I’ve been asking around to see if anyone has actually seen Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza,” after all, Variety’s Clayton Davis subtly mentioned in an Oscar piece, a week or so ago, that it had been screened for a select few critics and journalists.

This morning, I sent a few emails around, three major trade critics replied stating they had not been invited to any screenings nor had they heard of any actually occurring. I’m starting to wonder if the “buzz” it has been getting the last few days is legitimate or artificial.

There have been rumours of PTA touring the film around during the first week of November in select cities, much like he did in late 2017 with “Phantom Thread.” Otherwise, all we have right now is “buzz.”