When I think of who could helm an “Airplane!-like comedy,” my first impulse is definitely “Paul Thomas Anderson!” OK, maybe not, but according to an interview with Moviehole via The Film Stage, The Master director actually does want to a make a proper comedy someday soon:
“I’d like to make a film like Airplane!. That never gets old. Or Ted. It was a big hit. Why? Because It’s great. Movies that are that big a hit are never f*cking bad. I mean, there’s no such… You know, people aren’t that stupid, that movie’s a hit because it’s hilarious. I hope [Seth MacFarlane] makes another film.”
Although we do not quite associate Paul Thomas Anderson with “full-blown comedy” a la Ted, it’s not such a far-fetched idea. His partner is Bridesmaids star and SNL alum Maya Rudolph, so he must have a sense of humor. What’s more, he plans to infuse a good bit of Cheech and Chong into his upcoming adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, itself a prestigious but definitely funny stoner novel.
Anderson’s track record may not be in the comic vein – unless you found the very end of There Will Be Blood a laugh-riot – but there’s nothing to say that a director cannot branch out. Certainly a Paul Thomas Anderson remake of Airplane! is not yet in the offing, but who’s to say it wouldn’t be awesome? Stranger things have happened.
So what do you think? Would a PT Anderson comedy bring you into the cinema?
