Paul Thomas Anderson drama to film in LA

A-list director Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled coming-of-age movie is set to shoot in Los Angeles this autumn, Covid willing.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the drama will focus on multiple storylines revolving around a high school student – who is also a successful child actor – in the San Fernando Valley, California.

San Fernando Valley has served as the location for several of Anderson's previous movies, including Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love. The director will also write and produce the project.

Bradley Cooper is in talks to star, but it is not clear yet what part he will play in the film, which was recently acquired by MGM, and no other cast members have been announced.

Production was originally due to begin earlier this year, but that was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Filming will now begin later this autumn in Los Angeles, but could be postponed again if the Covid-19 outbreak is still raging.

The coronavirus pandemic has spread rapidly across California. There have been 526, 982 cases, as of yesterday, but experts say the true number of people infected is unknown and likely much higher than official tallies. 

Cooper, who won critical acclaim for his directorial debut A Star is Born in 2018, is also set to resume filming Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, and will direct and star as composer Leonard Bernstein in an untitled biopic for Netflix.