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Americans have always been, and always will be, fascinated with epics. I think it's a scale thing; it's in our very history, our very being, to do things in a big way. Thus many critics have been impressed by Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, using big words to describe it: "bold," "magnificent," "saga," "titanic," "grandeur." Comparisons have been slung around not with anything recent, but with the likes of Citizen Kane, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and, appropriately, Giant. I have to admit, I was impressed too, but not excited. Though Anderson's pure filmmaking skill, his sense of movement, rhythm, timing, light and dark, places him among the greats of our time, I feel that There Will Be Blood is a step back into the all-too conventional, and the least of his five films.

Let's start with his source material, Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, which was published in 1927. Sinclair was more of a political writer than a creative writer; he apparently sent copies of some of his books to members of Congress, and his views helped establish certain laws. Because of this condescending, soapbox quality, his work has inevitably fallen out of fashion, and out of print; the new movie tie-in is the only way one can buy the book today. Why dust off this creaky source material in 2007? Anderson undoubtedly found something resonant about it, which must invariably be political rather than personal. Perhaps he saw a connection between Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), scooping up all the oil in the Midwest and swindling anyone who gets in his way, and a lot of the suspicious oil activity that still goes on today.

Oh sure, we've got Paul Thomas Anderson all figured out by now. After four very fine films -- Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love -- we've surely got the filmmaker's number by now: He makes strangely sweet and slyly witty ensemble pieces, right? So then what's he doing making an adaptation of Upton Sinclair's massive tome Oil!? A straight-faced period piece in which the most recognizable names are Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano? This is not what we've come to expect from good ol' Paul T. Anderson!

And I suppose that's what makes the director's There Will Be Blood such a stunning surprise. It's more than a "departure" for the director; it's a monumental display of "evolution" that'll wow the established fans and impress a helluva lot more new ones. This is a dark, compelling and effortlessly engrossing film, one bolstered by a lead performance that ranks among the very best of Mr. Day-Lewis' impressive career.

The film will most often be compared to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, so I guess I can get the ball rolling on that particular crutch -- but it's also an apt comparison. Which is not to say that There Will Be Blood will necessarily be dissected and revered 75 years from now, but the stories are certainly similar enough. Anderson's film opens with a long passage of dialog-free footage: A lone man hacks his way through a mine using a pick-ax and some dynamite. The year is 1898, and Daniel Plainview is about to become an oil man. We witness the man's unwavering resolve as he pulls himself from a vertical shaft after breaking his leg in a fall -- and if you think that accomplishment displayed some tenacity ... just wait.

I'll admit that I am a jaded enough movie-goer that very few bits of news manage to make me giddy with anticipation, but the Paul Thomas Anderson fansite Cigarettes and Red Vines has made me giddy as a fanboy on the opening day of ComiCon. The site posted a "spoilerish " photo (it's only fair to warn you) from the set of his latest movie There Will Be Blood -- one of the first photos to emerge since the production was announced. The film is based on the Upton Sinclair book Oil!, and is the story of the early days of the oil business starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a prospector in rural Texas. Anderson wrote the screenplay for the film, and there is talk of release in October of this year, which would put it right in the wheelhouse for Oscar contention, if it's as good as we hope it will be.

Usually whenever Anderson's name is mentioned, it's in connection to the other directors who just don't produce the amount of films they should (other nominees include Wes Anderson, David Fincher, David O. Russell, and Spike Jonze.) Considering the amount of truly awful movies I see, I'm just grateful Anderson's making one at all. The few he has made so far are among my favorites, so I really can't complain. Throw Daniel Day-Lewis into the mix and it's like Christmas in July -- or I guess in this case, October.

It's been almost impossible to get information about There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's epic next film, but it's finally been confirmed that someone other than Daniel Day-Lewis will actually be appearing in the movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Little Miss Sunshine's Paul Dano (who Erik recently interviewed) will star alongside Lewis as "a gifted, charismatic young preacher who captivates churchgoers." The film, which is "loosely based" on Upton Sinclair's Oil!, has been grandly described as "an ambitious ... and ... compelling, relevant story about family, greed, religion and oil." What, you want specifics? Oh. Well, Day-Lewis plays "a tycoon who strikes it rich after gaining oil rights to a family's ranch, turning the small town where Dano's character preaches into a boomtown." Which I'm sure leads to lots of conflicts, and epic suffering by Day-Lewis. Because, really -- who would cast that man and NOT ask him to suffer?

Until the other day, I had no feelings about Dano one way or another -- but then I stumbled across the shockingly great The Girl Next Door on cable. As a result, I'm now officially a fan of his (and of everyone else in the movie), and am really excited to see someone of his ability joining what was already an unusual, exciting project.

The movie is currently filming in Texas and California.

About a  month ago, we reported that There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's long-simmering, loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair's Oil! had finally secured both financing and a star (Daniel Day-Lewis). Anderson's screenplay for the film apparently celebrated the news by making a run for it, only to be captured by El Chavo, one of Latino Review's myriad of informers - and he's very happy indeed to have made the screenplay's acquaintance.

According to Mr. Chavo, this screenplay is the greatest thing since sliced bread, possibly even surpassing it. It's like nothing he's ever read before, a sure-fire best screenplay winner, and "so simple that to explain it is to be lost in its complexities." Yikes. That sort of overblown rhetoric actually really worries me, but the man is awfully excited, so maybe we should cut him a break. Disappointingly, there's not a lot of detail about the screenplay mixed in with the raving, but we do get about a paragraph of summary. Essentially, the story boils down to a confrontation between Daniel (Day-Lewis, conveniently), an oil prospector, and Eli Sunday, a young evangelical preacher. According to El Chavo, "The truths of this story...revolve around man's eventual need to address the widening gap between reality and superstition."

While that sounds thoughtful and potentially fascinating, it also doesn't sound like something that Hollywood likes (unless, that is, it's accompanied by Al Pacino over-acting and someone playing the devil). However, PTA supposedly already has $25 million to make the film, and production is slated to begin this spring, so maybe it doesn't matter how anti-megaplex his screenplay is.

[via JoBlo]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has been working for several years on his screenplay for There Will Be Blood, a loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil! - and now the movie is going ahead. Funded to the tune of around $25 million by a joint agreement between Paramount and Miramax, the project is reportedly going to be rather epic: it's described as "an ambitious film and a compelling, relevant story about family, greed, religion and oil," set in Texas. (Sounds sort of like Giant to me, except for without James Dean.) Casting for the film has only just begun, but Daniel Day-Lewis is already on board in the role of "a pioneering Texas oil prospector."

Based solely on the names currently associated with it (including Sinclair's), this movie's got a ton of potential. While it's hard to imagine a period piece about oil will be a blockbuster, the budget indicates that the studios are aware that it will be more of a niche project, appealing to Anderson's usual crowd. (Me, I'm easy to please: if you say "period piece," I'm there.)