*UPDATE* So the earlier reports of a reunion between Paul Thomas Anderson and Adam Sandler? Not true, according to ScreenCrush, who say Anderson was at the comedy venue for Sandler’s Netflix special but wasn’t directing. So who was? Steven Brill, the guy who has directed multiple Sandler flicks including the recent Sandy Wexler. Whomp whomp. Not the same!!!! Original story is below.
I have a feeling that twenty years from now we’ll look back at Adam Sandler’s career and still say that he peaked with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love. Whenever someone wants to pretend his career hasn’t devolved into one insultingly bad comedy after another, that’s the movie they use to lean on. But lately Sandler seems to be trying to right the course. From last year’s The Meyerowitz Stories to recent news that he’ll star in the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems, Sandler is suddenly stepping up his game. And now he’s ready to surprise us once more.
Last night Sandler did a comedy gig at L.A.’s El Rey Theatre to be taped for an upcoming Netflix special. Okay, no big deal. Sandler has an exclusivity deal with them so it makes sense. HOWEVER, the Twitterverse blew up when word started to get out that the special was actually directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
PTA is directing the Adam Sandler comedy special they are filming at the El Rey tonight so HI YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION.— Michelle Buchman (@michelledeidre) April 11, 2018
Suddenly this Netflix special is worth tuning in for when it gets a release date. Although filming a comedy special seems like a waste of the Phantom Thread director’s skills, a reunion with Sandler is too intriguing to pass up.
