Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson (10th feature, TBA)

[WorldForgot]

Shall we chill a moment and point out that One Battle After Another conveys a Vineland epoch-vibe via an echo of Frank Zappa's "Trouble Coming Every Day" (1966)?

Also obviously it's kinda like what your jaded, tired relative might say "It's always one thing after another!"
Except here it's a heist, a chase, a firefight, possibly stemming from your jaded, tired relatives rebellion in youth.
Ugh ~ it's always one battle after another in this life

[Scrooby]

Fun times with Scrooby : the word "battle" in Vineland.

persons in full battle gear stomping through vegetable patches

But they were to find themselves, amazingly, on the same side of the law after all, which meant no custodial battles ever

Ditzah and her sister Zipi were going around in battle fatigues

Strikers battled strikebreakers and police by a fence at the edge of a pure green feathery field of artichokes while storm clouds moved in and out of the frame.

coed cuties in miniskirts being handled by troopers in full battle gear

scrambling for tips and offering other such hints of his eagerness to be brevetted on life's battlefield to a rank higher than he would ever, by the terms of his enlistment, have deserved.

headlights on in the daytime, troops in full battle gear

it would be one of those epic courtroom battles over deep philosophical issues. Is the Tube human?

When the Earth was still a paradise, long long ago, two great empires, Hell and Heaven, battled for its possession. Hell won, and Heaven withdrew to an appropriate distance.

[Find Your Magali]

I'm just now learning that Adam Somner, PTA's longtime collaborator and the first assistant director for next summer's movie, died last month of cancer.

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/adam-somner-dead-assistant-director-steven-spielberg-martin-scorsese-1236231166/

Very sad news. I have to think he's getting the "in memory of" or the "for..." at the conclusion of the final movie he worked on.

[WorldForgot]

I'm just now learning that Adam Somner, PTA's longtime collaborator and the first assistant director for next summer's movie, died last month of cancer.

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/adam-somner-dead-assistant-director-steven-spielberg-martin-scorsese-1236231166/

Very sad news. I have to think he's getting the "in memory of" or the "for..." at the conclusion of the final movie he worked on.

This funeral program was shared in our Xixax discord.

[Find Your Magali]

Is there possibly a first assistant director with a greater resume in film history?

[WorldForgot]

It's hard to imagine. Personally one of the few others I know by name is Gregory Jacobs - but Adam Somner's career is singularly varied and impactful.

[Achpi]

there's a small rumour it's being pushed back to 2026. or, at least, to fall.
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/30/paul-thomas-andersons-next-film-delayed-to-2026

but jeff sneider, who's been a great source on this, is "not buying it".

[RudyBlatnoyd]

there's a small rumour it's being pushed back to 2026. or, at least, to fall.
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/30/paul-thomas-andersons-next-film-delayed-to-2026

but jeff sneider, who's been a great source on this, is "not buying it".

The rumour appears to be based on almost nothing except some guy probably misspeaking in a podcast. The World of Reel guy just shamelessly posts any old tittle tattle on certain films in order to drive traffic on his site because certain filmmakers are red meat to the trolls that frequent his comments section.

Not saying it isn't possible that Zaslav is getting cold feet about putting out multiple risky big-budget projects next year, given the failure of Joker 2, but somehow I doubt that the one starring Leo Dicaprio would be the one that gets pushed.

[max from fearless]

"Of course we don't know the title. Or anything else, officially. Letterboxd is calling it "The Battle of Baktan Cross," so maybe that's it. We know that Anderson started shooting in Humboldt County about a year ago and wrapped in El Paso a few months later. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio (sporting a handlebar mustache), Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim and Benicio del Toro. It might be loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon's joyous blast of a novel, "Vineland." Or it might not. (In the past, Anderson said it was "just too intimidating" to tackle "Vineland," adding "my brain's not big enough.") Warner Bros. has dubbed the movie an "event film," giving it a summer release date and a reported $115 million budget. Looking to separate fact from fiction, I emailed Anderson who, of course, was of no help. "I need to start figuring out what the f— to say," he replied. True. Summer will be here before we know it."

— Glenn Whipp. LA Times. The 25 movies we're most looking forward to in 2025

[max from fearless]

"I need to start figuring out what the f— to say,"

Paul Thomas Anderson

(PS. Watched Phantom Thread in 35mm, for the first time since seeing it at a preview with a live orchestra with Jonny Greenwood and PTA in attendance, and I must say its now my second favourite PTA film, kinda slow after the first third, but an absolute masterpiece thru n thru. I cannot wait for this new one, remember when Miles Davis used to drop and it said "Directions in Music by Miles Davis" on the cover art!?!?! PTA is one of the only new film cats who can truly truly put that shit on his posters. I'd say the current generation of celebrated filmmakers are begging that, but try way too hard and simultaneously not hard enough. Fix up, look sharp, New PTA on the horizon darlings!)

"Directions in Music by PTA" (thats the highest complement I can give to a filmmaker btw, Scorsese damnwell was the previous guy in the drivers seat far as im concerned...) over n out...

[Find Your Magali]

I'd be really surprised if it gets pushed back. The whole point of "summer event film" is that it requires "summer."

But I do agree that at least the early-tease PR machine for this movie needs to launch by mid-February, at the latest. Very few people outside of film nerd-dom are aware this movie exists. It will need at least six months of marinating buzz.

[Drenk]

This is why the secrecy about the title and basic synopsis is pure paranoia. At this budget level, we'll get bombed by infos and trailers months before release day.

[HACKANUT]

This is why the secrecy about the title and basic synopsis is pure paranoia. At this budget level, we'll get bombed by infos and trailers months before release day.

I would say there's, at least, a decent amount of value in condensing that info bombing to a tighter timeline. No sense stretching the word of mouth marketing too long. The general public doesn't need to know anything about this movie until the spring. I'm guessing to the average person it'll seem like a fun summer surprise movie that isn't some superhero nonsense and it'll do fine along side the other major movies.

[Drenk]

This is why the secrecy about the title and basic synopsis is pure paranoia. At this budget level, we'll get bombed by infos and trailers months before release day.

I would say there's, at least, a decent amount of value in condensing that info bombing to a tighter timeline. No sense stretching the word of mouth marketing too long. The general public doesn't need to know anything about this movie until the spring. I'm guessing to the average person it'll seem like a fun summer surprise movie that isn't some superhero nonsense and it'll do fine along side the other major movies.

Yes, I agree. But he's being deliberately secretive about basic things like a vague synopsis and a title, when nobody cares at that point, this is what I mean. Maybe because The Master leaked. To be fair, there was a vague synopsis for Licorice Pizza and it had no title. This one is probably hard to summarize, even wrongly.

[Find Your Magali]

This is why the secrecy about the title and basic synopsis is pure paranoia. At this budget level, we'll get bombed by infos and trailers months before release day.

I would say there's, at least, a decent amount of value in condensing that info bombing to a tighter timeline. No sense stretching the word of mouth marketing too long. The general public doesn't need to know anything about this movie until the spring. I'm guessing to the average person it'll seem like a fun summer surprise movie that isn't some superhero nonsense and it'll do fine along side the other major movies.

Maybe, but it's all about that first week these days. And those Imax screens, especially, are being sought by other films. These aren't the days where you can let a movie sit out there all summer and just keep creeping upward on hte box office counter. Desperate theaters will punt you the hell out if they can have an extra screen or two for "My Bloody Axe Friend 3." ... You have to knock those first 5 days in theaters out of the park and generate buzz. You must avoid phrases like "underwhelming" "fell short of projections" "underperformed" because there are no do-overs on the first weekend.