The great Philip Seymour Hoffman starred in four memorable movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson: “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” “Punch Drunk Love,” and “The Master.” He should have won an Oscar for the last one.
Hoffman died tragically in 2014, leaving two kids. His son, Cooper, was 11 years old.
Now Cooper is 17 and will make his film debut in a new movie directed by PTA. It’s set in the 70s in the San Fernando Valley, and also feature Bradley Cooper and director Bennie Safdie in an acting role. Also making her acting debut is Alana Haim, one of the rockin’ Haim sisters of the group of the same name. Will Alana be Cooper’s love interest? She’s 11 years his senior, so maybe not.
Cooper’s mom is costume designer Mimi O’Donnell, who split with Phil months before he died.
I really miss Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was maybe the greatest actor of his generation. If he’d lived, he would have been winning awards everywhere, all the time. If you see him “The Talented Mr. Ripley” or “Savages,” or any of the PTA movies, he was simply outstanding. I’m rooting for Cooper, and hope he gets everything he wants out of acting without succumbing to Hollywood’s pitfalls.
And PS, maybe someone can get Phil a star on the Walk of Fame. He wouldn’t have cared, but he deserves the recognition. Think of the much, much lesser entities who already have one.
