Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Master’ headed to Venice

“The Master,” writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s profile of a cult leader that appears to be a thinly veiled look at the Church of Scientology, has been added to the competition lineup at the Venice International Film Festival.

Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, “The Master” is scheduled to be shown in Venice on Sept. 1, two weeks before its limited release starts in the United States.

It is unclear if the film from the director of “Magnolia” and “There Will Be Blood” will be shown at other festivals, particularly the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend and the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 6-16.

The only other purely American film in competition at Venice is Ramin Bahrani’s “At Any Price,” starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron. U.S. director Brian De Palma’s “Passion,” a French-German co-production with Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace, also will be in competition.

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