Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master expanded to a rather wide number of theaters this past weekend, but a final trailer for the film has just now landed online.  Anderson confirmed that he cut and released the previous trailers himself, and this nearly 5-minute long final trailer is appropriately titled “Last One/Thank You.”  The clip features a great deal of unseen footage and extended scenes not in the finished film, so it’s a fruitful watch for those that are still ruminating on the incredibly dense pic (like myself).  It’s rare these days that we get a film that sparks so much discussion and so many varied opinions on what it all means, and I have a feeling we’re gonna be talking about The Master for years to come.

Hit the jump to watch the extended trailer, which is NSFW.  The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.

With his performance in The Master ready to be seen by audiences this weekend, Philip Seymour Hoffman is already setting his sights on the director’s chair.  Hoffman is set to helm Ezekiel Moss, a Depression Era ghost story from Keith Bunin’s Black List script.  This picture would mark Hoffman’s second directorial effort after 2010′s Jack Goes Boating.  The story centers on a young boy in a small town who befriends a drifter who claims he can speak to the dead.  Hit the jump for more on Hoffman and Ezekiel Moss.

I love it when films help me to understand a new culture.  Usually, I visit these new cultures through documentaries, but Yaron Zilberman‘s non-documentary feature A Late Quartet captivated me with an introduction to the world of orchestral music.  More impressive, he uses a technical explanation as a gateway to the conflict between his central characters.  Their instruments are thoughtful metaphors for their personalities, and we see how the pursuit of personal expression through a musician’s art can both divide and unite his or her group.  The movie does hit a false note when it forces a conflict between two characters, but for the most part, the cast, the story, and the setting play together in perfect harmony.

Rejoice, The Hunger Games fans!  Production has officially started on the Francis Lawrence-directed follow-up, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  According to their press release, the film “will shoot primarily in existing locations in and near Atlanta, Georgia.  The film will subsequently be shot on location in the beaches and jungles of Hawaii before wrapping in late December, 2012.”  Perhaps more importantly, the director has recorded a video message for fans, announcing a worldwide sweepstakes that will win some lucky fans a chance to visit the set and participate in a cast and crew Q&A!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, in addition to Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright, Tony Shalhoub, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Amanda Plummer, Lynn Cohen, Bruno Gunn, Alan Ritchson, E. Roger Mitchell, Meta Golding, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland and Woody Harrelson.  Hit the jump for the video from Francis Lawrence and details on the fan set visit contest. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22, 2013.

The first trailer and poster for director Yaron Zilberman’s drama A Late Quartet have been released.  The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener and Mark Invanir as members of a world-renowned string quartet struggling to stay together “as they mark their 25th anniversary in the face of illness, competing egos, and insuppressible lust.”  The trailer gives the viewer the feeling of watching a really great play, and it appears that we’re in for a masterclass of acting with stellar performances from the whole cast.  Moreover, hearing Walken describe the intricacies of classical music in a way that only he can is pure bliss.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Imogen Poots and Liraz Charhi and will screen as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, which is currently in progress.

Tickets for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master should be good for two screenings.  The movie is so damn dense that there’s almost too much to digest on an initial viewing.  Like his previous film, There Will Be Blood, The Master is hypnotic with its smooth, crisp cinematography and Jonny Greenwood‘s moaning, bluesy score.  The story proceeds at a slow, methodical pace where the energy comes from the astonishing performances of lead actors Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.  But the craft and talent of the project was never in doubt.  What makes The Master such a challenge is in trying to untangle the twisted themes and symbols presented by the central conflict between a mad dog and his owner.

If you’d like to check out director Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, you’re in luck (if you live in the Austin, TX area)!  The Alamo Drafthouse Ritz will be screening the film in 70mm this coming Monday, September 10th at 7:30 PM.  As a way to announce this event, a new, NSFW clip has been released that features Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell taking a Navy psychological examination.  While we never get to see the inkblots in question, it’s clear that Quell only has one thing on his mind.  Hit the jump to see what that is.

The Master, also starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams opens in limited release September 14th, with expansion on September 21st. 

A new TV spot for writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s highly anticipated drama The Master has been released.  The film tells the story of a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who creates his own religion and the drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) he trains to be his right-hand man.  This new TV spot is in keeping with the ominous tone set by the other trailers and clips as it opens with Hoffman’s character talking about “the source of all creation” with bombastic enthusiasm.  The interactions between Hoffman and Phoenix look killer, and this TV spot is yet another reminder of the ridiculously promising films coming our way in the next few months.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Amy Adams and Jesse Plemons.  The Master opens in limited release on September 14th and expands everywhere on September 21st.

