The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)

[mfunk9786]

Also, you'd never know it, but mfunk is actually only 9779.

And

Spoiler

God is a superstition

[domino harvey]

I thought

Spoiler

God was a number

[eerik]

IMDb has now listed Fiona Dourif, no information on her role.

[James Mills]

This script review of The Master is actually a year old but I'm really happy I came across it. I'm assuming Joaquin is now playing the lead role of the alcoholic drifter that stumbles aboard? This is going to be a great film...

[mfunk9786]

I've read that script in its entirety and apparently the film has been pretty heavily rewritten since. Plus, PTA tends to heavily cut out and change [despite the runtime of his films] a lot of material as he shoots and edits.

That will indeed be Phoenix's role (it once was Jeremy Renner's back when PTA couldn't get financing)

[James Mills]

Is there any way you can help me get ahold of the working script as well? Is it available on the internet or did you get it elsewhere?

[mfunk9786]

I don't have it anymore and I don't remember where I got it at the time, sorry!

[eerik]

IMDb has listed Juliette Lewis and Elisabeth Moss as rumored cast members.

[matrixschmatrix]

Juliette Lewis

That would be pretty shocking in a movie the Scientologists tried to kill, wouldn't it?

[Guido]

Elisabeth Moss is also a member of the church, at least according to her Wiki page, which makes the news twice as shocking.

[swo17]

Perhaps they read the latest version of the script and found it to take a more or less neutral position on the church, or to substantially dissociate itself from it. Which I think would make for a better film anyway.

[LQ]

Perhaps they're undercover saboteurs.

[eerik]

IMDb has listed Giovanni Ribisi as a rumored cast member, whereas Wikipedia says he's an "active Scientologist". I guess it's a false information.

Jillian Bell and a bunch of uncredited roles are also listed

[mfunk9786]

No, he's definitely a scientologist

[domino harvey]

Their casting is probably some form of preemptive damage control

[mfunk9786]

I'm quite baffled by it, to be honest.

[eerik]

No, he's definitely a scientologist

I meant him (and also Lewis and Moss) being cast in the film.

[domino harvey]

While we all wait, fans of Scientology commentary could do no better than seeking out Darin Morgan's Scientology episode from the second season of Millenium, "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense". I infact bought the entire season on DVD just for the one episode, but even at that level of commitment it's worth it. Probably the most savage satire ever to air on network TV, it's unreal how it even managed to get made. Maybe the show flew so low under the radar that by the time the church got wind, it was too late? It would explain why Darin Morgan was never able to break out on his own afterward. The episode openly mocks with fearlessness the entire organization from the bottom up, including many of their "secrets," and is probably the funnier the more you know about the religion it's tearing to shreds.

[mfunk9786]

Can one enjoy it even if they haven't watched any of the rest of the series?

[domino harvey]

Yes, it's a stand-alone episode (though Charles Nelson Reilly's character is carried over from an equally funny X Files ep, but it works independently of that frame of reference)

[mfunk9786]

I know that ep! And it's amazing indeed. Just haven't gotten to Millennium yet

[Anhedionisiac]

It's definitely a stand-alone episode. It was the very first ep of Millenium I ever saw and it made perfect sense on its own. As savage as the satire is, what really boggles the mind is the fact that it was made on 1997, years before it was fashionable to mock Scientology or people knew enough about it to appreciate how spot-on the jokes are. To say it was ahead of its time is to put it mildly.
That said, as I remember it, I found myself nodding in agreement and self-righteous anger far more than laughing. I think I only laughed at the very first frame and, later on, Lance Henriksen's priceless line delivery of "I'm a roving, freelance, forensic profiler".
And, hey, since we're on a thread dedicated to The Master, it should be noted that there's a couple scenes in the episode regarding the total mindfuck that a lie detector can be and The Master has that as well, at least on the first draft of its script.

[eerik]

I know that IMDb isn't the most reliable source, but the film negative format has changed from 65mm to 16mm. What the....?

[Matt]

That's, like, 49 fewer mms!

[mfunk9786]

IMDb is not the most reliable source, just keep telling yourself that. Even if it ends up being true, you shouldn't consider it true yet. My speculation is that a sequence might have been filmed in 16mm, think the opening of Magnolia or the pornos in Boogie Nights. Or maybe it's just false information altogether.