Warner Bros. is betting big on Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film, which is currently shooting in California. The budget for the film is reported to be around $115 million, with Leonardo DiCaprio pocketing a cool $20 million paycheck.
Variety reports that investors are worried about Warners’ math, which sometimes doesn’t add up, with the studio decried as “fiscally irresponsible”. None of PTA’s films have ever crossed $80 million at the box office. We win, Warner surely loses.
As we’ve seen from the leaked BTS footage, PTA’s latest has a lot of car chases, helicopters, police vehicles — nothing out of the ordinary to warrant a budget that high. However, DiCaprio is eating up a little less than 1/6 of the budget with his salary. Some of the cast also includes Sean Penn, Alan Haim and Teyana Taylor.
Imagine this ends up, as only rumored, being a $115 million Pynchon adaptation? Good God. What a risk. I imagine Warner’s Michael DeLuca had a major say in getting this project greenlit. DeLuca and PTA go way back, and he was the one who managed to get “There Will Be Blood” greenlit back when PTA had issues finding financing.