by Nathaniel R
We were wondering when we'd get casting news for Paul Thomas Anderson's next film and it's finally starting to trickle in. Though the untitled movie revoles around a famous teenage actor attending high school in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s (yes, we're thrilled that PTA is returning to Boogie Nights time and locale) the buzz is that it's actually an ensemble piece. And there are supposedly at least three prominent adult roles. Bradley Cooper is in talks for one of them but we don't know which. The juiciest adult roles are rumored to be a film director, an agressive agent, and a closeted politician.
Cooper is one of the best actors of his generation so we can't wait to see what Anderson can pull from him since the auteur is just amazing with actors...
Will PTA go with any of his favourites to pad out the rest of the cast or will it mostly be newbies like Cooper? We're just THRILLED (all caps intended) that we're going to get more of an ensemble picture this time because it's why we fell in love with PTA in the first place and the scope of his movies in terms of character interest has been shrinking shrinking shrinking until they're about 1-3 characters. We'd love another Magnolia or Boogie Nights that's just bursting with fascinating characters is what we're saying so perhaps we'll finally get it?
This pairing will inevitably lead to "will he finally win an Oscar?" online discussion, for both PTA and Cooper, since they've both been nominated EIGHT times without a win. But the sad truth is that Oscar voters respect PTA movies more than they love them. Only one actor has ever won an Oscar from Anderson's filmography (Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood) despite multiple iconic turns in the 8 films he's made to date.