If you're Paul Thomas Anderson, you don't sweat it when a studio passes on one of your films. You've already created four of the most important films of the last two decades in Boogie Nights(my fave film evah!), Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love(our namesake!), and There Will Be Blood. Hard Eight is no slouch, either. Despite the lack of studio financing, PTA is still casting roles for his film, The Master, about a guy who creates a faith-based organization that expands into an empire. Think There Will Be Blood, just substitute oil for prayers.
With PTA favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman already attached along with Jeremy Renner, the task is now to fill some of the female roles. The reports are that Reese Witherspoon(Cruel Intentions) has already been made an offer to play Mary-Sue, the wife of the main character. At this point she hasn't accepted.
Up for the other major female role are Emma Stone(Zombieland), Amanda Seyfried(Dear John), and Deborah Ann Woll(True Blood). This would be for the daughter of The Master and his wife.
I'd be interested in seeing any of these actresses work with PTA. While I don't know much about the role itself, I can see Emma Stone as somebody he'd work with not just on this film but in future projects as well. She's just enough of a known commodity to be a marketing plus, but we haven't seen her work on anything where she really gets dirtied up, something which I can pretty much promise will happen working on a PTA project.