Reclusive author Thomas Pynchon’s 1963 novel Inherent Vice, is finally making it to the big screen. According to Deadline, Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Gangster Squad), is joining the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s (The Master), adaptation that will begin filming this summer. Brolin is said to have landed a significant role, and the production already boasts a prestigious cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Benecio Del Torro, Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon, and (according to Deadline), Sean Penn. No specifics on Brolin’s role are available yet.
Joaquin Phoenix, whose last film with Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master, won him a Best Actor Oscar nomination, plays the lead Doc Sportello, a pothead burnout private detective in 1960’s LA. Sportello’s ex-girlfriend comes to him
for help investigating a kidnapping plot involving her new boyfriend, a wealthy land developer. Doc becomes involved in a web of strange disappearances and underhanded business deals.
Paul Thomas Anderson will pen the script and Warner Bros. is providing the funds. Anderson may be looking for a bit of a bounce back with Inherent Vice. Although not a flop – it did see three actors nominated for Academy Awards – The Master struggled in the box office, due perhaps in part to a somewhat lukewarm critical reception. Anderson’s track record (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood) certainly bodes well for Inherent Vice, but audiences will have to wait until 2014 to see the final product for themselves.
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