that of Paul Thomas Anderson Licorice Pizza may be a fictional coming-of-age story, but the nostalgic Hollywood film features many characters depicting or based on real people. Licorice Pizza documents the misadventures, tumultuous friendship and romance of Alana Kane, an assistant photographer in her mid-twenties, and Gary Valentine, a 15-year-old actor and entrepreneur. Located in the early 1970s, the Licorice Pizza elements of the true story are also based on true Hollywood memorabilia from director Paul Thomas Anderson and his friend Gary Goetzman.
Licorice Pizza has an incomparable quality of realism compared to past Paul Thomas Anderson films, in part because of the closeness of the actors, characters and stories to his real life. Alana Haim makes her film debut as the main lady Alana Kane in Licorice Pizza, but she and her family have a long history with the director. Known for having formed the HAIM group with her sisters, Alana’s entire family is in Licorice Pizza where they basically play themselves. This is in part due to her family’s close relationship with PTA, as her mother was once her teacher and the director directed many of their clips. While the Haims don’t fully play themselves or their actual ’70s Hollywood counterparts, the family dynamics in Licorice Pizza adds to the achievable realism of the film.
Besides the Haim family, Paul Thomas Anderson chose newcomer Cooper Hoffman as Gary Valentine in Licorice Pizza, the son of frequent PTA contributor, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Licorice Pizza also features small cameos from PTA’s wife, SNL‘s Maya Rudolph and their children, all of whom add credibility to the film’s natural and comfortable quality. The only important occasions when Licorice Pizza breaks with that little vibe happen when real Hollywood actors and professionals are featured with Gary and Alana. Genuinely contributing to the nostalgic Hollywood vibe, many Licorice PizzaThe characters are based on real people from that era. Here is at least a partial guide Licorice Pizza true story and each character based on a real person.
Gary Valentin
Licorice PizzaGary Valentine’s lead man (Cooper Hoffman) is based on Paul Thomas Anderson’s friend Gary Goetzman, a former child actor. Goetzman, now a well-known producer who frequently collaborates with Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, inspired almost every specific anecdote in Licorice Pizza of his own adolescence. Goetzman starred in Yours, mine and ours (changed into Under a roof in Licorice Pizza) as a teenager with a plethora of acting credits from that time on, and was a frequent con artist and businessman who owned waterbeds and pinball companies. One of Licorice PizzaThe most memorable scenes occur when Gary and Alana deliver a waterbed to producer Jon Peters’ home, which actually happened during Goetzman’s time as a waterbed salesman, although d ‘in a much less monstrous way.
Jon peters
Jon Peters, played by Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza, is a true producer and former hairdresser from the ’70s who dated actress Barbra Streisand during the filming of the film, a point that Cooper’s portrayal reiterates to Gary. Jon actually produced Barbra Streisand’s. A star is born remake, which is a great Easter egg considering Bradley Cooper’s remake A star is born in 2018. In Licorice Pizza, Jon Peters enters the story when Gary and Alana deliver a waterbed to his house, a real-life experience Gary Goetzman experiences. Peters gave PTA his blessing for Bradley Cooper to represent him in Licorice Pizza, which has become one of the film’s most notable aspects. Peters stipulated that Paul Thomas Anderson could put him in the movie as long as Cooper used his “preferred pickup lineWhen he flirts with women in which he asks them if they like peanut butter sandwiches. Controversial figure, the producer returns to the press around A star is born (2018) when allegations of sexual harassment and Jon Peters’ lawsuits resurfaced.
Jack holden
Licorice PizzaJack Holden’s motorcycle actor is based on Oscar-winning movie star William Holden. PTA said Variety that Jack Holden is a “replacement for William Holden”, Because he felt it was more appropriate not to use the actor’s real name. Played by Sean Penn, Jack Holden Licorice Pizza The character is introduced when Alana gets an audition to star opposite him in a movie, and is later thrown from her motorcycle when he performs a stunt on a golf course. Considering Licorice Pizza mention “Jack“Holden on a motorcycle in several movies, including one with Grace Kelly, there is no mystery whatsoever that’s meant to be Sunset Boulevardis William Holden.
Joel wachs
Another real character whose name has not changed to Licorice Pizza is Joel Wachs, a politician who ran for Los Angeles City Council in the early 1970s. Performed by Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie in Licorice Pizza, Wachs ‘role becomes important when Alana leaves Gary’s waterbeds business and gets a volunteer job for President Wachs’ campaign. In one of the Licorice Pizzadarker moments of self-realization for Alana, her character is called by Wachs in a restaurant as a ploy to hide her boyfriend from the public and avoid everything “distractionOf its political objectives. Wachs’ sexuality would remain private until 1999, when he ran for mayor and began to advocate strongly for gay rights and the arts.
Lucy dooolittle
Licorice PizzaAnother example of a slight change in the name of an actual Hollywood actor, as deemed appropriate by PTA, is the character of Lucy Doolittle. Doolittle, whose role is at the start of the film as the actress at the head of Gary’s variety show Under a roof. This time Anderson keeps the inspirational actress’ first name and changes the last one, as Lucy Doolittle is based on none other than I love lucyit’s Lucille Ball. Lucy’s place in Licorice Pizza refers to Gary Goetzman’s real-life experience, as he was roughly the same age as Cooper Hoffman’s character when he starred in the film Yours, mine and ours with Lucille Ball. As such, Licorice Pizza‘s Under a roof is clearly a replacement for the years 1968 Yours, mine and ours.
Fred gwynne
Another true ’60s star portrayed as himself on screen, Paul Thomas Anderson’s frequent collaborator John C. Reilly appeared in a snap scene or You’ll Miss It. Licorice Pizza. As Gary sets up his “Soggy bottom»Stand at the Salon Teen-Age, Licorice Pizza goes to a cabin for The Munsters‘original cast, where Fred Gwynne (Reilly) is dressed as Herman Munster and assures the kids that he is, in fact, the real Herman Munster. While The Munsters was a product of the ’60s like many other booths in the Teen-Age Fair sequence, the TV show and the character of Gwynne maintained a significant pop culture presence with nostalgia, which Licorice Pizza pays a perfect tribute to.
B. Mitchel Reed
After Alana and Gary decide to go into business together for Fat Bernie’s Water Beds, the two schedule a live radio commercial like B. Mitchel Reed did. In just a scene of about two minutes, Licorice Pizza portrayed the radio jockey as the actual B. Mitchel Reed, who is played in the film by accomplished voice actor Ray Chase. Reed was best known for his career as a disc jockey in the Top 40 and Los Angeles rock stations in the early 1970s, which is a perfect tribute to the musical culture of that era that inspired Licorice Pizzatitle of.
Marie grady
In a small but memorable scene, Licorice Pizza presents a segment where Alana and Gary meet Mary Grady, a real-life child actor agent from the 70s. Played by frequent PTA collaborator Harriet Samson Harris, Mary Grady was a well-known talent agent for many of the biggest stars in Hollywood of the time. Licorice PizzaReal-life Grady was also the mother of child actors Don Grady (Mickey mouse house) and Lani O’Grady.
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