Paul Thomas Anderson is busy preparing his next film, Inherent Vice. Based on the Thomas Pynchon novel of the same name, the cast that Anderson has assembled thus far is damn impressive. Already set to star Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role, with Benicio Del Toro and Owen Wilson supporting him, the director has now brought on three more talented individuals as Reese Witherspoon, Martin Short and Jena Malone have all joined.
Witherspoon was actually supposed to star in PTA’s last film, The Master. That obviously didn’t work out but luckily, this time the two were able to make it happen. No word yet on who she will play but those who’ve read the novel guess that it will be Shasta Fay Hepworth, the ex-girlfriend of Phoenix’s character, Doc Sportello. Whoever she ends up playing, it’ll be nice to see the actress re-unite with her Walk The Line co-star.
As for the other two, Malone will play a former drug addict who goes to Sportello for help and Short will have a small role, though we don’t have any details on it just yet.
For those unfamiliar with the novel, it follows an “inept, pot-smoking private detective Doc Sportello (Phoenix) as he investigates the case of a kidnapped girl, who also happens to be one of his ex-girlfriends.”
I haven’t read Inherent Vice but it certainly sounds like something that could make for a really special film under the talented Paul Thomas Anderson. The plot sounds intriguing and hopefully it will be something more than just another standard detective mystery tale. PTA and Phoenix did produce pretty great results with The Master, so something tells me that we’ll be in for a treat with this one, too.
So far, the cast list for Inherent Vice seems to be coming along quite well, as is usually the case for a PTA film. It seems that most of the lead roles have been filled at this stage but if anyone else signs on, we’ll be sure to let you know.
In the meantime, tell us, are you happy with these three new additions to the cast?