Paul Thomas Anderson’s New Movie Lands at Focus Features

Production begins in California in spring/summer 2020

By Scott Russell  |  December 18, 2019 | 12:34pm
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Movies News Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson’s New Movie Lands at Focus Features
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We first got wind of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread follow-up one month ago, when reports revealed the eight-time Oscar-nominated writer-director was planning a new period drama set in California’s San Fernando Valley circa the 1970s, following a high school student and successful child actor. Though what little plot details have spilled out remain unconfirmed, we now know Anderson’s still-untitled new film is officially moving forward, with Focus Features handling U.S. distribution and Universal Pictures International distributing it abroad.

Anderson and Focus are reuniting following the success of Phantom Thread, which earned six Academy Award nominations (not to mention a top spot on Paste’s list of the best films of 2017). Anderson will produce his new feature—his ninth—with his longtime collaborators JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi, who have been working with the filmmaker since 1997’s Boogie Nights and 1996’s Hard Eight, respectively.

“There is simply no other filmmaker like Paul Thomas Anderson,” says Focus chairman Peter Kujawski in a statement. “He is a true original who consistently mesmerizes fans with unparalleled vision and storytelling. We are beyond thrilled to be teaming up once again with Paul, JoAnne and Daniel.” (We can’t help but wish that were Daniel Day-Lewis—alas, the superlative actor and star of Anderson’s There Will Be Blood retired from acting after appearing in Phantom Thread, during the making of which he said he was “overwhelmed by a sense of sadness.”)

Production on Anderson’s latest begins in California in spring/summer 2020. Stay tuned for further details.

 
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