Character Poster/Trailer #2 Arrives: Penny Kimball

A video posted by Inherent Vice (@inherentvicemovie) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:08pm PST

"Inherent Vice" Novel Gets Groovy New Movie-Themed Cover

Via Entertainment Weekly, Penguin Publishing is rolling out a fantastic new cover for Thomas Pynchon's novel Inherent Vice with imagery from the movie.

Aaand a cool new still of Joaquin and Reese Witherspoon has also arrived:

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IV (theatrical premiere): 43 days

Find more information about the film on our Inherent Vice page. 

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First Look At Reese Witherspoon In "Inherent Vice"; Bigfoot Speaks More

The New Yorker

Hey there - few things to take care of, so let's get right to it.

-Above is a pretty groovy illustration from the most recent issue of The New Yorker for a piece about the New York Film Festival, which begins this Friday, September 26. Some critical thinking has led us to conclude that the two blue figures are from Gone Girl while the two green figures are from Inherent Vice.

- The one star of the film that has spoken rather freely about his impressions from the set is Josh Brolin, who plays Bigfoot Bjornsen, of course. He had some interesting things to say in a piece about the film found in The Los Angeles Daily News recently. The bullet points:

"I read the book as fast as I could before I saw Paul, which means I might as well have not read it," Brolin, 46, admits, "I was so confused by the time he came, I was like stuttering through the whole thing. It was like trying to have a meeting after you've taken a bong hit or something.

Brolin describes the story's vibe as something in "Manson territory."

"It's during the time of of the shattering of the �Right Stuff� mentality into whatever revolution that conjures in you, whether that�s the assassinations or the sexual revolution or drugs, all that. It�s that transition," he says.

"This guy Bigfoot is one of the favorite characters I�ve ever played... He�s a guy that, five years earlier, would have looked like one of the �Right Stuff� guys. But because of his refusal to adjust to any future that doesn�t look like he wanted it to look, he�s kind of pathetic.� 

"It�s a really circus experience,� Brolin says of the production. �It feels like traveling from city to city and putting together skits. You never really know if it�s going to work when you finally do it. And then if you�re doing something like Pynchon, which just naturally has that structure anyway, it�s sort of double wacky.� 

- Last, but certainly not least, The Film Stage has obtained our first look at Reese Witherspoon as Penny Kimball in Inherent Vice. Click below the fold and see at your own discretion.

(Thanks to our readers for bringing some of these to our attention!)

IV (theatrical premiere): 78 days

IV (world premiere at NYFF): 9 days (!)

Find more information about the film on our Inherent Vice page. 

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates

Reese Witherspoon, Martin Short & Jena Malone Join �Inherent Vice'

Filming set to get underway on "Inherent Vice" in just under 2 weeks but despite a huge ensemble of around 25 players, we've only gotten word of a handful of actors attached so far: Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin J. O'Connor. Rumors have swirled in the last few weeks as to who would take the female lead. Charlize Theron had supposedly been interested in the part (and PTA likewise interested to work with her) but we posited back in February that would be out of the running due to her commitments to Seth MacFarlane's western and the highly anticipated adaptation of "Dark Places." It was also rumored that Kirsten Dunst (who PTA had recommended to Lars Von Trier for the part in "Melancholia") might be circling the role since she too had expressed an interest in working with PTA.

It would appear that both of those actresses are now out of the running as Deadline reports that Reese Witherspoon -- who's been picking up projects left and right these past few weeks -- has signed on. Though her role isn't specified, we're gonna take a leap here and say that she's probably going to be playing Shasta Fay Hepworth, Doc's (Phoenix) ex-girlfriend who sets the story in motion by asking for Doc�s help in investigating a plot and ends up going missing soon after. C&RV readers will recall that Witherspoon had previously been attached back in 2010 to the role of Peggy Dodd (back when the character's name was Mary Sue) in an earlier incarnation of "The Master" that never came to be. But it looks like PTA and Witherspoon will finally get to work together and also allow her to re-unite with her "Walk The Line" co-star Phoenix.

Update 9:55pm: In addition to Witherspoon, Jeff Sneider at The Wrap (who it should be noted has broken about 90% of the casting on this movie), reports that Martin Short and Jena Malone have also joined the film in supporting roles. Malone will play the part of Japonica Fenway, a free-spirited hippie chick who was the subject of Doc's first-ever paying case when she ran away from home. Short's role is still unclear but it's possible he could be playing Japonica's father Crocker Fenway, who hires Doc to investigage her disappearance or perhaps another role entirely. For those of you who have read the novel, who do you think Short might be playing? Sound off in the comments below. This is shaping up to be a really interesting cast seeing as only Phoenix and O'Connor have previously worked with PTA before. Filming on 'Vice' is set to get underway in the next few weeks so there should be lots more casting announcements to come. And if you're involved with the production, why don't you drop us a line?

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"The Master" is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.