Anderson, Paul Thomas

Paul Thomas Anderson was born June 26, 1970 in Studio City ( California ), in the family of Edwin Gough and Ernie Anderson. Ernie Anderson was a television actor, and also worked as an announcer for the ABC channel and hosted a nightly horror television show called Gowlardi on Cleveland television ^[5] . Paul Anderson grew up in the San Fernando Valley ^[6] , where he attended many schools, including the Buckley School at Sherman Oaks, the John Thomas Day School, the Crouching Academy and Montclair Prep. He also studied at New York University , but soon dropped out ^[7] .

Anderson started filmmaking at a young age, starting to shoot on his father’s camcorder at age 12 ^[8] . Subsequently, he began to use an 8 mm film, and realized that the video was more convenient ^[9] . At age 17, he began experimenting with a 16mm Bolex camera ^[9] . As a high school student, in 1988, he shot his first half - hour pseudo - documentary film called The Dirk Diggler Story , which tells the story of a famous porn actor . The prototype of the main character of the film (Dirk Diggler) was the porn actor John Holmes , who later also became the protagonist in Anderson's film “Boogie Nights” ^{[7] [10]} .

After a short English course at Emerson College and an even shorter visit to New York University, Anderson began working as a production assistant on the set of television films, music videos, and television games in Los Angeles and New York . In 1992, he began filming his second short film “Cigarettes and Coffee” ( English Cigarettes & Coffee ), which included five scenes during lunch. The film was first shown on the big screen in 1993 at the Sundance Festival , where it immediately gained recognition. A few years later he made his first full-length film, “Sydney” ( Eng. Sydney ), which was renamed “Fatal Eight” ( Eng. Hard Eight ) ^[10] . The Fatal Eight was first shown in 1996 in the competitive program of the Cannes Film Festival " Special Look " ^[11] .

In the film Boogie Nights, which was a turning point for his career, Anderson returned to the character Dirk Diggler, developing a half-hour story from the debut film to the full-length format. The premiere took place on October 10, 1997. The drama directed by Anderson was highly praised by critics, but the tape did not have much success at the box office ^[10] . The work has become one of the most positively evaluated films of the year ^[5] and is considered one of the best films describing the activities of the porn industry. The tape revived the career of Burt Reynolds , who was nominated for an Oscar for the role of porn director Jack Horner ^[12] , and also elevated leading actors Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore to the rank of sought-after and highly paid actors. As a result, the film was nominated for three awards at the American Film Academy : for Best Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds), Best Supporting Actor (Julianne Moore) and Best Original Screenplay ^[13] .

Anderson's next film was the story ensemble, filmed in 1999, " Magnolia " ( English Magnolia ), which talked about the specific interaction between people living in the San Fernando Valley, California. The plot of the film was based on the interweaving of nine different storylines, which were transformed into a single picture. In “Magnolia” fairly long camera plans were used, which distinguished the tape from typical Hollywood films. Like Anderson’s previous film, Magnolia received three Academy Award nominations: for Best Supporting Actor ( Tom Cruise ), Best Song (Save Me, Amy Mann’s Music and Words) and Best Original Screenplay ^{[ 14]} . In an interview given shortly after the film’s premiere, Anderson said: “... I really believe that Magnolia, fortunately or not, is the best movie I will ever make” ( English ... what I really feel is that Magnolia is, for better or worse, the best movie I'll ever make ) ^[15] .

Following the release of Magnolia, Anderson stated that he would like to work with comedian Adam Sandler in the near future and that his next film would be 90 minutes long ^[16] . As a result, they became a romantic comedy released in 2002, partly based on the story of David Phillips (known as The Pudding Guy), Love Knocking Down , in which Adam Sandler starred ^[17] . The plot of the film was about a little businessman (Sandler) with problems in controlling aggression, who, under the yoke of seven sisters, meets his love (Watson) ^[17] . Sandler received positive reviews from critics for his role. The film was his first departure from mainstream comedies that made him famous ^{[18] [19]} . In a review of the film, Roger Ebert noted that “Sandler, freed from formulaic constraints, reveals an unexpected acting depth. Watching this film, you can imagine it in the roles of Dennis Hopper. There is darkness, obsession and power in it ”( born 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 ) ^{[ 20]} . At the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, the film won a prize for best directing and was nominated for the Golden Palm Branch ^[21] .

Anderson’s most famous film was a free adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! ( Oil! ) ^[22] . Although the original film was called a quote from the Bible, “ There Will Be Blood ”, in Russia it came out under the name “Oil”. The film was quite successful: with a budget of $ 25 million at the worldwide box office, he raised $ 76.1 million ^[23] . Even before the filming began, the director mentioned that he would like to work with the English actor Daniel Day-Lewis ^{[16] [24]} , who ultimately received his second Oscar for playing the main role in the film ^[25] . For the role of Eli Sandi in the film, Paul Dano (who also played Eli's brother, Paul Sandi) was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor ^[26] . Anderson himself was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award ^[27] . In addition, the film was nominated for eight Oscar statuettes, competing with the Coen Brothers tape “ Old Men Have No Place ” ^[28] . Personally, Anderson was nominated in three categories: Best Director, Best Film of the Year and Best Adapted Screenplay (in all three cases the awards went to the Coen brothers) ^[25] . The film received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the best films of the decade ^[29] .

