A very brief snippet at fan blog Cigarettes and Red Vines seems to suggest that Paul Thomas Anderson's mission to get his indie drama The Master up and running is finally complete, and that filming will start next month.
The maverick director of There Will Be Blood, Magnolia and Boogie Nights needed to drum up around $35m, but faced an uphill struggle from potential financiers. Dramas are always a tough sell, even when their directors have won Oscars, but **The Master **must have twitched some particular nerves, dealing as it apparently does (almost certainly obliquely, to avoid getting sued) with the founding of the Church of Scientology. Or Something Very Like It.
Long-term Anderson alumnus Philip Seymour Hoffman is already attached as the titular Master, reportedly based to some extent on Scientology founder and sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard. Or Someone Very Like Him. The plot, as far as we know so far, focuses on the relationship between Master Hoffman and drifter Freddie, which begins with trust and dependence but eventually sours and fractures. Jeremy Renner has, for some time, been standing at the front of the queue to play Freddie, but he's not confirmed in the role at this stage. Reese Witherspoon's name has also been mentioned in connection with Mary-Sue, Hoffman's "lieutenant".
CHUD speculate that, if filming really is starting as soon as next month, we might see The Master in time for the next Cannes festival (May) or even Sundance (January). Expect further updates in the very near future.