Paul Thomas Anderson
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Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26th 1970 in Studio City, California, USA) is an American filmmaker.
Anderson is best known for making works with ensemble casts and complex storylines. He is part of the first generation of "VCR filmmakers" - directors who, through seeing thousands of films on video, have an encyclopedic knowledge of technique and cultural references. He is also the son of voice actor Ernie Anderson.
Anderson's films typically deal with the significance of familial relationships over time, especially with regard to fathers and their children. Themes concerning divine fate, the serendipitous nature of love, and the role of media in contemporary life are also common. The director stresses the interconnections between his characters as these forces unpredictably, and even chaotically, weave in and out of their fragile lives.
Philip Seymour Hoffman has appeared in all four of Anderson's features. Other actors with multiple appearances in Anderson films include Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Luis Guzmán, Ricky Jay, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Melora Walters and the late Robert Ridgely. His three big-budget films (after Hard Eight) were headlined by Burt Reynolds, Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler, respectively.
His most obvious influences are the directors Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman.
Sharon Waxman's 2005 book Rebels on the Backlot was highly critical of Anderson's behavior as a director. She specifically states that while filming Magnolia, Anderson would not listen to advice or criticism from anyone because he had been given 'final cut' of the film.
Anderson's next film is set to be an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!. The novel is set during the oil scandals of the Harding administration, providing in the process a detailed picture of the development of the oil industry in Southern California.
Filmography (as writer and director)
- Hard Eight (aka Sydney) (1996)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- Magnolia (1999)
- Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Films P.T. Has Recommended
- Network (1976), written by Paddy Chayefsky; Anderson is shown screening it for Magnolia crew members on that film's DVD.
- Dancer In The Dark (2000), written/directed by Lars von Trier. (Source: message board interview)
- Secret Honor (1984), directed by Robert Altman; Philip Baker Hall claims that his performance in this film is what inspired Anderson to cast him in Hard Eight
Recommendations given to the fan site Cigarettes and Coffee:
- City Lights (1931), written/directed by Charlie Chaplin
- Les Vacances de M. Hulot (1953) and Mon Oncle (1958), both written/directed by Jacques Tati
- Meet the Parents (2000), directed by Jay Roach
- Putney Swope (1969), directed/written by Robert Downey Sr.
- Dark Star (1974), directed by John Carpenter
- Nashville (1975), directed by Robert Altman
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999), written/directed by Woody Allen
External links
- IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000759/)de:Paul Thomas Anderson