APPARENTLY not every journalist has raised the topic of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard with writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson in interviews for his long-awaited The Master.
"But that's only because I brought it up first, making it easier for them," the Californian auteur - if ever there were an apt individual for the term, he's it - says, laughing, good-naturedly deflecting the question.
Anderson is famous for giving little away about his films beyond what he deems necessary.
The fact the central character in The Master, played magisterially by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is based on Hubbard and the plotline bears an uncanny resemblance to Scientology's early days has been the topic of fascinated discussion in the film world since details of the project began leaking out months ago.
Anderson has expressed irritation at the focus even while acknowledging the story's origin.
A little over a month ago we invited readers to serenade someone with their rendition of "(I'd Like To Get You On) A Slow Boat To China" for a chance to win a copy of the soundtrack or an official "The Master" one-sheet. After days of deliberation (from the window to the wall and back again), the Cigs & Vines team have chosen our 5 favorite videos which you can view below. Feel free to share/blog/etc.
We'd like to thank everyone who entered, we really had fun watching all the videos. Winners will be contacted via Twitter immediately. If you'd still like to make a video, go ahead and send it in and maybe we'll send a copy of the soundtrack your way. Which one is your favorite? Sound off in the comments below.
Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.
INTERVIEW: Paul Thomas Anderson [Director of The Master]
10/28/2012, Andrew Buckle
Source: Graffiti With Punctuation
On Wednesday 24th October I was lucky enough to represent Graffiti With Punctuation in a round table interview session with the director of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood and The Master, Mr.
Paul Thomas Anderson. He is one of the most talented and most respected
filmmakers of his generation and admirers of his films (myself
included) claim them to be amongst the greatest American films ever
made.
Paul was in town to promote The Master, his most recent ‘masterpiece’. Later that evening he would be introducing the film at the opening of the 1st
Cockatoo Island Film Festival and the following night he would be
conducting a Q&A session at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne, where
the film would be screened in the desired 70mm format.
FIELDING questions about Scientology is nothing new for the acclaimed American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
After early reports that his much-anticipated follow-up to There Will Be Blood
featured a character based on L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the
controversial religion that some consider a cult, there was speculation The Master would be some kind of exposé.
The five-time Oscar nominee, whose other movies include Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love described the speculation during his visit to Sydney as ''kind of irritating''.
''It's like a little fly buzzing around your head because it was not
the film that we were making,'' Anderson said. ''But you can't manage
people's expectations particularly when that word makes people buzz and
get excited and they salivate over it and they want to know more and
they want to gossip about it.
''You just have to tune that chatter out and not think about it.''
The Master, which opened the first Cockatoo Island
Film Festival this week, centres on a damaged World War II veteran,
played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls under the influence of a
charismatic cult leader, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
It's an ambitious, thoughtful drama that has been considered a
likely Oscar nominee for best picture since it won directing and acting
awards at the Venice Film Festival.
Anderson, who was keen for a swim at Bondi during his visit
to Sydney, said it was a delight having the movie selected for the new
Sydney Harbour festival.
''I can remember starting out and you just want to be part of
a film festival,'' he said. ''And you're lucky to be in some sidebar
way over here and you're screening at 10 o'clock at night.
''I just loved it when it was presented to me a couple of
months ago to be the first film in the first year. It's so much cooler
than the second year.''
Anderson is an Obama supporter but is unsure how the US presidential election will pan out. ''I have a tendency to be a thing that I'd hate if I saw it
in anybody else, which is an over-confident Democrat who just sits back
and thinks 'there's no way, right? We'll be all right','' he said. ''I
hope everything turns out all right.''
Friday, 26 October 2012 07:56 | Author: Matthew Toomey Source: The Film Pie
I
can’t quite describe my reaction when I heard that Paul Thomas
Anderson was coming to Australia to promote his new film, The Master.
He’s my favourite modern day director and Magnolia (released in
Australia in early 2000) is a masterpiece. On 24 October 2012, I took
the day off work and flew to Sydney for a chance to spend 15 minutes
with Paul and ask him a few questions. It was an honour to be in the
company of such a gifted filmmaker and here’s what he had to say…
You can download an audio extract by clicking here.
This week cinephiles down under have been treated to their very first screenings of "The Master" as the film just had its Australian premiere at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival and another screening in 70mm at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne. Paul was on hand for both events (you can see him above with the artistic director for the Cockatoo Film Fest) and participated in a post-film Q&A at the Astor. A reader who was on hand at the latter event sent along a few notes.
