After Leaving 'Oz," Downey, Jr. Eyes Vaguely Familiar Territory

Nothing makes me happier than being secure in the knowledge that Robert Downey, Jr. is keeping himself busy.  He had me worried for a second there, after dropping out of Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, that he might be taking some time off, cruelly denying us his witticisms in favor of, well, being less busy.

Downey "investigates" the ladies.

But news today has calmed my Downey-filled nerves; the charmer is said to be eyeing the lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, and it’s a more straight-forward version of a part we’ve seen him play before.

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PT Anderson 'Master's Defeat

According to lead actor Jeremy Renner, production of Paul Thomas Anderson's feature The Master has been delayed indefinitely. The film mirrors the foundation and growth of Scientology focusing mainly on the figure of L. Ron Hubbard. The story follows the master, set to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, as a charismatic cult leader whose faith-based cult called 'The Cause' begins to catch on in the early 1950s. Jeremy Renner was to play a young, alcoholic drifter who eventually becomes the master's right hand man, only to begin questioning his new beliefs and mentor.

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P.T. Anderson's Scientology Movie Shooting Soon

Paul Thomas Anderson might have a bullseye on him soon. As you've probably read this year, he's taking on Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard the way Orson Welles dramatized the life of of William Randolph Hearst for Citizen Kane. Of course, Hearst tried to have every print of Kane burned, and even though the Church of Scientology is very powerful, I doubt that's going to happen in this case. Hard to hide something like that these days. But he sure won't be popular with the Dianetics set.

Anyway, the movie, tentatively titled The Master, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a charismatic man who founds a "faith-based organization" in the 1950s, which is just what Hubbard did. In the film, that organization becomes a big deal. The Master takes on a lieutenant, and there are similarities with Hubbard's life there, as well. Jeremy Renner is the running for that role and Reese Witherspoon - who won't sniff anywhere near her usual salary for this - will play The Master's wife.

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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.

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Reese Joining P.T. Anderson's Scientology Flick?

Reese Witherspoon followed up her Oscar with a series of very questionable choices, everything from Rendition to Four Christmases. It looks like she's finally starting to take the acting part of the job more seriously, though, signing on for Francis Lawrence's Water for Elephants and possibly appearing in Gary Ross' long-gestating Tokyo Suckerpunch.

Now comes news from Production Weekly (via The Wrap) that Witherspoon may take a smaller role than we're used to seeing her in, albeit a very important one in Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled drama that may pull a Citizen Kane on Scientology. Like Kane, Anderson's movie appears to be very close on key points to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, right down to Witherspoon's supposed character-in-waiting sharing a name with Hubbard's wife.

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