Production has begun in the U.K. on writer/directorPaul Thomas Anderson’s untitled new film. Three-time Oscar winnerDaniel Day-Lewisis joined in the cast byLesley Manville, who was a BAFTA Award nominee for Best Actress forAnother Year, andVicky Krieps, whose films include A Most Wanted Man and Focus Features’Hanna. Focus holds worldwide rights to the film, and will distribute the film in the U.S. later this year with Universal Pictures handling international distribution.
The film’s producers areJoAnne Sellar,Megan Ellison, through her Annapurna Pictures, and Paul Thomas Anderson. The executive producers are Peter Heslop, Adam Somner, and Daniel Lupi. Chelsea Barnard and Jillian Longnecker are overseeing production for Annapurna. Continuing their creative collaboration following 2007’sThere Will Be Blood, which earned Mr.Day-Lewisthe Best Actor Academy Award, Mr. Anderson will once again explore a distinctive milieu of the 20th century. The new movie is a drama set in the couture world of 1950s London. The story illuminates the life behind the curtain of an uncompromising dressmaker commissioned by royalty and high society.
The creative team includesAcademy Award-winningcostume designerMark Bridges, marking his eighth consecutive project with Mr.Anderson, Emmy Award-winning production designerMark Tildesleyand BAFTA Award-nominated set decoratorVéronique Melery. Academy Award-nominated film editorDylan Tichenorand BAFTA Award-nominated composerJonny Greenwoodare each marking their fourth feature with Mr.Anderson. Casting directorCassandra Kulukundisis on her seventh film with Mr.Anderson, with lighting cameramanMichael Baumanrounding out the crew..
Annapurna Pictures, founded byMegan Ellison, focuses on creating sophisticated, high-quality content that is critically and commercially conscious while still appealing to a diverse audience. By upholding Ms. Ellison’s vision to put filmmakers and artists first and preserve their authentic creative voices no matter the genre or medium, in five years the company has garnered a total of 32 Academy Award nominations for their projects, includingZero Dark Thirty,Joy,Foxcatcher,The Grandmaster, andPaul Thomas Anderson’sThe Master. Ms.Ellisonis also one of only four honorees ever to receive two Best Picture Oscar nominations in the same year, withHerandAmerican Hustleboth earning nods in 2014. Annapurna’s most recent project is writer/directorMike Mills'20th Century Women, currently in release by A24; the film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and has earned a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination. Other 2016 titles from the company includedSausage Party,Wiener-Dog, andEverybody Wants Some, withThe Bad Batchset for release in 2017. Annapurna is currently in post-production onKathryn BigelowandMark Boal’sUntitled Detroit Projectand is developing the film adaptation ofMaria Semple’sWhere’d You Go, Bernadette, to be directed byRichard Linklater. Additionally, Annapurna is partners withMark Boalon the companyPage One, where they produced season two of the hit podcastSerial.Kathryn Bigelowalso directed and partnered with Annapurna on the animated shortLast Days, about illegal elephant poaching and the ivory trade.
Focus Features (FocusFeatures.com) acquires and produces specialty films for the global market, and holds a library of iconic movies from fearless filmmakers. Current and upcoming domestic releases from Focus includeTom Ford’s romantic thrillerNocturnal Animals, Academy Award-nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon); the real-life story of heroismThe Zookeeper’s Wife, directed byNiki Caroand starringJessica Chastain;Colin Trevorrow’sThe Book of Henry, starringNaomi Watts,Jaeden Lieberher, andJacob Tremblay,Sofia Coppola’sThe Beguiled, starringNicole Kidman,Kirsten Dunst,Elle Fanning, andColin Farrell; the action spy thrillerThe Coldest City, directed byDavid Leitchand starringCharlize TheronandJames McAvoy;Stephen Frears’Victoria and Abdul, starring DameJudi Denchas Queen Victoria;Joe Wright’sDarkest Hour, starringGary Oldmanas Winston Churchill; andJeff Nichols’Loving, Academy Award-nominated for Best Actress (Ruth Negga).
Focus Features and Universal Pictures are part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. We’ll bring you more updates on this untitled drama, rumored to be calledPhantom Thread, as production continues.
