Recently, we reported that Paul Thomas Anderson was hoping to reunite with his There Will Be Blood star Daniel Day-Lewis for an as-of-now untitled new feature centered around the fashion industry in the 1950s. The project appears a go as confirmation has surfaced that Focus Features will distribute the movie with larger arm Universal Pictures handling distribution overseas. For cinephiles, the prospect of new P.T. Anderson movie is certainly a shot in the arm; the addition of Day-Lewis to the mix is mere icing on the case.
For Focus, this move may not have come easily as, reportedly, a competitive bidding war was in action with Fox Searchlight – who recently forked up record sums for the Sundance sensation The Birth of Nation. This acquisition also marks a further boost for Focus Features as a specialty arm, following a few years now of transitioning between leadership. The mini-major may have a strong 2016 with Jeff Nichols’ Loving and Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals having recently earned festival praise and might have a surprise for us later this year with A Monster Calls. Focus’ 2017 may be that much stronger with Stephen Frears Victoria And Abdul (starring Judi Dench), Joe Wright’s Winston Churchill bio Darkest Hour (starring Gary Oldman), Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled and now a Paul Thomas Anderson film.
Outside of it’s setting – 1950s London in – and a general theme – couture – nothing else is known concerning the project. Megan Ellison, however, it continuing to back Anderson, producing the title (as she did for the director’s 2012 film The Master). Production is scheduled to start in January.
Anderson and Day-Lewis previously worked together on There Will Be Blood, which won the actor his second of three Academy Awards and earned Anderson nods for direction and writing. Day-Lewis most recently was seen on screens in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012), where he earned his third Oscar. Anderson most recent feature was Inherent Vice (2014), which earned him an Oscar nomination for writing.
We will stay tuned to the latest developments on this project.
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