Earlier this year, it was reported that P.T. Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights) failed to get his film about the origins of Scientology off the ground; he and planned star Jeremy Renner both spoke of not being able to overcome all the obstacles in their way. Creepy. But that having been said, Anderson is working on getting a new film off the ground, based on a Thomas Pynchon novel, and this sounds a bit strange for him.

As related by Joblo.com, Inherent Vice “…takes place through the summer of 1969 through to 1970 during when the arrest and trial of the Manson family was the big news. It follows Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, a pothead private investigator who finds himself drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel Merman, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists.”

As incredible as this sounds, it’s a bit of a departure for Anderson; though he’s played with the surreal in his movies before (most infamously in the ending of Magnolia), this sounds more like something the Coen Brothers would take on. That said, this sounds incredible, and with the rumors that Robert Downey Jr. is being courted to play the lead, this is one to keep tabs on.