Movie buzz: 'The Master' channels Hubbard

THE MOVIE "The Master"

THE DEAL A new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's drama "The Master," about a charismatic spiritualist (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a new recruit (Joaquin Phoenix), may not put to rest speculation that the movie is directly based on Scientology. Hoffman, playing Lancaster Dodd, looks somewhat like L. Ron Hubbard and delivers the enigmatic line, "I have unlocked and discovered a secret to living in these bodies that we hold." Anderson has acknowledged that Hubbard inspired the character but also has stated,

"It's not the L. Ron Hubbard story." The film opens Sept. 14.

THE MOVIE "Evil Dead 4: Consequences"

THE DEAL Production on an unauthorized sequel to Sam Raimi's famous horror-trilogy has been halted by a California federal court, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It's the latest pound of the gavel in a battle between Raimi's company, Renaissance Pictures, and the company producing the new sequel, Award Pictures, which had initially argued that "Evil Dead" was fair game since 20 other motion pictures had used it in their titles. Raimi reportedly is planning to make his own sequel with Sony Pictures and FilmDistrict.

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THE MOVIE "Wakaliwood: The Documentary"

THE DEAL Two years ago, a trailer for "Who Killed Captain Alex?," reportedly Uganda's first action film, became a viral sensation, thanks to its crude effects and wildly incoherent soundtrack. Intrigued, East Northport native Alan Hofmanis tracked down the director, Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, in the slums of Wakaliga and chronicled his heroic efforts to make movies using homemade computers, scrap-metal props and local villagers. The documentary is being screened as a work in progress with Hofmanis and producer Ben Barenholtz ("Miller's Crossing," "Requiem for a Dream") in attendance.

INFO Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington. Admission is free. 631-423-7610; cinemaartscentre.org.