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January 2024: Paul Thomas Anderson Starts Shooting First Movie After "Licorice Pizza"

posted 10 months ago by roger1 (3703)
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I REALLY liked Paul Thomas Anderson's sweet little 1970's nostalgia piece "Licorice Pizza" of 2021. My personal favorite movie of that year. I know lots of reasons why, but I think I would lead with the fact that in its opening scene -- accompanied by a very sweet love song called "July Tree," I realized that I was watching a REAL love story, about the love that can occur only between young people -- very real, very painful -- you never really forget it.

The irony was: though it was an addition to the "canon" of the highly regarded Paul Thomas Anderson ("PTA"), I didn't really have much personal allegiance to the PTA canon. It was like with this one, special outta nowhere little tale -- he got to my heart. And that had not happened with the more mean and depressing "Boogie Nights" or the high prestige art of "There Will Be Blood" and "Phantom Thread." However, I very much liked Magnolia(with Tom Cruise doing an arthouse role in the same San Fernando Valley neighborhoods where Licorice Pizza would soon take place) and "Inherent Vice" (another LA nostalgia trip, offbeat, funny and sexy.)

Still, the PTA canon doesn't coalesce for me as does the canons of, say -- Alfred Hitchcock. Or Sam Peckinpah. Or Don Siegel. Or The Coens. Or Alexander Payne. Or QT.

So now, in January of 2024, its been announced that not only does PTA have a follow up to Licorice Pizza , its already up and filming.

It does not have a title. The plot has not been revealed (which, I learned retroactively, was how news reports about Licorice Pizza began -- nobody knew what it was about and it was called "Soggy Bottom" for awhile, given its waterbed subplot) though one plot was leaked that involved a young martial arts artist of some sort -- but now all of that has been rejected as "false."

The casting is intriguing:

Leonardo DiCaprio in his first film for PTA. Leo's about as big as you can cast nowadays and from his side, he needs to add a PTA film after all this work for Scorsese and QT. Interesting: PTA cast Leo's FATHER in a small role in Licorice Pizza(as the cool bearded cat who sells the young lead on waterbeds); was that leverage to get Leo for this one?

Sean Penn. Well, Sean Penn was in Licorice Pizza(playing a barely-disguised William Holden with dapper tailoring, a too-deep voice, and that edge of how movie star personalities can disappoint you in real life.) But to the best of my knowledge, Penn never gave one promotional interview or one quote about Licorice Pizza. He left the promotion to the two young leads(and mainly to Alana Haim to spare Cooper questions about his late father Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Bradley Cooper. And yet -- here is Penn back for more PTA. (PTA had wanted him, long ago, to play the nutcase drug kingpin played by Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights.)

Regina Hall. PTA has said in the past that he wanted to work with Hall. Her casting gives this PTA film some diversity that not all his films have had. As I recall, there was but one African-American player in "Licorice Pizza" -- the young woman who helped sell Leo DiCaprio's dad sell a waterbed(and the concept OF waterbeds as a business) to Cooper Hoffman's young entrepreneur.

I will note in passing that this casting comes in the wake of Alexander Payne casting African-American Da'Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers -- adding a diversity not seen much in Payne movies(About Schmidt, Sideways, Nebraska) -- and that paid off with Randolph getting an Oscar nom (the final pick isn't in as I write this.)

The Location of the film is interesting: filming began last week in Eureka, California and I've read one small internet article about how while no one in that small North Coast city have seen Leo, Sean or Regina around yet, crew members have been using production credit cards at shops and restaurants all over the city.

I've been to Eureka a few times. It is a city next to the ocean and surrounded by redwoods(some of them the giant kind) and yet the city itself is rather financially depressed and rundown. The seaside visuals are dark and gray(its maybe 200 miles north of where Hitchcocks hot The Birds in Bodega Bay.) Much of the timber industry that settled Eureka is gone, what remains is a college town and a lot of marijuana. The whole town smells like marijuana. Its a contact high city. The split between temporary collegians and financially downtrodden townies is palpable.

And into this town have come...Leo and Sean and Regina and PTA and a bunch of crew members boosting the economy.

Clearly, PTA has not returned to Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley for THIS one.

PS. The 1996 movie "Outbreak" with Dustin Hoffman fighting a "Killer COVID" type thing was filmed south of Eureka and there's a great shot near the end showing helicopters high above the redwoods and the ocean -- capturing the region. Jim Careey also filmed the oddball little movie The Majestic in the region.

CONT

[–] roger1 (3703) 10 months ago

PPS. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman came out of "Licorice Pizza" as "young breakout stars" but two years later -- him, yes, her no. And him not even really a star. But he has 3 movies in the can and one in pre-production -- "SNL 1975" -- in which as we wait to see who will play Chevy and Belushi and the rest, Cooper is playing real life executive Dick Ebersol.

And the lovely Alana Haim? Not a movie is listed for her now or in the future. She spent 2022 touring with her sisters in their "Haim" group(somewhat more famous in the wake of LP) . They are working on an album. And Alana was seen a few weeks ago on TV with Bestie Taylor Swift(whom Haim opened for at a few concerts last year) up there in the luxury suite watching Travis Kelce play ball -- being part of the Swiftie Universe will give Alana Haim MUCH more exposure to millions than just a little movie will. She can wait on that movie career for awhile.

[–] roger1 (3703) 10 months ago

The new PTA film stopped filming in Eureka, California after 11 days. Back to the soundstages?

---

Nope. On to Sacramento, California -- the State Capitol, where Leo and Alana Haim have been spotted(and him photographed) shooting some scenes by the courthouse there. More scenes are to be filmed in Sacramento this week(week of February 12, 2024) -- involving shootouts, car chases, and helicopters. The movie's climax?

Whereas it was promoted in advance that Leo would be filming in Eureka, the Sacramento shoot was sort of sprung on everyone. I think they wanted to avoid the crowds watching this time.

In the photos from the Eureka shoot, Leo was in dirty hippie garb and a handlebar moustache. In photos from the Sacramento courthouse shood, Leo is clean shaven and in a suit. "Do the years pass in this story?"

A thought about Alana Haim's movie career. Her first movie was for Paul Thomas Anderson. Her second movie(this one ) is for Paul Thomas Anderson. Evidently not otherwise in demand.

But: Phillp Seymour Hoffman was in PTA's Boogie NIghts, and then he was in PTA's Magnolia, and then he was in PTA's Punch Drunk Love and eventually he was in PTA's The Master. So Alana Haim could have a nice little career ONLY working for PTA.

Sidebar: No name has been given for this PTA film, it is called "The BC project." Why? The only BC I can think of is British Columbia but I don't see much relevance.

I'm reminded that the movie that became Family Plot went into production as "Alfred Hitchcock's 53rd Movie." That's how it was listed in Variety! So PTA and Hitch share a little mystery there. (On the other hand, Family Plot was first announced in Time Magazine articles on BOTH Bruce Dern AND Karen Black as "Alfred Hitchcock's Deceit." But that title was rejected, as was "One Plus One Equals One" -- which described the structure of the movie.)