Believe it or not, there’s one 2012 movie that I’m looking forward to more than The Dark Knight Rises. It’s called The Master, and now we can officially mark our calendars: October 12. This is earlier than I was expecting, which is a good thing, considering how long I had to wait for There Will Be Blood after its limited release in December. It’s been four years since the last Paul Thomas Anderson picture—par for the course, but it leads to skyrocketed expectations. Fortunately, There Will Be Blood didn’t disappoint, and I can’t imagine The Master will either. I’ve been following this project for what feels like forever. Jeremy Renner and Reese Witherspoon were at one point going to star (those roles eventually went to Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams). I remember reading that rehearsals had started. Then the early stages of production were suddenly shut down for reasons never fully explained (creative? financial? did scientologists put an end to it?). It looked dead in the water until billionaire heiress Megan Ellison (her father is the co-founder of Oracle) stepped in and decided to finance. Ellison is a kind of movie producing goddess right now—she’s working on Lawless (formerly The Wettest County), Killing Them Softly (formerly Cogan’s Trade), Zero Dark Thirty (formerly Kill Bin Laden), and Untitled Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze Project (also with Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams). Thank you, Ms. Ellision, for co-financing some of the most exciting titles on the horizon. There are so many reasons why I’m looking forward to this. Paul Thomas Anderson is an idol of mine—Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood are some of my all-time favorite movies. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also one of my favorite actors ever. He’s done hilarious, heartbreaking work in four out of five previous PTA pictures, but this will be his first leading role with the director. This is Joaquin Phoenix’s first role since I’m Still Here (2010). Before that, it was Two Lovers (2008). He is an immense talent, and I can’t wait to see him back on the screen. Amy Adams is also an amazing actor—it’s almost a strange fit to see her in a PTA film, but in other ways it seems perfect. And all of the below-the-line work in Anderson’s features is always top-notch. Then there’s the plot, which has so much promise. October 12 can’t get here soon enough.

-Rob