It seems the story originated on Kotaku, as they were at a press conference for the upcoming “Metal Gear” game and Konami's Aki Saito (who is handling the film negotiations) mentioned that Paul was interested.

Immediately, a number of sites picked up the rumor. Most wondered if he meant to say Paul W.S. Anderson. You know him…he makes movies that aren’t as good...

Anyway, whatever Konami's Aki Saito meant to say is irrelevant, as I’ve emailed producer Mike De Luca and he said the rumor about Paul Thomas Anderson is “completely false and ridiculous.” If you didn't know, Mike is producing the movie and you can read a lot of his thoughts on the film here.

So there you have it. Sorry to be the one that puts the rumor to bed…as I love Paul’s work and would absolutely pay to see what he’d do with the material.