A new clip from Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master has gone online.  Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic leader for “The Cause.”  Joaquin Phoenix co-stars as Freddie Sutton, a veteran of the Navy with what appears to be post-traumatic stress syndrome, and who finds himself swayed by Dodd.  Amy Adams plays Dodd’s wife, and she’s come off as a slightly-sinister threat in the trailers we’ve seen.  In this new clip, we see a glimpse of her fury, and I’m curious to see how much of a factor she plays in Dodd’s rise to power.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Laura Dern and Jesse Plemons.  The Master will play the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival before opening in limited release on September 14th and expanding on September 21st.

The wait is almost over for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, but we have one more trailer to share before it hits theaters next month.  Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic leader for “The Cause.”  Joaquin Phoenix also stars as Freddie Sutton, a veteran of the Navy with what appears to be post-traumatic stress syndrome and who finds himself swayed by Dodd.  Phoenix lends a percussive tempo to the new trailer for The Master, which helps ratchet up the tension a bit.  While also featuring new footage, this last trailer showcases a few scenes that you can expect will look glorious in their 70mm format.  Hit the jump to watch it.

The release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master is less than a month away, but the level of teasing going on right now is almost cruel.  Anderson surprised viewers in Santa Monica with a secret premiere of the film a few weeks ago, and has subsequently had more unannounced screenings in Chicago and New York.  Word has been unsurprisingly positive, and Anderson has now finally spoken out a bit about the film’s development process and its ties to Scientology.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say. [Update: A new clip from the film has landed online, which is now included after the jump.]

I was convinced I need to see The Master months ago, so I should probably stop watching the footage that they release online.  Yet it’s all so good in standalone form as clips, teasers, trailers: I have to watch everything.  In addition to the typical enigmatic spine-tingling quality, this new clip adds a couple elements.  1) I believe this is the most we have seen/heard of Amy Adams‘ character—she gets a nice, earnest monologue.  2) Assuming that’s Johnny Greenwood‘s score playing under this clip… wow.  Beautiful fluttering woodwinds everywhere.

Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Dern, and Jesse Plemons also star in the latest from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson.  The Master opens in just four short weeks on September 14, but find out how you can see it tomorrow night if you live in Chicago after the jump.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master is about a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who creates his own religion and the drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) he trains to be his right-hand man.  Since the inception of the project, it has been implied and/or assumed that the story was partly influenced by the life of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology.  Philip Seymour Hoffman, however, is quoted in the new issue of EW opposing the idea that The Master is only about Scientology:

“It’s not the L. Ron Hubbard story…  [Scientology] was one of the bigger movements at the time, but there were a lot of movements at that time.  There’s nothing about how I’m behaving or talking that echoes [Hubbard].  I thought of a lot of other bigger-than-life personalities, charismatic people like Orson Welles.”

Hit the jump for more, including 12 new images from the movie.

The past few weeks have been chock-full of great news concerning Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.  First we got a fantastic full trailer, then The Weinstein Company moved the film’s released date up a full month, and just this past weekend Anderson surprised some lucky fans in Santa Monica with the first premiere screening of the film.  Now a brand new poster for the film has been released that’s both great and slightly puzzling.  The first poster was modeled after a bottle of wine and we assumed this alluded to Joaquin Phoenix’s character’s alcoholism, but I’m not as certain regarding the importance of this kaleidoscope design.  Nevertheless, it’s fantastic to look at and I imagine it’ll make more sense once we’ve seen the film.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, and Jesse Plemons.  The Master opens on September 14th.

It’s been five long years since writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s last feature (2007’s There Will Be Blood) and the one-of-a-kind filmmaker finally returns this year with the drama The Master.  The film is reportedly influenced by L. Ron Hubbard’s creation of Scientology, as Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as World War II veteran Lancaster Dodd, a man who’s haunted by his experiences and decides to form his own religion.  Joaquin Phoenix plays a drifter who becomes Dodd’s right hand man, and the film’s trailers promise some explosive performances from the two actors.

Fans have understandably been eager to get a look at the film, and we got some great news recently as it was announced that the film’s release date had been moved up a full month to September 14th.  Though that’s not too far away, Anderson surprised some lucky bastards last night by premiering the full film in a secret screening in Santa Monica, directly after a screening of The Shining.  Hit the jump to check out some of the first reactions to The Master.  Spoiler alert: they’re extremely positive.