Surfaces; Includes First Look at Philip Seymour Hoffman & Amy Adams

We were damn grateful on May 21 when Paul finally decided to give us our first look at "The Master" in the form of a self-cut teaser trailer. But it looks like he isn't done yet as only a few weeks later, a second teaser trailer for his latest has surfaced on YouTube courtesy of "Al Rose Promotions." This one runs a few seconds shorter and features the same score as the first, but also gives us our first glimpse at Philip Seymour Hoffman's Lancaster Dodd a.k.a. The Master and his wife Mary Sue, played by Amy Adams. The clip is entitled "The Master - Hopelessly Inquisitive" and interesting to note that the title on the previous teaser has been updated to read "The Master - Was There A Fight?" Might we be getting a few more of these teases from Paul before October? Only time will tell.

Check out our Flickr page for hi-res stills from both teasers (perfect for your desktop wallpaper or Facebook cover photo). And though we've never been ones to fan the flames but feel we might be remiss if we didn't point out this.

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.