Two months into production, you would think all notable names partaking in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Inherent Vice had already been stated — and, yet, one of its more curious additions is only just coming to the forefront. As a series of photos over at EyePrime (via ThePlaylist) will tell you, singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom is now on the set, trotting around with a sideburns- / glasses-adorned Joaquin Phoenix and lead performer Katherine Waterston. No overgrown facial hair for the ladies, unfortunately.
And no word on what her involvement might entail — it’s especially difficult to narrow down the list of Thomas Pynchon‘s characters when Vice is playing with such a large cast — though, really, something of that sort can wait. A fun grab is a fun grab, and a fun grab does Newsom make; maybe ThePlaylist are right and some of her tunes can even make their way in, too.
Inherent Vice also stars Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, Katherine Waterston, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Kevin J. O’Connor, Jeannie Berlin, and Peter McRobbie.
While one ensemble adds a single player, another grows considerably. In fine form, no less: according to ScreenDaily, Kevin Macdonald has secured Ben Mendelsohn (The Place Beyond the Pines, The Dark Knight Rises) Michael Smiley (Kill List, various Edgar Wright projects), Jodie Whittaker (Attack the Block, Black Mirror), and David Threlfall (Hot Fuzz, Master and Commander), all of whom will accompany Jude Law and Scoot McNairy on the submarine-centered thriller.
Scripted by Dennis Kelly, Black Sea follows “a submarine captain who is laid off by a salvage company and makes a deal with a shadowy backer to look for a storied sunken sub reputed to be loaded with gold at the bottom of the Black Sea.” Compiling a team of British and Russian compatriots alike, they plunge into the lowest depths of the ocean and learn that, when treasure is in sight, professed allegiances mean little. Filming is underway, and Focus Features (along with Film4) are expected to release the title in 2014.
Do you hope to see what Newsom is doing in Inherent Vice? How does the Black Sea lineup strike you?