‘ANIMA’ First Look: Surprise Paul Thomas Anderson Netflix Movie Is A Thom Yorke Musical Short
Zack Sharf
Paul Thomas Anderson has a surprise new project heading to Netflix and select IMAX theaters later this month: “ANIMA,” a musical short film starring Thom Yorke. The “one-reeler” is being billed by the streaming giant as a “mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.” The film will feature three tracks from Yorke’s upcoming album of the same name.
In the “ANIMA” teaser clip below, Yorke defines a one-reeler as “a motion picture, especially a cartoon or comedy, of 10-12 minutes duration and contained on one reel of film; popular especially in the era of silent films.”
For Anderson, “ANIMA” marks his first directorial release since “Phantom Thread,” his acclaimed Daniel Day Lewis-starring drama that picked up Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, among others. The film won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Anderson has yet to announce a follow-up feature to “Phantom Thread,” which makes “ANIMA” more of an event for cinephiles.
Yorke and Anderson have collaborated serval times in the past on various Radiohead music videos, including the 2016 clip for “Daydreaming.” Yorke’s Radiohead band member Johnny Greenwood has composed the original scores for Anderson’s features “There Will Be Blood,” “The Master,” “Inherent Vice,” and “Phantom Thread.” The latter earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.
Netflix has been investing more frequently in auteur filmmakers and just released Martin Scorsese’s music documentary “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story” to critical acclaim. Scorsese’s gangster movie “The Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino,” is also backed by Netflix and gearing up for a release sometime in the fall. “ANIMA” marks Anderson’s first Netflix original.
Excitingly, “ANIMA” also marks the first collaboration between Anderson and cinematographer Darius Khondji, whose latest work is Nicolas Winding Refn’s Amazon series “Too Old to Die Young.” Khondji has earned acclaim for shooting James Gray films such as “The Lost City of Z” and “The Immigrant.”
“ANIMA” will debut on Netflix globally starting June 27. The streaming giant will screen the project in select IMAX theaters on Wednesday, June 26. Watch the teaser announcement for “ANIMA” below.
