Paul Thomas Anderson is one of my favorite directors. His last film, 2007′s “There Will Be Blood” is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

This looks like it’s going to be as intense and amazing as his last film. We’re getting just a tease of the film, since ‘The Master’ won’t be out until October. But I’ll take what I can get. This looks like it’s going to be great!

“Are you mixed up?” asks an at-first unseen military officer to Joaquin Phoenix. “Are you more jumpy than you were before?” Phoenix’s presumed-troubled soldier isn’t — he ranks his “overall health” as, yes, “strong” — but you might be after watching the tense 90-second clip.

Judging from the trailer, “The Master” could be a welcome comeback for Phoenix — who you last saw growing a beard and becoming a rapper. In the short clip, the former Oscar nominee looks like some wild amalgam of crazy Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” and crazy Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood.” This is a good thing!

In development for years, “The Master” was originally thought to be Anderson’s treatise on Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. That angle has been downplayed in the last year, but the story still sounds familiar: in the 1950s, a religious maverick (Philip Seymour Hoffman) sees his organization gain a foothold in America. Phoenix plays Hoffman’s young cohort, while Amy Adams and Laura Dern provide onscreen support. As with “There Will Be Blood,” Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood penned the score.

The Weinstein Company recently picked up “The Master” and set a release date for Oct. 12. The film will screen some footage at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.

Watch the teaser above and start counting off the days until “The Master” arrives in theaters.

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Joaquin Phoenix’s last movie was the strange documentary ‘I’m Still Here’, and it’s no wonder he needed to take a break. That was one big hot mess.

Despite being rumored to be in retirement, Phoenix will be acting again soon, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s highly anticipated movie about Scientology!

According to New York magazine, Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (‘The Hurt Locker’) had originally been slated for a role that, thanks to financing delays, may now end up reviving Phoenix’s career.

In the script, Philip Seymour Hoffman is set to co-star as a charismatic, manipulative leader (fashioned after Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard) who founds a new religious movement in the 1950′s. Now Variety reports that Phoenix may step in to portray an alcoholic drifter who becomes the right-hand man to Hoffman’s character, but develops doubts about his mentor.

After Phoenix’s long, bizarre experiment as a bearded rapper was filmed by ‘I’m Still Here’ director Casey Affleck (and then failed to wow fans and critics), the Oscar nominee, 36, tiptoed back into the public eye in January, as part of an online video in support of suicide prevention.

Photos (Fame): Joaquin steps out for a cigarette in Los Angeles this afternoon.

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Joaquin Phoenix is coming back to the big screen! Variety reports that Joaquin is in talks to join Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled religious drama. The story is based on the founding of Scientology and has Hoffman playing “Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic intellectual known as The Master” who creates a new religion, but eventually comes into conflict with his chief disciple. Phoenix would play the disciple, Freddie Sutton, “an alcholic drifter who becomes his right-hand man only to begin questioning his manipulative mentor.”

I’m so glad Joaquin’s back!!

Casey Affleck has finally admitted what we all assumed to be true. Last year’s very public meltdown of Joaquin Phoenix (which started with his crazed David Letterman appearance) was ALL FAKE. Joaquin appeared to have lost his ever lovin mind, and tried to start a rap career. (Watch the videos of him “rapping” here)

His documentary “I’m Still Here” was a just a performance by Joaquin. “It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” he told the New York Times.

He was speaking of Phoenix’s two-year portrayal of himself — on screen and off — as a bearded, drug-addled aspiring rap star, who, as Affleck tells it, put his professional life on the line to star in a bit of “gonzo filmmaking” modeled on the reality-bending journalism of Hunter S. Thompson.

“I’m Still Here” opened last week, and has been panned by critics. “The reviews were so angry” said Affleck. “I never intended to trick anybody. The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind.”

“It is a hard movie to watch,” he admits.

He says none of it was real. Not a thing. Even his now famous stint on Letterman was fake – so fake in fact, Letterman wasn’t even in on it. He summed up the interview: “Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.”

Apparently when Joaquin goes on Letterman on Wednesday, he will no longer be in character. So we should hopefully finally get to see the REAL Joaquin. We’ve been missing him! This whole crazy stunt was stupid, and from the sounds of it – so is his movie.

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I want to see this, not gonna lie.

The trailer for ‘I’m Still Here’ has arrived. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as an aspiring rapper named Joaquin Phoenix, the documentary (?) has been in the works for over a year, ever since the ‘Walk the Line’ actor emerged into the spotlight with a gnarly beard and equally unruly hair to make bizarre public appearances, including a now-infamous sit-down with David Letterman.

All the while, Phoenix was tailed by his camera-toting bro-in-law, Casey Affleck, who directed. The trailer itself doesn’t really say much about the film, except that there will be plenty of screen time for the beard, in addition to scenes involving a frustrated Phoenix riding on planes, hugging P. Diddy and looking down in the dumps.

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