Some additional details on Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, and whether it’s still a possibility that Pynchon is indeed being tackled here.
Production on the film is set to begin on January 22nd in Eureka, on the coast of California. I had originally posted rumors that PTA might be working on an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland”, a 1990 postmodern novel set in … Eureka. Daniel Richtman had also previously published the synopsis of the film, which was basically “Vineland.”
I sadly could never confirm that it was “Vineland”. My sources have gone dark. The last bit of information I got was in November when I had it confirmed that Leonardo DiCaprio was indeed going to star in the film.
This past December, PTA stated that the film would be “contemporary.” This week we also learned that the film would be the filmmaker’s “most commercial” effort yet. That doesn’t strike me as a Pynchon adaptation.
Then again, for “There Will Be Blood,” PTA loosely adapted Upton Sinclair’s “Oil” and made a film that was “inspired,” but not an adaptation of the novel. He did the same thing with “The Master,” which was also “inspired” by Pynchon’s “V.”
Back in late November, PTA’s producer and casting director, Cassandra Kulukundis, posted a casting call that was looking for a “teenage girl who excels at Martial Arts” — that fits the description of a character in “Vineland.”
So, what is going on here exactly? I’m as confused as you are. Wild guess, it is possible that PTA might be loosely adapting Pynchon’s novel and setting it in today’s world. Last year, Jeff Sneider had a crazy rumor that Kulukundis was seeking an actress to play politician Marjorie Taylor Greene.
PTA has mentioned “Vineland” numerous times over the years, and in a 2014 Time Out interview he even insinuated that he tried to script it: “I'd wanted to adapt “Vineland”, but I never had the courage. It seemed to be a great way to translate [Pynchon] into a movie.“
Did he finally crack it? I’m still skeptical about the whole thing, but since we’re in the dark as to what this latest PTA is actually about, it’s fun to speculate. I gather we’ll have some additional details in the coming days and weeks.