Paul Thomas Anderson has had a stellar year. His last effort, The Master acquired three Oscar nominations and his upcoming feature continues to generate an awe-inspiring cast. That next project, Inherent Vice, has in the last month attracted a wealth of fine acting talent and today, Deadline reports that Josh Brolin has also signed on.
Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice follows a drug-crazed private investigator called Larry “Doc” Sportello, played by The Master‘s Joaquin Phoenix. Set in the 1970s the story revolves around Doc’s involvement in the case of a missing girl and a botched plot to get a real estate mogul into the slammer. All the while he’s smoking up a storm and generating a spot of paranoia.
According to Deadline, Brolin is “set for a key role.” With not a lot to go on there, we can turn to who has been cast already and their characters. Benicio Del Toro is on board for a scene-stealing role as Sauncho Smilax; Doc’s lawyer. Reese Witherspoon will be sidling up to Phoenix as she has been cast as his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth, which, by the looks of the novel could be a small role as well. Owen Wilson and Jena Malone round out the confirmed cast as musician Coy Harlingen and a youngster Doc knows from a previous investigation named Japonica Fenway.
Out of the major players in the novel, we’d hazard a guess that Brolin has a few solid options. There’s Mickey Wolfman; the real estate goon or Sportello’s enemy, LAPD Detective Christian Bjornsen. Either of those could have been swiped by Sean Penn, who is rumoured to be interested in joining the flick. The rumours of his commitment so far have linked him to the role of Adrian Prussia; a ruthless loan shark. To be honest, both actors would suit any of the remaining slots in the lineup.
Inherent Vice starts shooting this summer.