Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson

Anderson in 2007
Born Paul Thomas Anderson
June 26, 1970 (1970-06-26) (age 40)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names P.T. Anderson
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active 1988–present
Partner Maya Rudolph

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970)[1] is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and There Will Be Blood (2007). He has been nominated for five Academy Awards—There Will Be Blood for Best Achievement in Directing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, and Best Adapted Screenplay; Magnolia for Best Original Screenplay; and Boogie Nights for Best Original Screenplay.

He's been hailed as being "one of the most exciting talents to come along in years" and as being "among the supreme talents of today".[2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Anderson was born in Studio City, California, the son of Edwina (née Gough) and Ernie Anderson, who was an actor, the voice of the American Broadcasting Company, and a Cleveland television late-night horror movie host known as "Ghoulardi".[4] Anderson grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He attended a number of schools, including Buckley in Sherman Oaks, John Thomas Dye School, Campbell Hall School, Cushing Academy and Montclair Prep. He briefly attended, but soon dropped out of, New York University.[5]

Career

Anderson was involved in filmmaking at a young age. As a high school student, he made the 30-minute mockumentary The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), about a well-endowed male porn star (inspired by John Holmes, who also served as a major inspiration for Boogie Nights).

After a brief stint as an English major at Emerson College and an even shorter time at New York University, Anderson began his career as a production assistant on television movies, music videos and game shows in Los Angeles and New York. He later made Cigarettes & Coffee (1992), a short with five vignettes set in a diner (not to be confused with Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes.) The film was screened at the 1993 Sundance Festival, where it received considerable acclaim. In a few years, Anderson made his first full-length feature, Sydney, which was retitled Hard Eight (1996).

Anderson's breakout film Boogie Nights, revisiting his Dirk Diggler character in a full-length major motion picture, was released on October 10, 1997 to critical and commercial success. It was one of the best-reviewed films of the year[6] and is widely considered one of the finest depictions of the porn film industry. The film revived the career of Burt Reynolds (who was nominated for an Oscar) and launched Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore onto the A-list of serious actors.

Anderson's next film was the ensemble piece Magnolia (1999), which tells the story of the peculiar interaction among the lives of several individuals in the San Fernando Valley, California. Interweaving nine separate yet connected storylines, Magnolia featured many intricately blocked extra-long shots, in a style quite distinct from that of mainstream Hollywood films. Magnolia was featured on over 150 critics top 10 lists of 1999, and received three Academy Award nominations, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Cruise), Best Original Song for "Save Me" by Aimee Mann and Best Original Screenplay. In an interview after the film's release Anderson was quoted as saying "... what I really feel is that Magnolia is, for better or worse, the best movie I'll ever make."[7]

Anderson returned with the comedy/romance feature Punch-Drunk Love (2002), starring Adam Sandler. The story centers around a beleaguered small-business owner embarking on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman (Emily Watson). Sandler won positive reviews for his role in his first major departure from the mainstream comedies which made him a star; Roger Ebert wrote that "Sandler, liberated from the constraints of formula, reveals unexpected depths as an actor. Watching this film, you can imagine him in Dennis Hopper roles. He has darkness, obsession and power." [8] The film earned only $17 million despite a $25 million budget.

Anderson's most recent film, There Will Be Blood, was a loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!. The budget of the film was $25 million, and it gained $40 million in sales. It starred Daniel Day-Lewis, who won an Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his role, as well as Paul Dano who received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Anderson was nominated for Best Director from the Directors Guild of America. The film also received eight Academy Award nominations, tying with No Country For Old Men for the most nominations. Anderson received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, losing all three to the Coen Brothers for No Country For Old Men.

In December 2009 Variety reported that Anderson was working on a new script tentatively titled "The Master", about a "charismatic intellectual" who starts a new religion in the 1950s, based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard[9]. Frequent Anderson player Philip Seymour Hoffman was reported to be attached as the lead,[10] with Reese Witherspoon and Jeremy Renner rumored to star opposite him.[11][12]

Film style, themes and trademarks

Anderson is known for films with large ensemble casts and interweaving storylines, as in the case of Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). Anderson is a member of the first generation of "VCR filmmakers," much like directors Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, and Kevin Smith, who learned the craft not in film schools, but by viewing thousands of movies on video.

