Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master has been a few years in the making, and already the buzz surrounding it has set it up as one of the year’s most highly anticipated projects.
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in the leads, The Weinstein Company have given the film an October release date, clearly stating the intention for running an awards campaign for the Oscars next year.
Megan Ellison, who has been an integral part for producing this and a number of other projects in recent years, has just tweeted the first teaser clip from the film, after word came recently that TWC would be unveiling footage from the film at Cannes tonight. Her tweet takes you to (what could become the official website) www.themasterfilm.com, which brings us this first look at footage from the film.
“Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson (the acclaimed director of, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia and Boogie Nights), this story stars Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) and Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line). Set in America in the years following World War II, a charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor. A truly one-of-a-kind drama, which promises magnetic virtuoso performances, the film marks the fifth collaboration between Anderson and Hoffman, following Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love.”
The supporting cast is naturally impressive, headed up by Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons, and David Warshovsky, with music coming from Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood, We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Anderson himself is a five-time Oscar nominee (one for Best Director, one for Best Picture, three for Best Screenplay), and there’s a definite possibility that he’ll be adding one or more nominations (at least nominations) to that record in the next nine months.
The Master, written and directed by Anderson, will be released in the US on 12th October, and though there’s no word yet on a UK release, we’ll hopefully be getting it at the same time too. For now, here’s Phoenix in the first teaser clip to whet your appetites. Everybody appropriately excited?
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oZDKFoCqAw’]
Source: With thanks to The Playlist for the heads up.
