Post by mochakitty on May 22, 2012 16:51:11 GMT -4
From Wikipedia:
Teaser Trailer
Teaser Poster
The Master @ IMDb.
Spoilers about the footage that was just screened at Cannes:
Then began new footage. Joaquin Phoenix running across a field, afraid. Him on a boat, walking along a deck at night. And then his first encounter with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He asks Hoffman, "What do you do?"
"I do many many things. I am a doctor, a writer, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher. But above all, I am a man."
We see Hoffman onstage, addressing a group. "I'd like to talk to you today about cold feet and narrow minds. People who have cold feet cannot move forward. People who have narrow minds cannot move side to side. They both take courage. This is what I'd like to talk about."
Then Amy Adams is introduced, and she's got a crazy intensity, even in these short clips, that practically radiates off the screen. "This exercise will help you with your concentration. Look at my eyes. I want you to place something in the future for yourself that you would like to have. It's there, waiting for you."
Then it's back to Hoffman and Phoenix, sitting across from each other in some intense encounter, Hoffman challenging him. "Say your name."
Phoenix sounds hesitant in his response. "Freddie Crock."
"Say it again."
Louder this time. "Freddie Crock."
"Might as well say it one more time, just to make sure you know who you are."
"Freddie Crock."
We see a group of people shooting on the beach, Phoenix among them, and then we see Adams confronting Hoffman, almost in tears. "And this is where we are at," she says. "At the lowest level. To have to explain ourselves. For what? For what we do, we have to grovel. The only way to defend ourselves is to attack. If we don't do that, we will lose every battle we are engaged in. We will never dominate our environment the way we should unless we attack."
Now we appear to be jumping scene to scene, moment to moment. It's just impressions. Adams laughing, out of control. "It's a grim joke."
Hoffman groans. "I was thoughtless in my remarks."
As the scenes cut from one to the next, we keep returning to a haunting image of Phoenix, framed in a window, punching himself in the head. Fast.
Hoffman accuses him. "You linger in bus stations for pleasure." Another shot of Phoenix, punching faster now. Back to Hoffman. "Is your life a struggle?" Punching faster and faster. "Is your behavior erratic? Are you unpredictable?" Phoenix, sitting across from Hoffman, farts loudly and begins to laugh as Hoffman recoils. "What a horrible young man you are."
It seems like they're picking at him, breaking him down. "You're a dirty animal who eats its own feces when it's hungry."
We see them meeting, talking about Phoenix. Amy Adams in particular doesn't seem to trust him. "I wonder how he got here and what he's after. Is it really all so easy that he just came across us? He's dangerous and he will be our undoing if we continue to have him here."
Hoffman's not convinced, though. "If we are not helping him, then it is we who have failed him… is it not?"
Adams is the last one to speak as the title comes up. "The Master." Simple white letters on a black background. "Perhaps he's past help. Or insane." And the Greenwood score ends on a lone violin, mournful. It was a dizzying piece of footage, and much of it was just close-ups against stark black backgrounds, these great actors and their faces and nothing else. It certainly made me eager to see what PTA has been up to, and it also pretty much confirms any report that tied the film to the origins of Scientology. While they may not be doing a straight biopic of L. Ron Hubbard, if you're familiar with his life, it would be impossible not to see him and his wife and the early followers in what we saw tonight.
The Master is an upcoming drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It was given the green-light in May 2011, and began filming in June. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and Laura Dern. The plot involves a religion called "The Cause" which has been compared to Scientology. The Master is scheduled for release on October 12, 2012.
Plot
A charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a religious organization following World War II. A drifter (Phoenix) becomes his right-hand man but as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the drifter finds himself questioning the belief system and his mentor.
Cast
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd
Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell
Amy Adams as Mary Sue Dodd
Laura Dern as Helen
Ambyr Childers as Elizabeth, Lancaster's daughter
Jesse Plemons as Val Dodd, Lancaster's son
Lena Endre as Mrs. Solstad
Rami Malek as Clark, son-in-law of Lancaster Dodd
Madisen Beaty as Doris Solstad
Fiona Dourif
Joshua Close as Wayne
W. Earl Brown as Bus
David Warshofsky as a detective
Patty McCormack
Kevin J. O'Connor as Bill White
Development
An associate of Anderson's had stated that the idea for the film had "been in his head for... probably 12 years". It was first reported in December 2009 that Anderson had been working on a script about the founder of a new religious organization (described as being similar to Scientology) played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The project was initially set up with Universal but they eventually passed on the project along with The Weinstein Company because of problems with the script. The main issue that Universal had with the project was that the budget was too big at about $35 million.
