I guess we’re moving forward in time with the whole “I am a false prophet. God is a superstition” discourse. Paul Thomas Anderson must have liked Philip Seymour Hoffman take on the priesthood in Doubt, as he is putting his faith in him. Universal studios would be doing the same with a 35 million dollar faith based, period drama probably not of the Kirk Cameron kind, and despite the similarities in choice of year circa 1952, probably not the Jimmy Jones kind either.
The Master would see Hoffman take on the role of a founder, a “master of ceremonies” type of charismatic intellectual who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952, hence the Jones reference I mentioned before. That is the year Jones started his gig and we know where that eventually lead towards. The core is the relationship between the Master and Freddie, a twentysomething drifter who becomes the leader’s lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor. The drama explores the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which one to embrace and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion. I could see Paul Dano in the role of Freddie, but I think it would be best if Anderson distances himself from tracing back to There Will Be Blood.
I never thought I’d mentioned Bruno Dumont and PTA in the same sentence, and for that matter Carlos Reygadas who recently had his own tug of war with the person upstairs in Silent Light, but the best minds in cinema at some point in time take issues of theology with 35mm. Dumont just delivered Hadewijch this year.
JoAnne Sellar would produce the project which is apparently in script completing mode, and it is only at that time that Universal might go the Basterds route and work with a reputable indie filmmaker.
