The last time I posted about Daniel Day-Lewis it was at the end of March, a month after the Oscars, and since DDL, at the time, was shooting another film with Paul Thomas Anderson, well, it means that DDL will be probably be part of the next Oscar cycle, because he’s nominated for whatever he does. And he’s won more Best Actor Oscars than anyone else in history.
The new PTA film starring DDL is about couture, tentatively titled Phantom Thread (which is terrible and they should change it). As you may know when DDL takes on a role, he BECOMES the character. He has also spent time as a cobbler. So now that he’s played a couturier and he knows about shoes, maybe he’s getting into fashion? Because he’s definitely not acting anymore, or at least that’s what he says. In a statement released by his publicist to Variety yesterday, DDL confirmed that the still-untitled upcoming PTA film will be his last:
“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject. ”
Right. But when he starts promoting this film, that’s the only thing he’s going to be asked about, non? If you’re putting out this statement now, when people aren’t even talking about Phantom Thread, what do you think the conversation will be when it’s is actually ready to start making its Oscar run?
I really don’t understand the timing of this. Especially since he’s all about the privacy. Because DDL is, indeed, very, very private. We almost never see him. We don’t gossip about him. We don’t talk about him until he’s on his way to winning an Oscar. So, you know, this announcement out of the blue… seems the very opposite of private. Unless of course it’s about building anticipation for the film. “Don’t miss Daniel Day-Lewis in his last film ever!”
The film opens on Christmas Day. Needless to say, they’re anticipating already that it’ll be a contender. Can it contend without DDL hustling? I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Maybe this is DDL’s way of declaring, in advance, that he’s done the movie, but he won’t be campaigning for the movie. Well, sh-t, the way everyone in the industry feels about him, he probably won’t have to. They worship Daniel Day-Lewis. So, it’s June. And already DDL is on the top of all the Oscar prediction lists.
