Call it The Master or simply refer to it as writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming untitled religious drama, but one thing is for certain, the last couple of days have seen a lot of movement in terms of casting on the feature that is now set up at the Weinstein Co. after Universal decided to pass on the project as it is set to begin production later this month.
The biggest name to be added to the cast is that of Amy Adams as Deadline reports the Oscar-nominated actress will play the wife of the character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman stars as Lancaster Dodd, a man who returns home after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls. Joaquin Phoenix was previously cast as Freddie Sutton, an alcoholic drifter that becomes the faith leader’s right-hand man.
Additionally, Laura Dern (Blue Velvet), Jesse Plemons, David Warshofsky and Lena Endre, who is best known for playing Erika Berger in the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, have joined the cast according to reports from Variety and The Playlist.
Plemons is a guy you’re going to come to know better as he recently had a role in Paul and will be seen in Peter Berg’s Battleship next year. Warshofsky is a veteran actor who also had a role in Anderson’s There Will be Blood and I actually just saw him in Miranda July’s weird little film The Future, which Roadside Attractions will release on July 29.
As for Adams, after a stellar turn in David O. Russell’s The Fighter last year she has amassed a nice set of films coming up including The Muppets, Walter Salles’ On the Road as well as the part of Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman feature, Man of Steel.
Of course, as with any Anderson feature, this one will be hotly anticipated by a select group of onliners, though it may not receive as much attention as say… Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.
