Paul Thomas Anderson

[kid-glove]

The filmmaker who Altman considered his successor.
Fans consider the closest successor to Kubrick.

Lynch, Scorsese and Woody Allen have all admitted PTA to be their favorite auteur working today.

Tarantino considers PTA to be Montgomery Clift for his Brando or vice versa. And he always bandies PTA to be a contemporary, who pushes him to do better. Like a competition for him.

PTA, however, had made it clear through Daniel Plainview,
"I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed."

On that note, I might have to pitch in my first review, that I transferred to Imdb only recently. On "There will be blood". I might have to post a revised review, sometime later. But it's a short glimpse to my personal flirtations with his films, in view of American film history and its placing (specifically TWBB) within last century or so.

Discuss his films here.

[kid-glove]

Tarantino comparing the relationship/competition with PTA to De Palma-Scorsese



De Palma-Scorsese :: Tarantino-PTAnderson

About fair, I think. DePalma's favorite is QT, and Scorsese's is PT Anderson. Hope they give us damn good movies, that's all that matters.

Btw, it's about the Raging bull opening credits shot that De Palma first saw (he thought Blowout was going to be his best film, and he went to see RAging bull, and after the opening, he went "F--k!, no matter what you do, there's always f-ing Scorsese". I guess that's how QT reacted to TWBB, at least I'd like to believe ).

[salaam_chennai]

I saw "Punch Drunk Love" last week and i liked it. After seeing this thread, I browsed imdb to see PTA's filmography and found that Punch Drunk Love is his movie. The movie is worth the watch. It was good to see Adam Sandler in a serious role.

[kid-glove]

"Punch-drunk love", in his words, is "to f-up the rom-com genre a little bit." Haanesty

[Sid_316]

Loved all of his works.. havent seen there will be blood though.. magnolia tops the list.. brilliant brilliant film. Punch drunk love is brilliant in its own way.Liked sidney eight and boogie nights.
But magnolia stands apart.

P.S : i still didnt get the ending though with the exodus reference... Thilak i remember u explaining the ending to bala once.. but aana ur english sathiyama purila could u explain it in simple words pls :P

[Sid_316]

Any idea about his next film?

[kid-glove]

Sid,

I never sought out to explain that ending in context of "Exodus" and/or biblical references.

P_R once posted an article in this vein, but I think it doesn't comply with its author/auteur, because...

Watching the extras in DVD, and reading few articles on PTA, he seemed to have got the "Exodus" reference only later. The "Frog" rain was planned and could have done without the exodus 8:2 reference, if it hadn't been brought to his notice much later. So he just used it as an in-joke and a sleight of hand (the only thing that I agree about, in that article), in using it symbolically and as a numerical reference for production design. Staying off it, I think the idea was to show some singular happening that would shape and conclude the problems of the characters. One possible way to do it is through natural calamity/disaster, that alters the characters' lives and bring about a conclusion. Every possible way of ending the multiple story lines (all connected by Parent-children thematics) is to be seen as a manipulation anway. Especially the idea of connecting/affecting 'em. Doing it the Altman way, "Earthquake" seems no less artificial (although they do function metaphorically as a disaster to the American dream), and paradoxical, because as much as a natural disaster it is, it brings about its own manipulative storytelling. PTA opts for something more theatrical and opulent, and exposing the director's wand through an absurd ridiculous event, the frog rain. I thought it was a brilliant juxtaposition to seemingly realistic believable set of stories, the special-effects seemed out of Dinosaur or Godzilla movie. That (and the song "wise up") is unashamedly claiming itself as a work of fiction (and that's how it should be). In any fiction of interlinked stories, deux-es-machina, is within the narrator's realm. The characters and the painting within the movie, remind themselves, "it did happen". We are conditioned to ask why it did, but why should it necessarily be any other way?! There are other ways to do hyperlink cinema which are connected by (oil - Syriana, drug trafficking - Traffic , Earthquake - shortcut, butterfly effect - ditto, Gun - Babel, Place - Gomorrah, etc), but this particular author opts this way to uplift the children, even if temporarily, like a fantasy. According to him, coincidences and strange happenings are possible. The absurdity was foreshadowed with interconnected short stories (all too strange and yet seemingly "Realistic", not farcical) in beginning of the film.

About Exodus again, PTA had said he'd have rained cats and dogs if it were possible. when pressed for a possible explanation.

The religious reference is one possible interpretation, but in view of his filmography, and especially after "TWBB", it is unlikely. And In fact, his next film is titled "The Master" tentatively, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, is about a man who invents a religion. I expect it to be largely polemical, the spiritual fraudulence, in make of O'Connor's "Wise Blood" (one of PTA's hero, John Huston, had adapted it) and Scientology, and not supportive of religion, ala "The Apostle".

After doing Upton Sinclair's Oil!, PTA could do a take on the other Sinclair, Lewis's book "Elmar Gantry" which came out the very year of Oil!, 1927. That's possible !

[Sid_316]

Thanks thilak

[kid-glove]

Btw, it's not necessarily deemed "fantasy", but purely Fortean phenomenon. More examples:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...-rain-tadpoles

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ver-Japan.html

[ajithfederer]

Haven't seen any of his films.

Couldn't muster up my patience to watch There will be Blood. I just cannot sit through how DDL talks in that film. Puts me to sleep quite easily or makes me change channels

Will definitely see Magnolia in the near future.