More Casting Rumblings for P.T. Anderon's Latest

Paul Thomas Anderson can pretty much get any actor he wants at this point. Two of his films are arguably among the best of the past 15 years or so - Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood - and while Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love fall short of those standards, he's a writer and director who is clearly invested in the work of his performers. They're what makes the motor run. And so, his new project that may or may not be a thinly veiled account of L. Ron Hubbard and the early expansion of Scientology is attracting stars like a bug light. Philip Seymour Hoffman is set for his fifth collaboration with Anderson, playing The Master, who for the purposes of simplicity, we'll just say is the Hubbard character. Jeremy Renner is also involved, portraying a drunken drifter who over time becomes a valuable lieutenant in the organization. Over the weekend, Reese Witherspoon was linked to an offer to play The Master's younger bride, and now three other names are in the running to play the daughter of Hoffman and Witherspoon. I'm a big fan of Amanda Seyfried, who Cinema Blend calls "fearless" in her choices these days, and while I won't go that far, she's certainly making wise decisions and, to her great credit, hasn't been bad in anything in the past couple years, even Mamma Mia! Emma Stone, known primarily for her comedy, is also in the running, and Deborah Ann Woll from True Blood rounds out the trio. In a weird way, Seyfried kind of resembles an offspring of Hoffman and Witherspoon, and thank you, that's the last time I want to see that image in my head. She's also the most bankable name of the three, or in other words, the biggest "get." Not that Stone couldn't do it - she gets a star turn in the Scarlett Letter-inspired comedy Easy A later this year, but it's less known if she can do what the role demands. However, Anderson marches to the beat of his own drummer, and nobody would have pegged Mark Wahlberg for a role of any depth before Boogie Nights, and his Burt Reynolds casting was genius. So maybe, when all is said and done, Deborah Ann Woll is the perfect choice.

Comments

[SEAN]

I'd like it to go to Deborah Ann Woll!

I dont follow True Blood closely but I 'd like to see the real underdog get this one.

Amanda "fearless" ? Um i dont agree lol

Oh & is this confirmed this is a movie about Scientology? I mean everywhere they keep saying it, but honestly is it? or just speculation. B/c it's kinda getting annoying & watch as we hear more details or the film comes out it will have nothing to do with that cult

[knives]

Where is Punch-Drunk regarded as falling short (not to mention you completely forgot Sydney)? Nearly everyone I know seems to regard it as his best with my sister being the lone exception though she places it at number three behind There Will Be Blood and Sydney. I think if you discount where he is derivative, which would put his 90s films out of the running, they have all been roughly equal in different ways so far.

[Get The Big Picture]

I didn't forget Sydney (as I mentioned this would be the fifth Anderson-Hoffman collaboration), but I think Punch-Drunk got way too much mileage out of being Adam Sandler's big "dramatic" turn, and I thought he was terrible in it. Tough for a movie to overcome that. His babyman thing overwhelmed everything else about the movie, and the director couldn't rein it in. At the time I said it was like the dwarfs trodding upon the miniature Stonehenge in Spinal Tap.

But, really, his best? I just don't see that.

[knives]

Different Strokes I suppose. For me it is a mixture of real human connection, fell in love with the Sandler performance which seems to be a prerequisite, and not being anywhere near as derivative as his other films. The relationship between him and Watson ranks up there with the best of them for me.

[Get The Big Picture]

Well, we'll agree that it's certainly not derivative, although I wouldn't say his career is really marked by that characteristic. I had the same reaction to Sandler that I did Leo and Kate in Revolutionary Road. Just couldn't care less what happened to him.

[knives]

Too bad at the later part of your statement, I actually loved Revolutionary Road. As for derivative, Watch Bob le Flambeau with Sydney in mind, or better yet Short Cuts and Magnolia, in this case I actually prefer Anderson's ripoff.