We’re literally only a week and change away from Paul Thomas Anderson unleashing ‘The Master’ on paying audiences (not to mention festival screenings already underway and press screenings to come very shortly). Of course, that can mean only one thing…it’s time to start talking about what Anderson could be making next. He’s had his eye on an adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel ‘Inherent Vice’ for a little bit now, with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. He’s also now looking to adapt ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ as well, so there are options, which The Playlist has gone over here. After the jump you can see what PTA had to say, but I’m interested in both works. Hit the jump for more…
Here’s part of the article:
“I’m hoping we can get ‘Inherent Vice’ going soon. That’s what I’m writing now,” he told Screen Daily in Venice. But as folks already know, this one has already been brewing for a while. An adaptation of Thomas Pychon’s novel, the project first dropped on the radar in 2010, and shortly thereafter, found financing via Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures who also backed “The Master” after Universal bailed out. The picture also seemed to gain a lead in Robert Downey Jr., who as recently as last December, was hinting very strongly at working with Anderson.
The 384-page “novella” is a bit more straightforward than usual Pynchon fare, and follows a private detective uncovering a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer in drug-kissed 1960s Los Angeles. Many reviewers have even drawn comparisons to the psychedelic noir of “The Big Lebowski.” Downey Jr. is eyeing the lead role of the blissed-out investigator, and it will seemingly be another genre detour for Anderson…into stoner comedy?
“[It's] like a ‘Cheech and Chong’ movie. Adapting Pychon’s work is] just gonna be great and, hopefully, fun” he told Empire, while also revealing he’s tackling the author’s opus “Gravity’s Rainbow” as well. “Hopefully not long. I’d like to have a few years of being more productive. But we’ll see,” he said about progress on that one.
-Thoughts? Discuss in the comments!
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Tags: book adaptation, Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson, rumors, upcoming projects
4 Comments
I hope to God this pans out. Pynchon fascinates me and I would love to see actual film adaptations of his work.
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
I think a Paul Thomas Anderson film starring Robert Downey Jr. could really be something special…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Agreed. Personally I’m more interested to see how he’d tackle Gravity’s Rainbow, since it’s my impression that it’s an essentially unfilmable novel. But if he gets Inherent Vice going with Downey, that’ll be just fine too.
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
They’re certainly different projects, but I’m equally interested in both.
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)