It was later reported that River Road was in serious talks to fully finance the film. In February 2011 it was reported that Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, would finance The Master and Anderson's adaptation of the novel Inherent Vice under her new production company Annapurna Pictures. Harvey Weinstein later picked up the worldwide rights to the film in May 2011.
Hoffman was reported as being cast in the lead role as Lancaster Dodd with Jeremy Renner starring opposite as Freddie Sutton. Renner was later reported as no longer being attached to the film and Joaquin Phoenix was officially cast in the role. Reese Witherspoon was reportedly offered the role of Mary Sue Dodd but Amy Adams was later cast. For the role of Dodd's daughter Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, and Deborah Ann Woll were all considered with the role eventually going to newcomer Ambyr Childers.
Filming
Filming was to begin in August 2010 with Renner starring opposite Hoffman, but was postponed indefinitely in September 2010. In May 2011, after securing financing, the film was given the green-light and filming began in early June 2011 in Vallejo and Sacramento. Shooting took place on Mare Island for a month using the wing of an old hospital and an empty admiral’s mansion for some scenes. In late June filming took place at Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley. Mihai Malaimare Jr. served as cinematographer, making The Master Anderson's first film without cinematographer Robert Elswit. The film was shot on 65mm film.
Music
Jonny Greenwood of the rock band Radiohead is composing the score for the film. This is the second time Greenwood has scored an Anderson film, the first being There Will Be Blood.
Marketing
The first teaser poster for the film appeared in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival with the title Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project. A second promo poster for the film appeared in November 2011 at the American Film Market with the same title. On May 21, a teaser trailer featuring Joaquin Phoenix was released online and several minutes of footage from the film were shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Controversy
Upon the release of the script, comparisons of the religious organization called "The Cause" in the script were being made to Scientology. One reason was that Hoffman shares a physical resemblance to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and after his release from the hospital founded the belief system in 1952, the same year as the religion in the script. A production company official denied that the film was loosely based on Hubbard with producer JoAnne Sellar also denying any connection to Hubbard stating, "It's a World War II drama. It's about a drifter after World War II."
Several websites suggested that "important Hollywood Scientologists" objected to the project because they fear it might reveal too much about the faith and others even speculated that the Church of Scientology had enough power to stop Universal from green-lighting the film. However, none of the production crew has been contacted by representatives of Scientology. When Karin Pouw, a spokeswomen for the church, asked if the church had any concerns about the film she stated "We have not seen the film, so can’t say one way or another," and that the church only knows about the film from what it reads in the press.
Plot
A charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a religious organization following World War II. A drifter (Phoenix) becomes his right-hand man but as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the drifter finds himself questioning the belief system and his mentor.
Cast
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd
Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell
Amy Adams as Mary Sue Dodd
Laura Dern as Helen
Ambyr Childers as Elizabeth, Lancaster's daughter
Jesse Plemons as Val Dodd, Lancaster's son
Lena Endre as Mrs. Solstad
Rami Malek as Clark, son-in-law of Lancaster Dodd
Madisen Beaty as Doris Solstad
Fiona Dourif
Joshua Close as Wayne
W. Earl Brown as Bus
David Warshofsky as a detective
Patty McCormack
Kevin J. O'Connor as Bill White
Development
An associate of Anderson's had stated that the idea for the film had "been in his head for... probably 12 years". It was first reported in December 2009 that Anderson had been working on a script about the founder of a new religious organization (described as being similar to Scientology) played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The project was initially set up with Universal but they eventually passed on the project along with The Weinstein Company because of problems with the script. The main issue that Universal had with the project was that the budget was too big at about $35 million.
It was later reported that River Road was in serious talks to fully finance the film. In February 2011 it was reported that Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, would finance The Master and Anderson's adaptation of the novel Inherent Vice under her new production company Annapurna Pictures. Harvey Weinstein later picked up the worldwide rights to the film in May 2011.
Hoffman was reported as being cast in the lead role as Lancaster Dodd with Jeremy Renner starring opposite as Freddie Sutton. Renner was later reported as no longer being attached to the film and Joaquin Phoenix was officially cast in the role. Reese Witherspoon was reportedly offered the role of Mary Sue Dodd but Amy Adams was later cast. For the role of Dodd's daughter Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, and Deborah Ann Woll were all considered with the role eventually going to newcomer Ambyr Childers.
Filming
Filming was to begin in August 2010 with Renner starring opposite Hoffman, but was postponed indefinitely in September 2010. In May 2011, after securing financing, the film was given the green-light and filming began in early June 2011 in Vallejo and Sacramento. Shooting took place on Mare Island for a month using the wing of an old hospital and an empty admiral’s mansion for some scenes. In late June filming took place at Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley. Mihai Malaimare Jr. served as cinematographer, making The Master Anderson's first film without cinematographer Robert Elswit. The film was shot on 65mm film.