Among the subjects dealt with in Anderson's films are familial relationships, divine fate, the serendipitous nature of love, and the role of contemporary media. Anderson stresses the interconnections among his characters as volatile circumstances affect their fragile lives. Anderson's stylistic trademarks include a constantly moving camera, logistically difficult steadicam-based long takes (such as the three-minute opening shot in Boogie Nights), often with emphatic use of sound and music.

In addition to films, Anderson has directed several music videos, including several for musician Fiona Apple. Anderson was a standby director for Bob Altman's A Prairie Home Companion for insurance purposes, as Altman was 80 years old at the time. Anderson was not formally credited in the film, but receives a "Special thanks to ..." toward the end of the closing credits.[13][14]

His production company is named after his father's "Ghoulardi" late-night Cleveland television show host character.

Anderson has been known to use certain actors in multiple productions. Of his first four feature films, Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in all four, Melora Walters, Luis Guzmán, Philip Baker Hall and John C. Reilly each appeared in three; and other members of the Boogie Nights cast also appeared in Magnolia. With the exception of Paul F. Tompkins, who had an equally minor role in Magnolia, There Will Be Blood had an entirely new cast. Additionally, Robert Elswit has been cinematographer for all of Anderson's features.

Personal life

Anderson and singer Fiona Apple had a relationship for several years; she appears with him in the making-of video diary on the DVD of the film Magnolia. Anderson is currently in a relationship with former Saturday Night Live cast member Maya Rudolph. They live in both Los Angeles and New York City and have two daughters, Pearl Minnie Anderson, born on October 15, 2005, and Lucille, born on November 6, 2009.[15]

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards:

BAFTA Awards:

Berlin Film Festival:

Cannes Film Festival:

Directors Guild of America:

Writers Guild of America:

References

  1. ↑ "About - Paul Thomas Anderson Resource - Cigarettes & Red Vines". Cigarettes & Red Vines. http://www.ptanderson.info/about.htm. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ [2]
  4. ↑ "Paul Thomas Anderson Biography (1970-)". filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/83/Paul-Thomas-Anderson.html. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  5. ↑ Richardson, John H. (September 22, 2008). "The Secret History of Paul Thomas Anderson". Esquire. http://www.esquire.com/features/75-most-influential/paul-thomas-anderson-1008. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Best of Rotten Tomatoes - Best of 1997". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_year.php?year=1997. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Paul Thomas Anderson". imdb.com. October 18, 2002. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000759/. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (October 18, 2002). ":: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Punch-Drunk Love". rogerebert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20021018/REVIEWS/210180308/1023. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  9. ↑ http://technoccult.net/archives/2010/06/14/l-ron-hubbard-movie/
  10. ↑ Fleming, Michael (December 2, 2009). "Anderson working on 'Master'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012101.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+variety%2Fheadlines+(Variety+-+Latest+News)&utm_content=Google+Reader. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 
  11. ↑ http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/reese-witherspoon-reportedly-offered-role-pt-andersons-scientology-film-17827
  12. ↑ Cambell, Christopher (March 3, 2010). "Jeremy Renner Joins Paul Thomas Anderson’s Religious Cult Movie". MTV. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/03/17/jeremy-renner-may-join-paul-thomas-anderson-the-maste/. Retrieved March 30, 2010. 
  13. ↑ Carr, David (July 23, 2005). "Lake Wobegon Goes Hollywood (or Is It Vice Versa?), With a Pretty Good Cast". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/movies/MoviesFeatures/23prai.html?ex=1279771200&en=3fa151765fc0ec7f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  14. ↑ "Boogie Nights starring Mark Wahlberg directed by PT Anderson". http://www.ambidextrouspics.com/html/boogie_nights.html. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  15. ↑ Michaud, Sarah (December 4, 2009). "Maya Rudolph Welcomes a Girl". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20317392,00.html. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Festival de Cannes: Punch-Drunk Love". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3124026/year/2002.html. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 

External links

Films directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Hard Eight (1996) · Boogie Nights (1997) · Magnolia (1999) · Punch-Drunk Love (2002) · There Will Be Blood (2007)