Paul Thomas Anderson Is Back With a Slice of Licorice Pizza

     It’s been almost five years since auteur filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson has made a feature and cinephiles everywhere have been waiting desperately for whenever he would emerge from the shadows to bring us his next picture. The first official look at his new film Licorice Pizza dropped, showing off a surprisingly tender side of PTA we haven’t seen in a while compared to his recent string of dark films. The film is a coming of age drama set in 1970’s San Fernando Valley, California that centers around the relationship between Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman’s characters and the trials and tribulations that get in the way of their young love. The film will also focus on Hoffman’s place in Hollywood as a successful child actor and his rising status. 

   As mentioned earlier, watching the trailer you notice that Licorice Pizza appears to be a more accessible and lighthearted film than There Will Be Blood or his latest film, Phantom Thread. The film will also have fictionalized accounts of real-life Hollywood icons such as Jon Peters who Bradley Cooper will play. Jon Peters was a hair dresser turned producer who helped produce the 1976 film A Star Is Born (Which Cooper recently directed and starred in the 2018 remake) for those of you who don’t know. He is also known famously for his relationship with Barbara Streisand, which is mentioned in the trailer.

   This film is also a big deal because it is the feature film debut for both lead actors Haim and Hoffman. Alana Haim is famously known for her musical work with her Grammy nominated band Haim, while Cooper Hoffman is the son of Academy Award winning Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Phillip Seymour Hoffman collaborated many times with PTA in films such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, and The Master and was close friends until his tragic passing in 2014. This film could be the blossoming of something special between Cooper Hoffman and PTA and maybe finally get the acclaimed filmmaker his first Academy Award. This film could be a huge player this year during awards season.

   An almost Once Upon A Time In Hollywood-esque film from a filmmaker such as PTA about Hollywood and his adolescence in California could be a recipe for something unlike anything we have seen yet from the filmmaker. Licorice Pizza stars Cooper Hoffman, Alana Haim, Tom Waits, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, and Maya Ruldoph. Licorice Pizza will arrive in theaters on November 23, 2021, for limited release, and nationwide on December 25, 2021. 

Are you excited about Licorice Pizza?

(All Photos from IMDB and trailer from MGM Youtube Channel)