It's been far too long since we've had a solid dose of Paul Thomas Anderson. While he's never reached Steven Soderbergh-levels of productivity, three whole years have passed since There Will Be Blood. Things were looking great for a while when news came out about The Master, a take on the growth of Scientology with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jeremy Renner, but the project hit a brick wall at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. So what's next for P.T. Anderson? According to Vulture, it may be an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel Inherent Vice.

While it's somewhat unclear, sources say that Anderson has already begun writing the treatment for the project and possibly the script. What's more, his agency, CAA, has already begun considering a lead actor: Robert Downey Jr. (as if the guy doesn't already have enough movies going on). Set in 1969, the book centers on a pothead private eye named Larry "Doc" Sportello who gets caught up in a case brought to him by an old girlfriend that seamlessly has an endless number of twists and turns.

A neo-noir detective story from Paul Thomas Anderson? Where can I deposit the contents of my bank account to make sure that this film gets made? Considering that Downey Jr. had to drop Gravity due to scheduling issues, I somewhat doubt that he'll be able to do this project, but it would be amazing if he could squeeze it in. This has "awesome" written all over it.