Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson at Cannes in 2002.

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970 in Studio City, California) is a two-time Oscar nominated American filmmaker.

Early life

Anderson was born in Studio City, California. His father, Ernie Anderson, was the voice of the American Broadcasting Company and a Cleveland television late-night horror movie host known as "Ghoulardi". Anderson grew up in the San Fernando Valley and attended New York University, but dropped out before completing a degree.

The Valley may have been immortalized in the 1980s for its mall-hopping "Valley Girls", but for Anderson it was a seedy part of suburban America populated by would-bes and burnouts. Anderson's experiences growing up in "The Valley" have no doubt shaped his artistic self; three of his four theatrical features are set in "The Valley".

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 a major inspiration for Boogie Nights).

After a brief stint as an English major at Emerson College and an even shorter time at the New York Film School, Anderson began his career as a production assistant on television movies, 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. 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 hailed by many critics as the "best film of the year, if not the decade," and is widely considered one of the finest depictions of the porn film industry. The film revived the careers of Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg, and tranformed Julianne Moore into an A-list actress.

Anderson's next film was the ensemble piece Magnolia (1999), which tells the story of the peculiar interaction among the lives of several individuals during a single day in the San Fernando Valley, California. Interweaving nine separate yet connected storylines, Magnolia was self-consciously produced with heavy independent film influences (despite a large budget courtesy of New Line Cinema), 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 and Best Original Screenplay.

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." Unfortunately, the film was not well received at the American box-office, grossing only $17 million despite a $25 million budget.

Anderson's next film, There Will Be Blood is an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!. The novel is set during the oil scandals of the Harding administration, and will provide a detailed depiction of the development of the oil industry in Southern California. The film will star Daniel Day-Lewis.

Film style, themes, and trademarks

Anderson is known for films with large ensemble casts, independent film styles, 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 and Kevin Smith, who learned the craft not in film schools, but by viewing thousands of movies on video, thus gaining a vast knowledge of film technique and culture.

Anderson's films typically deal with the significance of familial relationships, particularly those of fathers and their children. Themes concerning divine fate, the serendipitous nature of love, and the role of contemporary media are also examined. Anderson stresses the interconnections among his characters as volatile circumstances affect their fragile lives. Anderson's stylistic trademarks include logistically difficult steadicam-based long takes (such as the 3 minute opening shot in Boogie Nights), often with bombastic use of sound and music.

In addition to films, Anderson has directed several music videos, including several Fiona Apple pieces. Anderson was a standby director for Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, presumably for insurance purposes, as Altman was 80 years old at the time. Anderson was not formally credited in the film (and happens to be a big fan of Altman's work).

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 Saturday Night Live cast member Maya Rudolph. The couple have a daughter, Pearl Bailey Anderson, born on October 15, 2005.

Trivia

• Philip Seymour Hoffman has appeared in all four of Anderson's features. Other actors with multiple appearances in Anderson films include Philip Baker Hall (3), John C. Reilly (3), Luis Guzmán (3), Ricky Jay (2), Julianne Moore (2), William H. Macy (2), Melora Walters (3) and Robert Ridgely (2).
• His cinematic influences include Stanley Kubrick, Blake Edwards, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Jacques Tati, Sidney Lumet, and Jonathan Demme.
• He claims Network as his all-time favorite film.
• His production company is named after his father's "Ghoulardi" late-night Cleveland television show host character.

Filmography

Feature films as writer and director

• Hard Eight (also known as Sydney) (1996)
• Boogie Nights (1997)
• Magnolia (1999)
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
• There Will Be Blood (2007)

Music videos

• "Here We Go" by Jon Brion
• "Paper Bag" by Fiona Apple
• "Limp" by Fiona Apple
• "Fast as You Can" by Fiona Apple
• "Save Me" by Aimee Mann
• "Across the Universe" by Fiona Apple
• "Try" by Michael Penn

Other

• The Dirk Diggler Story (1988) - short film, inspired Boogie Nights
• Cigarettes & Coffee (1993) - short film, inspired Hard Eight (Sydney)
• My Day (1996) - a short film.

External links

• cigarettes and red vines - the p.t. anderson web resource

• Paul Thomas Anderson at IMDb