In December 2009, Variety Magazine announced that Anderson was working on a new script, which is called The Master, and tells of a “charismatic intellectual” who founded his religion in the 1950s ^[30] . Although the film does not contain references to the religious movement itself, it is assumed that it is based on Scientology ^[31] . It was reported that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman , who appeared quite often in the director’s films, would have to play the main role in the film ^[30] . According to rumors, Reese Witherspoon ^[32] and Jeremy Renner ^[33] were supposed to play along with Hoffman in the film, which was later, however, refuted. In September 2010, Jeremy Renner stated that the project was postponed indefinitely ^[34] . He later announced that he was no longer involved in the film. ^[35] In April 2011, it became known that actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in negotiations on participation in the film and will play a supporting role in it ^[36] . Subsequently, Anderson completely rewrote the script, and the main character became Freddy Quell performed by Joaquin ^[37] . The film premiered in September 2012 at the 69th Venice Film Festival , where Anderson won the Silver Lion for best directorial work ^[38] .

It was also reported from a number of sources that Anderson began filming the novel by Thomas Pincson's “ Inborn Vice ” ( Eng. Inherent Vice ), where Joaquin Phoenix will again star in the lead role ^[39] . In February 2011, it became known that Megan Ellison (daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison ) will finance both of Anderson’s ongoing projects ^[35] .

Anderson, along with Quentin Tarantino , Steven Soderbergh , Richard Linklater and Spike Jones , is one of the representatives of the self-taught filmmakers generation who studied the directing profession not in film schools, but watched thousands of films on videotapes ^{[6 ]} . Anderson calls Martin Scorsese , Max Ophuls , Stanley Kubrick , Orson Welles , Robert Altman and Jonathan Demmey his main inspiration in directing ^{[9] [40] [40] [41] [41]} .

Anderson’s films are recognizable primarily due to the fact that their action takes place in the San Fernando Valley with a large number of actors with rather realistic and vicious characters ^[42] . The characters in his films deal with topics such as dysfunctions of family relationships ^{[40] [41]} , alienation ^[40] , regret ^[40] , loneliness ^[41] , chance and fate ^[41] , searches for a place that can be called a “home” " ^[40] , and the ghosts of the past ^[41] . Anderson emphasizes the interconnectedness of his heroes, while volatile circumstances affect the fragile aspects of their lives ^[41] .

Anderson’s style is recognizable thanks to the detailed exposition ^[5] , special visual style ^[5] , constantly moving camera ^{[5] [42]} , visual delay of long plans based on the steadic system ^{[41] [43]} , often the use of catchy music ^[42] and audiovisual images that do not adhere to laws of a physical nature ^[43] .

In the first four feature films, Anderson featured a similar cast. So, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (until his death in 2014) appeared in all Anderson’s works, with the exception of Oil; Melora Walters , Louis Guzman , Philip Baker Hall and John Christopher Reilly starred in three. Other Boogie Nights performers, such as William Macy and Julianne Moore , also starred in Magnolia . With the exception of Paul F. Tompkins, who had a minor role in Magnolia, a completely new cast was cast in Oil . ^[44] Interestingly, Robert Elsvit was the operator in all of Anderson's full-length works, with the exception of The Wizard, where he was replaced by Mihai Malaymer Jr. ^[45] , and The Phantom Thread, where Anderson himself was the operator.

In addition to filming the film, Anderson shot a number of music videos, including for singer Fiona Apple (whom he thanked in the credits for Magnolia). Apple's album When the Pawn ... was written during a close relationship and collaboration with Anderson, during which he shot her four videos (for the songs “Across the Universe”, “Fast as You Can”, “Limp”, “Paper Bag”) . Also in 1997, he directed the video “Try” to Michael Penn, in 1999 - the music video “Save Me” by Amy Menn, and in 2002 - “Here We Go” to John Brion . In addition, he acted as a backup director in Robert Altman ’s latest film, The Companions ^{[46] [47] [48]} . His responsibilities included monitoring, assistance in filming, as well as patronage of the project in the event of Altman's incapacity, who was 80 years old at the time of filming ^[44] . Anderson is not included in the credits as the creator of the film, but is mentioned at the end. in the section “Special thanks ...” ( English Special thanks to ... ) ^[44] .

Since 2001, Anderson has been in a relationship with actress and comedian Maya Rudolph ^[49] . The couple has four children - daughters Pearl Minnie (born 2005) ^[50] , Lucille (born 2009) ^[49] and Minnie Aida (born 2013) ^[51] , as well as son Jack (born 2011) ^[52] .

Video

• Michael Penn : Try It (1997)
• “ Fiona Apple : Through the Universe” (1998)
• “Fiona Apple: As Fast As Possible” (1999)
• Amy Mann : Save Me (1999)
• Fiona Apple: Lameness (2000)
• Fiona Apple: A Paper Bag (2000)
• Fiona Apple: The Hot Knife (2013)
• Joanna Newsome : Tobacco Field (2015)
• Joanna Newsome: Divers (2015)
• Radiohead : Dreams (2016)

• Sperb J. Blossoms and Blood: Postmodern Media Culture and the Films of Paul Thomas Anderson: [ eng. ] . - University of Texas Press, 2013 .-- 296 p. - ISBN 978-0-292-75289-4 .
• Toles G. Paul Thomas Anderson: [ eng. ] . - University of Illinois Press, 2016 .-- 232 p. - (Contemporary Film Directors). - ISBN 978-0-252-04036-8 .