Focus Features will release the next, untitled film from writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson, reteaming with him after releasing his Oscar-nominated “Phantom Thread,” the distributor announced Wednesday.
Production is scheduled for a spring and summer 2020 shoot in California, and though details are sparse, the film is reportedly set in a high school in the 1970s.
Focus will distribute domestically, and Universal Pictures International will handle foreign distribution. Anderson is also producing this project along with his longtime collaborators JoAnne Seller and Daniel Lupi.
“There is simply no other filmmaker like Paul Thomas Anderson. He is a true original who consistently mesmerizes fans with unparalleled vision and storytelling. We are beyond thrilled to be teaming up once again with Paul, JoAnne and Daniel,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski said in a statement.
News of Anderson’s latest film was first reported among the titles that were eligible for the California tax credit from the Film Commission of California, which revealed that the film would shoot within the San Fernando Valley, the setting of some of Anderson’s past films including “Magnolia,” “Boogie Nights” and “Punch Drunk Love.” “Boogie Nights” especially played on 1970s nostalgia, in particular, the burgeoning pornography industry.
Anderson’s last feature was “Phantom Thread,” set within the 1950s British fashion world and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It was released in 2017. The film was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. This year, he also directed a secret Netflix short film called “Anima” in conjunction with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke’s solo album, and he has directed music videos for the pop-rock band Haim.