If you recently saw car chases and crashes around the Borrego Springs area that looked straight out of a movie, turns out they were actually scenes for a future film — one starring Leonardo DiCaprio, we should note.
The cast and crew of director Paul Thomas Anderson's latest feature film, which is being referred to as the "BC Project," were spotted filming in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area in May, more than an hour south of the Palm Springs area.
The film stars DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Alana Haim and Chase Infiniti.
Photographer and Borrego Springs resident Sicco Rood shared photos and videos on his Instagram account of the action on set.
Academy Award winner DiCaprio was spotted wearing a plaid robe — similar to the one he was wearing while filming in Eureka, California in January — sporting a "man-bun" and wielding a rifle. In one video, DiCaprio is seen getting out of a car, heading to the side of the road with his weapon and overlooking a smoky embankment. Rood wrote in his Instagram post that the scene was filmed on May 24 at the bottom of the Montezuma Grade near the Hellhole parking area in the state park.
Penn's character, who had some fake blood on his face, was mostly in the embankment where a car crashed, Rood said, so he didn't see him do much acting. But he noticed him speaking with crew members and DiCaprio and lighting up a cigarette.
Other videos show the crew filming driving sequences and setting off the smoke in the embankment.
Rood, who is a staff research associate at the University of California Irvine's Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center, witnessed much of the movie magic near his place of work. He noticed crew trailers moving to different locations on any given day and having to do a number of takes for the car crash scene.
After they cleared out the area, Rood decided to check it out the next day to see what condition the land was left in, and he said he was "impressed."
"There were seven completely crushed vehicles, and when I looked at the site where they did the main crash with Sean Penn's character, there was no trash, the bushes weren't chopped up, the smoke was all fake, I didn't even smell it when it was wafting in my face," Rood said.
Filming also took place in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area from May 11 to 14, according to a film permit. Specific filming locations included the Ocotillo Wells viewpoint, Tectonic Gorge Trail and the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area campgrounds. The cast/crew included 120 people, and 24 production vehicles and two picture cars were involved.
While filming at the Tectonic Gorge Trail, the crew requested to have trail markers removed during the shoot, requested exclusive use in certain locations on filming days for safety and privacy and requested to bring in equipment such as generators, production lights, cables and more. In terms of what was actually shot at the location, the permit stated it would consist of actors with dialogue at a rendezvous point, an actor falling to the ground, actors getting in vehicles and speeding off in separate directions and brandishing weapons.
A copy of the film permit for the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was not available on Wednesday.
Chatting with other Borrego Springs residents, Rood said a majority of locals were "very happy" with the experience, especially those who work in restaurants and the hospitality business. While some people were a little "grumpy" over road closures, "overall I'd say the community was happy and excited about seeing their backyard in a big-screen movie."
He added that he and his wife will make a trip to the movie theater once Anderson's film is out. They did that when 2015's "Last Days in the Desert," a variation on the biblical story of the temptation of Jesus Christ, came out, which was filmed at Fonts Point in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
"That was cool too, but I think this movie will be more exciting," he chuckled.
Françoise Rhodes, executive director of the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce, said in an email that the film crew was in the Borrego Springs area for more than a month, with the project kept largely under wraps. DiCaprio and Penn were spotted around town, and the rest of the crew "shopped, ate and had fun at different locations throughout the community."
"It was a wonderful experience for Borrego Springs, as we've had many films shot here in the past, but the scope of this one was quite large," Rhodes said. "They brought many valuable dollars to our economy, especially going into the slow desert summer season."
Little is known about "BC Project," as Anderson is known to keep his film productions under wraps, but some details have emerged in recent months.
The untitled film is set to be released Aug. 8, 2025, and it'll open in IMAX theaters, according to IndieWire. Anderson is writing, directing and producing his 10th narrative feature, and Sara Murphy, JoAnne Sellar and Adam Somner are also serving as producers.
This marks the first time that Anderson and DiCaprio are collaborating on a film together, while the director is reuniting with his "Licorice Pizza" actors Haim and Penn. Anderson's 1973 San Fernando Valley-set coming-of-age film was released in 2021 and received three Academy Award nominations for best picture, director and original screenplay.
Warner Bros. is calling "BC Project" an "event film," and it's reported to be contemporary in its setting. Many film websites have reported that the movie will tackle Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel "Vineland," which is set in California during the Ronald Reagan administration and features flashbacks to the 1960s. Through those flashbacks, the book tells the story of a group of hippies led by Zoyd Wheeler and federal prosecutor Brock Vond's attempts to take them down. In the 1980s, Vond comes back into Wheeler's life and continues to wreak havoc.
People have speculated that Anderson will bring the story to the present day, and Rood got that impression as well, noting that the cars used while filming in Borrego Springs did not look like they were from the 1980s. He added that he's since started reading the book, noting that it "has a lot of humor in it."
Anderson previously adapted Pynchon's novel "Inherent Vice" in 2014, which starred Joaquin Phoenix as a stoner, hippie, private investigator embroiled in the criminal underworld of 1970 Los Angeles investigating the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Filming for "BC Project" has taken place all over California, including Sacramento, Eureka and Stockton, according to SFGate. The movie sparked controversy earlier this year when a homeless encampment in the state capital was moved in order to film in a park.
The director's other works include "There Will Be Blood," "Boogie Nights," "The Master," "Phantom Thread" and "Magnolia." Anderson has earned 11 Oscar nominations in his career.
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

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