Joaquin Phoenix impresses in the first clip from Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master'

For fans of Paul Thomas Anderson(Boogie Nights), the wait between his films is interminable. In the early part of his career, Anderson was able to crank out a film every couple of years, but as his projects became more ambitious in their scope, the gap has widened considerably. It's been five years since Daniel-Day Lewis drank our milkshakes in There Will Be Blood, and now Anderson's most controversial film yet is right around the corner. My friggin' palms are sweating with anticipation!

So many rumors have swirled around The Master since it was first announced a few years ago. At first, we heard the film would be some sort of exploration of Scientology's origins, with all the goofiness that implies. Producers walked that idea back a little bit, giving us a more generic description that has Philip Seymour Hoffman starring as a man who creates a faith-based system that sweeps the nation in the uncertainty following WWII. Joaquin Phoenix would play his right hand man, a former alcoholic military man who begins to question his leader's beliefs.

The first clip from out of Cannes has been released, and right away it doesn't look anything like an Anderson film, especially with the vintage style footage we see of Phoenix on the beach with his squad. What does feel familiar is Anderson's writing, which is always sharp and right to the point. He never wastes a single word, and as Phoenix's character is being interrogated, we start to see the outlines of who this man is going to be. Great stuff.

The Master co-stars Laura Dern, Amy Adams, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, Madisen Beaty, Lena Endre, and Jesse Plemons. Look for it to open on October 12th....