There is plenty of attention on Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest project, The Master, and the marketing team from The Weinstein Company is making sure things stay intriguing with the first teaser poster, available via The Huffington Post below.
The film has attracted attention thanks to claims that it’ll explore the life of a man very much like Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, who forms his own religious movement during the 1950s. Amy Adams plays Dodd's wife, while Joaquin Phoenix stars as his young-but-troubled protégé. The similarities to Hubbard’s life and the foundation of his group are striking, though Hoffman is on record as saying it doesn’t have any real connection.
Given how Scientologists have generally responded to any portrayal, we could see why people might wish to avoid the hassle of any overt connection, though if anyone would be willing to jump into the fray you’d imagine it would be Anderson. As for the poster? We can only speculate. We know Phoenix's Freddie Sutton is a drinker, but there must be more meaning to it than that...
**The Master **arrives in the US on October 12. There’s no set UK release date yet. Check out the most recent trailer here.