Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those directors who can do no wrong with the Elect who cover film now. He really is the King of Kings. I can’t think of a director who is as beloved and less scrutinized as him. I’m not sure what it is about him that makes him so teflon among them, but he has emerged as the millennial generation’s Scorsese.
His latest film is his most expensive to date, clocking in at approximately $100 mil, though how much of that is Leonardo DiCaprio’s salary, I do not know. There is no version of this story where they make that money back. And maybe that explains why they’re moving it to September, out of the pressure of the Summer blockbuster season. Make it awards bait, its best chance.
Although I guess you never know. People are so hungry for a good movie. If it makes sense even a little bit — aka, tells a semi-linear story — maybe it will start to edge close to $100 mil, though a profit on that number seems like a heavy lift.
Despite being beloved by the film crowd, Licorice Pizza could not earn back its $40 mil price tag. That was a sweetly nostalgic look at coming of age in the valley. This is an action film, by the looks of it. Hollywood, I find, is telling the same story over and over again. They tell the story of who THEY are, not who WE are and therein lies the disconnect.
No plot details have emerged yet, though apparently there’s Sean Penn showing up somewhere as the Trump-like figure (I think?). But as I said, it’s Paul Thomas Anderson and he can do no wrong. I predict rave reviews and, but for the tiny thing about it that will bug me endlessly, I look forward to seeing it, should I actually get invited to see it.
One Battle After Another stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Benicio Del Toro
Reginal Hall
Sean Penn
Alaina Haim
Teyana Taylor
Music: Jonny Greenwood
Casting: Tracy Dixon, Kelly Hunt
One Battle After Another has moved to September, the sweet spot of Film Festival season, which decides the Oscar race every year. No “late-breaker” has ever won Best Picture, not since they moved the date back by one month.
Since then, film festivals have decided which movies get into the race. The public no longer matters—except when they do, as with Oppenheimer. So who knows? If PTA gets a hit on his hands, a blockbuster even, maybe the public will have a say.
In other news, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride will not be in the Oscar race this year but will move to March, 2026. Not sure why that would be, but that’s what Deadline is reporting:
