Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest feature, an untitled coming-of-age drama set in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, is getting a new home.
MGM is in talks to pick up the project from Focus Features, the company that backed his last film, the Oscar-nominated drama, Phantom Thread, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Focus landed the project in December 2019 with the hopes of shooting it in spring or summer 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a ceasing of almost all productions, to the consternation of filmmakers and executives.
However, sources say the move isn’t stemming from Focus’ lack of desire to shoot but rather a budgetary issue, according to one source.
Focus was set to distribute domestically while Universal Pictures International was to handle global rollout.
Plot details are being kept secret but it involves multiple storylines surrounding one centering around a kid actor attending high school in the San Fernando Valley. The latter is the setting of some of Anderson’s most memorable films, including Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love.
No cast has been set for the feature.