The Master (2012 film)
Encyclopedia
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 will star Philip Seymour Hoffman
, Joaquin Phoenix
, Amy Adams
and Laura Dern
. The plot involves a religion called "The Cause" which has been compared to Scientology
.
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.
) 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. 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 adaption of the novel Inherent Vice
. Harvey Weinstein
later picked up the worldwide rights to the film. Mihai Malaimare Jr.
served as cinematographer on the film making the film the first time Anderson did not work with Robert Elswit
.
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
.
and Sacramento
. In late June filming took place at Hillside Elementary School
in Berkeley
.
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.
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.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written, directed and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...
. It was given the green-light in May 2011, and began filming in June. The film will star Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
, Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
and Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
. The plot involves a religion called "The Cause" which has been compared to Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
.
Plot
A charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a faith-basedFaith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
organization following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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 HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
as Lancaster Dodd - Joaquin PhoenixJoaquin PhoenixJoaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
as Freddie Sutton - Amy AdamsAmy AdamsAmy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
as Mary Sue Dodd - Ambyr ChildersAmbyr ChildersAmbyr C. Childers is an American actress.- Biography :Aside from her role as Barbie in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, she is known mostly for her role on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Colby Chandler, whom she portrayed from 2006 to 2008...
as Lancaster's daughter - Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
- Jesse PlemonsJesse PlemonsJesse Plemons is an American film and television actor best known for playing Landry Clarke on NBC's Friday Night Lights.-Career:...
as Lancaster's son - David WarshofskyDavid WarshofskyDavid Warshofsky is an American film and television actor.-Life and career:Warshofsky was born in Saratoga, California. There is some dispute about this. Other sources, some self-contradictory, have listed his place and date of birth as San Francisco in 1961 or 1959, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and...
as a detective - Lena EndreLena EndreLena Endre is a Swedish actress. She was born in Lidingö, Stockholm County, and grew up in Härnösand, Ångermanland and Trollbäcken, Tyresö. She had her breakthrough in the Swedish TV-series Varuhuset and Lorry in the 1980s. Since then she has acted in a number of TV-series and movies, both in...
- Rami MalekRami MalekRami Said Malek is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the gay teenage next-door-neighbor, "Kenny" on the FOX comedy series The War at Home; for his role as Merriell "Snafu" Shelton in the HBO miniseries The Pacific; and for his role as the pharaoh Ahkmenrah in the feature films...
as Clark, son-in-law of Lancaster Dodd - Madisen BeatyMadisen BeatyMadisen Beaty is an American teen actress based in the Los Angeles, California area. She has two younger siblings, Declan and Rylie. Both are actors.-Career:...
- Fiona DourifFiona DourifFiona Dourif is an American film and television actress.Fiona was born in Woodstock, New York. Her father is Oscar-nominated actor Brad Dourif, and her mother is Jonina "Joni" Dourif. She has one sister Kristina Dourif born in 1976. She is of French-Romanian ancestry on her mother's...
- Joshua CloseJoshua CloseJoshua Close is a Canadian actor.-Filmography:*The Pacific as Edward Sledge*The Dead Sleep as Tim*Diary of the Dead as Jason*Full of It as Kyle Plunkett...
- Patty McCormackPatty McCormackPatty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films and television.She achieved success as a child actress, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad Seed...
Development
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 ScientologyScientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
) played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The project was initially set up with Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
but they eventually passed on the project along with The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
because of problems with the script. 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
Larry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's leading enterprise software companies. As of 2011, he is the third wealthiest American citizen, with an estimated worth of $33 billion.- Early life :Larry Ellison was born in the...
, would finance The Master and Anderson's adaption of the novel Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009.-Title:The term "inherent vice" is a legal tenet referring to a "hidden defect of a good or property which of itself is the cause of its deterioration, damage, or wastage...
. Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
later picked up the worldwide rights to the film. Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Mihai Malaimare Jr. is a cinematographer from Romania. He was a cinematographer on films directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He was nominated for best cinematography at the Independent Spirit Awards 2008 for Youth Without Youth.-Feature Filmography:...
served as cinematographer on the film making the film the first time Anderson did not work with Robert Elswit
Robert Elswit
Robert Christopher Elswit, ASC is an American cinematographer. He has had multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit nominations for several films, including There Will Be Blood. Elswit frequently works with director Paul Thomas Anderson.Elswit is a fierce defender of shooting with film, and...
.
Hoffman was reported as being cast in the lead role as Lancaster Dodd with Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...
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
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
was reportedly offered the role of Mary Sue Dodd but Amy Adams was later cast. For the role of Dodd's daughter Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
, Emma Stone, and Deborah Ann Woll
Deborah Ann Woll
Deborah Ann Woll is an American actress best known for her role as Jessica Hamby on HBO's True Blood.- Early life :...
were all considered with the role eventually going to newcomer Ambyr Childers
Ambyr Childers
Ambyr C. Childers is an American actress.- Biography :Aside from her role as Barbie in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, she is known mostly for her role on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Colby Chandler, whom she portrayed from 2006 to 2008...
.
Filming
The film was originally to begin filming 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 VallejoVallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
and Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. In late June filming took place at Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School is a now-closed public elementary school located in the hills of Berkeley, California. It sits on the block bounded by Le Roy Avenue, Buena Vista Way and La Loma Avenue. Hillside is registered as a local historic landmark...
in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
Marketing
The first teaser poster for the film appeared in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...
with the title Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project. A second promo poster for the film appeared in November 2011 at the American Film Market
American Film Market
The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...
with the same title.
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 HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
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
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
had enough power to stop Universal from green-lighting the film.