Music
Jonny Greenwood of the rock band Radiohead is composing the score for the film. This is the second time Greenwood has scored an Anderson film, the first being There Will Be Blood.
Marketing
The first teaser poster for the film appeared in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival with the title Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project. A second promo poster for the film appeared in November 2011 at the American Film Market with the same title. On May 21, a teaser trailer featuring Joaquin Phoenix was released online and several minutes of footage from the film were shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Controversy
Upon the release of the script, comparisons of the religious organization called "The Cause" in the script were being made to Scientology. One reason was that Hoffman shares a physical resemblance to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and after his release from the hospital founded the belief system in 1952, the same year as the religion in the script. A production company official denied that the film was loosely based on Hubbard with producer JoAnne Sellar also denying any connection to Hubbard stating, "It's a World War II drama. It's about a drifter after World War II."
Several websites suggested that "important Hollywood Scientologists" objected to the project because they fear it might reveal too much about the faith and others even speculated that the Church of Scientology had enough power to stop Universal from green-lighting the film. However, none of the production crew has been contacted by representatives of Scientology. When Karin Pouw, a spokeswomen for the church, asked if the church had any concerns about the film she stated "We have not seen the film, so can’t say one way or another," and that the church only knows about the film from what it reads in the press.
Teaser Trailer
Teaser Poster
The Master @ IMDb.
Spoilers about the footage that was just screened at Cannes:
Then began new footage. Joaquin Phoenix running across a field, afraid. Him on a boat, walking along a deck at night. And then his first encounter with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He asks Hoffman, "What do you do?"
"I do many many things. I am a doctor, a writer, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher. But above all, I am a man."
We see Hoffman onstage, addressing a group. "I'd like to talk to you today about cold feet and narrow minds. People who have cold feet cannot move forward. People who have narrow minds cannot move side to side. They both take courage. This is what I'd like to talk about."
Then Amy Adams is introduced, and she's got a crazy intensity, even in these short clips, that practically radiates off the screen. "This exercise will help you with your concentration. Look at my eyes. I want you to place something in the future for yourself that you would like to have. It's there, waiting for you."
Then it's back to Hoffman and Phoenix, sitting across from each other in some intense encounter, Hoffman challenging him. "Say your name."
Phoenix sounds hesitant in his response. "Freddie Crock."
"Say it again."
Louder this time. "Freddie Crock."
"Might as well say it one more time, just to make sure you know who you are."
"Freddie Crock."
We see a group of people shooting on the beach, Phoenix among them, and then we see Adams confronting Hoffman, almost in tears. "And this is where we are at," she says. "At the lowest level. To have to explain ourselves. For what? For what we do, we have to grovel. The only way to defend ourselves is to attack. If we don't do that, we will lose every battle we are engaged in. We will never dominate our environment the way we should unless we attack."
Now we appear to be jumping scene to scene, moment to moment. It's just impressions. Adams laughing, out of control. "It's a grim joke."
Hoffman groans. "I was thoughtless in my remarks."
As the scenes cut from one to the next, we keep returning to a haunting image of Phoenix, framed in a window, punching himself in the head. Fast.
Hoffman accuses him. "You linger in bus stations for pleasure." Another shot of Phoenix, punching faster now. Back to Hoffman. "Is your life a struggle?" Punching faster and faster. "Is your behavior erratic? Are you unpredictable?" Phoenix, sitting across from Hoffman, farts loudly and begins to laugh as Hoffman recoils. "What a horrible young man you are."
It seems like they're picking at him, breaking him down. "You're a dirty animal who eats its own feces when it's hungry."
We see them meeting, talking about Phoenix. Amy Adams in particular doesn't seem to trust him. "I wonder how he got here and what he's after. Is it really all so easy that he just came across us? He's dangerous and he will be our undoing if we continue to have him here."
Hoffman's not convinced, though. "If we are not helping him, then it is we who have failed him… is it not?"
Adams is the last one to speak as the title comes up. "The Master." Simple white letters on a black background. "Perhaps he's past help. Or insane." And the Greenwood score ends on a lone violin, mournful. It was a dizzying piece of footage, and much of it was just close-ups against stark black backgrounds, these great actors and their faces and nothing else. It certainly made me eager to see what PTA has been up to, and it also pretty much confirms any report that tied the film to the origins of Scientology. While they may not be doing a straight biopic of L. Ron Hubbard, if you're familiar with his life, it would be impossible not to see him and his wife and the early followers in what we saw tonight.
