Film nerds started buzzing this week when official social media accounts turned up for the upcoming movie from Paul Thomas Anderson.
His highly anticipated follow-up to “Phantom Thread” was shot under the working title of “Soggy Bottom,” but we now know it will officially be called “Licorice Pizza.”
Twitter started to buzz earlier in the week when moviegoers at Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema reported the trailer had started to show up before screenings there. Subsequently other theaters like Chicago’s Music Box Theatre were posting that they had gotten a 35mm treat from the director (note the lead on the print still retains the original name).
What else do we know so far about this new movie?
PTA’s ninth feature film stars Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Paul Thomas Anderson, in his first screen role. The plot is still relatively unknown but is set in the 1970s.
Other members of the cast include Bradley Cooper, director Benny Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, and musicians Tom Waits and Alana Haim.
The new name of the film comes from a beloved chain of record stores in the Los Angeles area that began in 1969 and were open through 1985.
“Licorice Pizza” was recently rated R by the MPAA for language, sexual material, and some drug use, which indicates the final cut is locked and ready to go.
As of now, MGM is expected to open the film in limited release on November 26, with a wider national release to follow on December 25. Based on the director’s passion for shooting on film and the limited 35mm-only trailer drops so far, we anticipate that there will be audiences in certain markets that will actually get to see the film projected on celluloid, in addition to digital screenings.
Hopefully the trailer will officially drop online soon!
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