73 SHARES Facebook Twitter

It appears that reports of Paul Thomas Anderson directing the latest Adam Sandler comedy special have been greatly exaggerated.

Only yesterday, we received news that Paul Thomas Anderson was spotted at the recent Adam Sandler taping and was actually going to direct the special. Needless to say, we were excited by the prospect of Sandler and Anderson reteaming with their first collaboration since “Punch-Drunk Love.” Unfortunately, news has surfaced that does, in fact, confirm PTA’s involvement in the special, but not in the way we anticipated.

According to Screen Crush, Anderson was at the special, but he’s not the director. Sources told Screen Crush that Anderson only “filmed a portion of Adam’s stand-up set in Los Angeles on April 10.” Well, that’s a bummer.

They go on to say that Steven Brill, a longtime Sandler collaborator, is the actual director of the special. Brill, if you don’t remember has directed some films for Sandler, which include “Mr. Deeds,” “Little Nicky,” “The Do-Over,” and most recently, “Sandy Wexler.” Sorry, but that’s not the same as Paul Thomas Anderson.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean that the Adam Sandler comedy special is going to be outright trash. Sandler had his start as a stand-up and in the ‘90s sold a ton of comedy albums with his own brand of silly, crude humor. If anything, a new stand-up special should be exciting for those fans of Sandler that have been craving something different than his recent string of Netflix films.

However, as far as we’re concerned, the prospect of teaming with PTA was the real selling point. And as of now, it looks like the only Sandler project that we’re particularly excited for is his starring role in the Safdie Brothers’ “Uncut Gems.” Sadly, as far as the comedy special goes, we’ll just have to wait and see exactly what Anderson’s contributions to the special are, and hope for the best.