Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis’ New Period Drama Is Officially Coming in 2017
Back in June we learned that Paul Thomas Anderson was looking to potentially reunite with There Will Be Blood star Daniel Day-Lewis for a new period drama set in the world of fashion. Things have been fairly quiet on that front since then, but today brings incredibly exciting news for fans of Anderson (and Day-Lewis, and cinema in general) as Focus Features has reportedly won an intense bidding war for the film, which is eyeing a 2017 release date.
Per Deadline, the untitled project was the subject of a “ferocious” bidding war between Focus Features and Fox Searchlight, with the former ultimately securing the rights to Anderson’s reunion with Daniel Day-Lewis. At $35 million, the deal eclipses Fox Searchlight’s record-breaking Sundance acquisition of The Birth of a Nation and Focus’ own $20 million deal for Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals.
Little is known about Anderson’s latest project, his first since 2014’s Inherent Vice. The filmmaker recently completed the screenplay for the film, which takes place in the world of London fashion in the 1950s. Anderson is looking to begin production early next year for a late 2017 (awards season, of course) release. It was previously reported that Anderson was looking to meet with actresses of “Eastern European descent” for supporting roles, while Day-Lewis was in talks for the lead after being “loosely attached” to star for some time.
The actor, who won an Academy Award for his role in Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, has not appeared on screen since 2012, when he played the title role in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (which also earned him an Oscar).
Since the release of Inherent Vice, Anderson has directed music videos for Radiohead and Joanna Newsom, and helmed the short music doc Junun. As of last summer, he was working on a screenplay for Robert Downey Jr.’s Pinocchio film, which Ron Howard is now attached to direct.