As someone who is a fan of literature and culturally significant authors, when I first learned about Thomas Pynchon I was fascinated. Much like famed author J.D. Salinger Pynchon was a sort of recluse, someone who was not a fan of being in the public spotlight. He has popped up numerous times over the years, including on "The Simpsons" and to come to the defense of "Atonement" author Ian McEwan when he was accused of plagiarism.
Pynchon is a great writer, that is clear, but many of his books are almost impossible for a casual reader to read. "Gravity's Rainbow," his magnum opus is a 750 page monster that is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military, and, in particular, the quest undertaken by several characters to uncover the secret of a mysterious device. Sounds a bit crazy right? Try reading it.
Another one of his books, "Vineland," is a bit more accessible, although it still took a concentrated effort to get my head totally around it. The point it, he is a literary genius, yet some of his books are pretty hard to jump into, which is why I was thrilled when I read his most recent book, the surfer-hippie-noir-detective story "Inherent Vice."
The novel was easily the author's most accessible to readers and I just had the feeling it would make a great movie. Clearly some people in Hollywood agree.
According to the Risky Biz Blog, Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to star in one of Paul Thomas Anderson's potential next projects, "Inherent Vice."
The project would be an adaptation of the 2009 Thomas Pynchon novel, the story follows a stoner detective who gets caught up in various mysteries in 1969 Los Angeles, a time when the Manson Family trial was underway.
Anderson adapted the screenplay while still trying to get his religious organization film, "the Master," starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman off the ground. That film is still looking for financing and coupled with the fact that Downey dropped out of Disney's "Oz, the Great and Powerful" last month, it allowed him to do another movie this year after he shoots "The Avengers" for Marvel and Disney.
Downey and Anderson are literally two of my favorite people in the industry so seeing them team up on anything is amazing, the fact that it's Pynchon is even better. Anderson's last film, "There Will Be Blood," was one of the best films of the decade, and I feel like only a guy like him could adapt a Pynchon work and have it just make total sense.
I hope that this film doesn't suffer the same problems as "The Master," which has been rumored to get financing numerous times throughout the past couple years. While I understand a lot of film production is about money, why can't Paul Thomas Anderson ever find any? All the man does is come out with a movie every few years that gets nominated for Academy Awards. The man is a filmmaking genius, and I really hope we get to see what he can do with a Pynchon novel and Downey.
Downey has recently wrapped filming on "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" for director Guy Ritchie, which comes out in December.
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