Josh Brolin Added To Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice'

Briefly: You've seen a lot of casting reports for Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice. The writer/director is assembling an impressive cast to live in the story of a burnout private detective who is drawn into an increasingly weird web of disappearances and underhanded business deals. Josh Brolin is the latest addition to the cast led by Joaquin Phoenix, and which also includes Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon and (reportedly) Sean Penn.

Brolin will play a "significant role," but as with most of the casting so far we don't have specifics. The film is set to shoot this summer, so once cameras roll we might learn more. By the way, it's worth reiterating that this is the first major adaptation of a Pynchon novel — and the author's first novel was published in 1963. As difficult as his books can be, that Pynchon's work has taken fifty years to hit the big screen (a few films that take him as an influence aside) is pretty remarkable. [Deadline]