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Last week we brought you word that Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to this year's brilliant duel character study The Master, would begin shooting this month. His adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's stoner detective novel Inherent Vice has been in the works since 2010, but is finally set to start production thanks to Warner Bros. backing and Robert Elswit shooting the picture. And now, as expected, the cast list seems to be rolling in with Benicio del Toro now in talks to join the cast of Anderson's counterculture noir film. 

Back in January, we shed light on Paul Thomas Anderson's next feature, the long-discussed adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice. As the first authorized cinematic revisiting of the author's work, the project was announced back in 2010 and has since made its way around the rumor mill, with various speculations as to who would comprise of the cast, just when it would begin production, and who would backing the film.

Last night, the charming and unfathomably talented Xavier Dolan took to the stage at MoMA in conjunction with their Modern Mondays and Canadian Front 2013—which not only premiered his debut feature I Killed My Mother in the US, but screened his sophomore effort Heartbeats, as well as his incredible upcoming epic love story Laurence Anyways. The 23-year-old actor/director/writer sat down last night for a conversation with MoMA's Raj Ray and Indiewire's Peter Knegt for two hours, covering everything from his voiceover work as Taylor Lautner's character in the French-dubbed Twilight films, the importance of childhood on his cinematic mind, and his next feature, his first American film.

Attention film nerds: you're going to want to watch this. If you're a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson—which if you aren't, what is wrong with you?—you understand that the 42-year-old genius has the most incredible gift for storytelling that's as rich as reading any novel while remaining visually and technically skilled. It's pretty incredible to think that with only six feature films under his belt, Anderson has become one of the most prolific directors of our time, not only awakening our love of cinema but showing us the ways in which a filmmaker can evolve with each movie he makes.

According to Variety, Joaquin Phoenix is looking to collaborate with PT Anderson once again after their extensive and impressive work together on The Master. Set to adapt and direct his version of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice, this would mark the first authorized adaptation of one of the writer's works and has been part of the Hollywood discussion for a while now, with Annapurna Pictures backing the film—and we've been hearing fora while that Robert Downey Jr. has been linked to the film for the leading character, Larry "Doc" Sportello. But now, it appears that Phoenix is looking to take over the role of Sportello, a stoner detective in Pynchon's counter-culture noir. As of earlier this month, word around town was that Charlize Theron was also looking to join the project, which centers on the story of Sportello uncovering a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer in 1960s Los Angeles. Variety also went onto say that this will also be the first foray into comedy for Anderson.

If you still haven't Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, don't even think about watching it on your computer. Whether awards season recognizes it or not, Anderson's in-depth character study of two distorted minds set against a massive landscape that's as deeply mean and brutal as it is beautiful and human, the film serves as one of the most well-crafted features of the year. Brought about by a director who truly knows how to coax incredible performances from his actors The Master showcases some of the finest acting I've seen in a long time, with cinematography that feels massive and emotionally all-encompassing—all enhanced by Jonny Greenwood's stunning score. This is a muscular film to be played large; it would be a shame to see it for the first time in any minimalistic way. Watching Anderson's film play out in the dark of a theater allows you to connect with the characters, truly falling into the picture, leaving you exhausted by the end of it all as if you've carried the weight of their world around with you. And this weekend, both new viewers and lovers of the film will get the chance to see the film once again on the big screen.

Despite the lack of Academy recognition, it’s an indisputable fact that Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest working filmmakers of our time who has put out some of the best films of the past two decades. I mean,just think about the fact that Boogie Nights was released when Anderson was only 27—the man is a genius. No one gets better performances out of their actors—just watch this scene of Julianne Moore from Magnolia on repeat for a master class in character. But anyhow, this morning PTA decided to grace us with a video under his YouTube channel Al Rose Productions. Unrelated to The Master, the video turned out to be a long-lost pilot episode for something called ”The Jon Brion Show.” No further information necessary, I'm sold.

Well, the Director's Guild nominations have come in, and they've proved to be entirely predictable. Not a surprise in the house. And that isn't to say the directors nominated aren't deserving and that their films don't merit acclaim but come on, there are so many brilliant films being made and so many talented people at work, that although awards don't mean everything, it's just slightly disheartening to see the scope of praise be so narrow.

The infamously secretive (but surely not as weird as Salinger) postmodernist author and absolute genius Thomas Pynchon turns 76 this year: that much we know. But will he publishing a novel this fall called Bleeding Edge, as Ron Charles of The Washington Post tweeted on Friday? Penguin Press, who should know, isn’t saying anything. But maybe that’s to heighten suspense.

Over the past decade, Paul Thomas Anderson’s films have seemed to change from a Robert Altman-esque tangled web of intersecting personal dramas to intimate character studies set against a Kubrickian level of largeness and detail. There’s no denying his 2007 epic, There Will Be Blood, was one of the best films of the last decade, although his latest, The Master, seemed to have even the most devout P.T. fans on the fence. Personally, I loved the film for its performances, which exhausted me as an audience member just sitting in my seat, feeling as if I was carrying Freddie’s weight along with me. But regardless of your critique, it’s undoubtable that his film’s always feature incredible scores—and with master of arresting musical scores, guitarist and composer Jonny Greenwood’s stab at scoring the sense of post-war anxiety, ill-ease, desperation, and manipulation of this world, the film is enhanced to an mystical level that has won him a shot at an Oscar and praise for his musical brilliance.