Yahoo News Todd Field: Adam Sandler in ‘Punch-Drunk Love’ Is ‘One of the Great Screen Performances of All Time’
A Lydia Tár-Adam Sandler mash-up? Not quite.
Todd Field said that while he has been in casual talks with Adam Sandler about one day collaborating on a project, odds are it will not be a classic Sandler comedy. Instead, Field pointed to Sandler’s dramatic turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” as his personal favorite performance from the “Uncut Gems” actor. Anderson wrote the role for Sandler, and he earned a Golden Globe nomination.
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“The first film of Adam’s I ever saw was Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Punch Drunk Love,'” Field said during the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “It floored me. It really is one of the great screen performances — for me — of all time, and obviously, the stuff he has done with the Safdies is amazing, and as you mentioned, the stuff he did with James L. Brooks and Noah Baumbach. He has an incredible range; there’s no one like him.”
The “TÁR” writer-director continued, “I hope we end up working together; I really do.”
While podcast host Josh Horowitz asked if it could be “Billy Madison 2,” Field replied, “I don’t know; I mean, maybe it could be like that.”
He added, “We’ve been talking about some things; it’s too early [to say].”
In the meantime, Sandler is committed to another Safdie Brothers’ film at Netflix and recently received a Performer Tribute at the 2022 Gotham Awards. Quentin Tarantino also noted that “Inglourious Basterds” character the Bear Jew was written for Sandler before the actor committed to Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” which had overlapping production dates.
Field meanwhile is free after exiting Hulu limited series “The Devil in the White City,” which was set to star Keanu Reeves, who also parted ways in pre-production. Based on Erik Larson’s book about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and serial killer H.H. Holmes’ concurrent murder spree, the show has been in the works since 2019, with Reeves initially cast as 1893 Chicago World’s Fair architect Daniel H. Burnham. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are executive producers on the series, which has yet to announce a replacement director for Field, who was set to EP.
This week, Field will accept the Best Film prize from the New York Film Critics Circle for “TÁR.”
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