Three More Actresses In The Running For P.T. Anderson's Cult Movie

Over at The Playlist they've been on the case of figuring out who will be joining the cast of P.T. Anderson's untitled next project, which will star Philip Seymour Hoffman as the founder of a Scientology-esque cult and Jeremy Renner as his protege. When it seemed Reese Witherspoon was considering a role, they were mystified, given that there were no female roles in the script large enough to accommodate a star as big as Witherspoon. But now it's time for casting a small female role that makes a little more sense. They've picked up on a report in the print edition of Production Weekly that says Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone and Deborah Ann Woll are in the running to play Elizabeth, the daughter of Hoffman and Witherspoon's characters.

The role is apparently small but pretty juicy, and all three actresses seem like they might go for it. Seyfried has proven she's fearless in her choices simply by opening Atom Egoyan's sex-filled Chloe and the chaste and ridiculous Letters to Juliet within a month of each other. Stone is making a break for the big time with her starring role in The Help, and this fall's Easy A may be poised to make her an even bigger star than she is now. And Woll is known entirely from her role as Jessica on True Blood, but has the added benefit of probably being the cheapest of the actresses on the list.

All this speculation about the casting is pretty useless, of course, because everyone knows we'll all see whatever Anderson decides to make next, no matter who he puts in it. I'd honestly rather see Stone or Woll do it, just because Seyfried's acting bona fides are pretty well proven by now and it'd be nice to see someone untested get the part. But again, all trust goes to Paul Thomas-- he hasn't led us astray yet.