Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson is set to return with another idiosyncratic drama. Licorice Pizza is a coming-of-age drama set in 1970s California and is designed as an ode to the Oscar-winning director's adolescence. (The somewhat cryptic title refers to a now-defunct brand of California record stores.) Here's the rockingly retro new poster (we're digging that throwback font used for the title).
Cooper Hoffman, the son of Anderson's late, great muse Philip Seymour Hoffman, plays Gary Valentine, a hormonal young actor pining for the girl of his dreams. In the words of the official synopsis: "Licorice Pizza is the story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973... the film tracks the treacherous navigation of first love."
The aforementioned Alana is played by Alana Haim, lead vocalist in the pop-rock group of the same name. There's also a bevy of scene-stealing supporting actors including Bradley Cooper as a creepy film producer, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie and Maya Rudolph.
Anderson has one of the most distinct textures in modern American cinema, often favouring elliptical, cryptic narratives and gorgeously tactile cinematography. This may well be his most personal film yet, which is saying something given he's a filmmaker who channels so much of himself into every new project.
Licorice Pizza is currently awaiting a UK release date. Stay tuned to the Cineworld blog for more details.
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