Three Name Circus: Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman Team Up

Philip Seymour Hoffman could be Paul Thomas Anderson’s ”Master” (not as kinky as it sounds). 

Here’s one that sounds great before even an inch of film has been shot: Variety says that Paul Thomas Anderson will direct his own script about a 1950s charismatic religious leader, with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead role. Hoffman has previously worked with Anderson on “Boogie Nights,” “Hard Eight,” “Magnolia,” and “Punch-Drunk Love.” Anderson’s last film was “There Will Be Blood,” which I personally think should have won Best Picture over “No Country for Old Men,” two years ago.

Here’s the story for the as yet untitled script:

Hoffman will play “The Master,” as in “master of ceremonies,” a charismatic intellectual who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952.

The core is the relationship between The Master and Freddie, a twenty-something drifter who becomes the leader’s lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

Just to clarify that this isn’t a hatchet job on organized religion (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Variety says:

“…the scrutiny isn’t specifically directed toward faith-based movements like Scientology or Mormonism that are newcomers compared to established religions. Anderson explores the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which to embrace, and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion.”

That sounds a lot like a press release to me.

Well, as I said, this is one that looks foolproof on paper. Of course, that paper thing doesn’t always work out.