Alana Haim Will Return for PTA on August 8, 2025: "The Battle of Baktan Cross"

This has been in the news since at least February of 2024:

Paul Thomas Anderson has chosen to follow up "Licorice Pizza" with a different kind of movie.

He landed a very big star for it who has not worked with him before: Leonardo DiCaprio.

(Perhaps it was wise for PTA to have cast Leo's FATHER as the waterbed salesman in Licorice Pizza.)

Two other cast members return from Licorice Pizza: Alana Haim (in her first role SINCE Licorice Pizza) and Sean Penn (evidently playing an FBI man from rumors, and with white hair from photos.)

Also starring: Regina King.

Filming was photographed all over California for much of 2024 to date, with Leo being spotted way up on the North Coast of California in Eureka for first scenes (Eureka is home to pot growing, a college, hippies then and now -- Leo was photographed in a 60's hippie look.)

Then the movie "kept moving South" for filming. Sacramento, the State Capitol and used for scenes of bank robbery, explosions and trial.

On down to Stockton(45 miles South of Stockton)

and then a LEAP southward to the beach areas of Orange County(south of Los Angeles) and the desert.

The movie had no title for a long time save "The BC Project" but recently (September 2024) picked one up: "The Battle of Baktan Cross." The movie has a projected release date of August 8, 2025.

Rumor has it the movie is based on a book by Thomas Pynchon(who also wrote the book Inherent Vice, also filmed by PTA) called Vineland and I suppose a quick read of that book can demonstrate if Baktan Cross figures in the novel.

This being a "Licorice Pizza" page, I suppose the "nice" news is that Alana Haim shall act again -- and again for her mentor, PTA(a family friend, once taught by Alana's mother.)

Meanwhile: the young MALE star of Licorice Pizza, Cooper Hoffman (Phillip Seymour's son) has landed a role as TV executive Dick Ebersol in "Saturday Night"(opening this week in October of 2024). Its about the first broadcast night of what is now Saturday Night Live. Ebersol eventually RAN SNL for a few years in the 80's while Lorne Michaels was gone.

So..."Alana and Gary" have moved on. Best wishes to them both.