The first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s new coming of age film, Licorice Pizza has landed, giving a first look at Alana Haim in the lead role.
She stars alongside Cooper Hoffman (the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a strong favourite of PTA who has cast him in five of his films) as well as an impressive lineup including Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits, Sean Penn, and Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie.
According to its official synopsis, Licorice Pizza “is the story of Alana Kane (Alana Haim) and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) growing up, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973. The film tracks the treacherous navigation of first love.”
Set to a soundtrack of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars”, the trailer shows Gary, a young actor torn between fooling around with his gang of high school friends, and taking his career more seriously by spending time with Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper) a real-life movie producer behind the Barbra Streisand version of A Star Is Born.
It feels like a warm nostalgia trip for PTA, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and a return to the style of his earlier films. Think more Boogie Nights than Phantom Thread. The director has worked with Haim in the past, shooting several music videos for the band, as well as the cover for their Grammy-nominated Women in Music Pt. III.
Licorice Pizza is slated for a limited release November 24 before hitting US theatres on Christmas Day. Watch the trailer below.