Jeremy Renner to join Philip Seymour Hoffman in PTA's Scientology Film?

Fresh off his Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner is in talks for a role in Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled religious film, which takes aim at "new" religions like Scientology. The working title is The Master, but no official title has been attributed yet.

Our friends over at The Playlist have read the script and speculated that the role of Freddie (for which Renner is rumored) would go to Paul Dano, since Freddie is supposed to be much younger than "The Master," a role confirmed for PTA mainstay Philip Seymour Hoffman. There is some speculation as to what Renner's age might mean for the final product: in the story, young drifter Freddie is lured into a new cult religion by The Master in the 1950's, so is Anderson going to rewrite the script to rework the relationship between the two main characters, or is he going to allow Renner to play young?

Renner, 39, can certainly pull off playing a younger character, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see how the negotiations progress before any real decisions are made about script rewrites.

There has been a little back-and-forth about whether or not Anderson's script specifically attacks Scientology (a dangerous thing to attempt in Hollywood), but since this film is set in the early 50's and Scientology was established in 1954, I think we can read between the lines.

Here's the synopsis, again provided by The Playlist after they read an early version of the script.

“The Master” is the story of a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952 called The Cause. The core dynamic centers on the relationship between The Master and Freddie Sutton, (would be absolutely perfect for Paul Dano) an aimless twenty-something drifter and alcoholic who eventually becomes the leader’s loyal lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

Also of note is the fact that Universal passed on the project, another indication of how controversial the subject matter is in this story. Regardless of my personal beliefs, I will greatly respect whatever studio decides to take on this project - showing some balls goes a long way in my opinion, even if the decision doesn't ultimately pan out as anticipated. River Road Entertainment is currently in the running, with Apparition in talks to distribute the film.

What do you think about Renner potentially joining forces with PTA? Would you like to see Renner tackle roles like this, or should he stick to the action route and star in Peter Berg's Battleship?

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