After the screening the fan approached Paul and asked about the "Punch-Drunk Love" Blu-ray. and Paul said he's working on it now and will be released "next year." No word yet on if this will be a Criterion release but it seems like it could be a possibility.
When asked by the fan if he would ever record a commentary again (since he hasn't done one since "Boogie Nights") he said he might even though he doesn't necessarily enjoy recording them. Sounds like we can probably rule them out for 'PDL' and "The Master" but perhaps down the line.
He also talked about how he's never really been offered tentpoles but that he admires what Chris Nolan did with 'The Dark Knight' films. "I've never really been asked to do that kind of thing. You look at what Christopher Nolan did with Batman, that's like the meeting of the highest level of artistic skill & a kind of commerciality and appeal to a wide range of people which is what anybody would want. It's kind of unparalleled actually, and they don't come to me with those. And that's alright."
Also when asked about if this auditorium was his lecture, and he was the film school professor, what film would he show. He said "Ted", that it was truly hilarious and so well written, one of the funniest/best films he's seen recently. That a film like "Ted" just takes you back to the core of what films are about, enjoyment.
The Astor Theatre was recording the Q&A so lets hope it goes online soon. (thanks Mert!) If any of our readers were recording and would like to send it along, that would be great.
The Master rolls in midway through the Venice film festival. It comes billed as thunderstorm, a controversy, its arrival trailed by rumbles of dissent. This, we are told, is the Scientology film, a veiled biopic of the demagogic L Ron Hubbard; the movie that freaked Tom Cruise.
In the event it turns out to be all that and more. So much more, in
fact, that the delegates stumbling out from the screening appear
momentarily nonplussed.
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
charts the fortunes of lowly Freddie Quell, a volatile drifter who
falls under the spell of charismatic Lancaster Dodd. Shuffling through
the postwar west, Dodd plies his trade in town halls and parlours,
spinning tales of reincarnation and space aliens and cooking up a new religion
as his "gift to homosapiens". What follows, though, is not so much a
display of tabloid fireworks as a sweeping epic about hope, loss and the
scars of war; a celebration of the American knack for self-renewal and a
criticism of it too. The Master contains multitudes. Days after its premiere, I still can't shake it from my head.
I
meet the director in an upstairs ballroom of a Venice hotel, where
sunlight bounces off the marble and the windows are thrown open to show
the sea. Anderson turned 42 last June. He has flecks of grey on his
temples and three children at home with the actor Maya Rudolph. Yet the setting seems to galvanise him, stoking embers of the precocious young upstart who made Boogie Nights and Magnolia and then ushered Daniel Day-Lewis towards the best actor Oscar in There Will Be Blood.
Anderson is jumpy, excited, ready for battle. The Master has been
dogged by so many rumours and so much misinformation that it is a relief
to finally have it exposed. It is time he set the record straight.
Invaluable film resource American Cinematographer magazine have featured "The Master" in their November issue. The cover story features an extensive 15 page interview with cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. on the making of the film as well as a special one page note from Paul. You have to be a subscriber in order to read the full article but we've excerpted a few highlights below:
Note: This one page excerpt is part of a much larger interview with "The Master" DP Mihai Malaimare Jr.Subscribe to American Cinematographer to read the full 15 page article. Click the image once to view larger, then right-click it and select View Image to view at full (readable) size.
Our friends at The Film Stage have gotten a look at a brand new Turkish poster for "The Master" as well as an alternate b&w version. They're both beautiful. Check them out below.
Last week we told you that while PTA was in NYC for his whirlwind press tour, he also stopped by the Village East Cinema for a quick Q&A with his friend/hero, filmmaker Jonathan Demme. Though we weren't aware of the event beforehand, we did learn that the Q&A was definitely recorded so we can assume that the footage will make its way online soon or perhaps included on the
DVD/Blu down the line. Until then, a reader was kind enough to send in a detailed recap of the event which is clearly the next best thing. If you haven't seen the film yet, there are spoilers below.
Here is your weekend news round-up (which should already be old news to everyone who follows us on Twitter):
Joaquin Phoenix gave a rare and in-depth interview to Elvis Mitchell at Interview Magazine where he spoke candidly about "The Master," working with Paul & (the quote heard round the internet) how the Oscars are bullshit. Read it here.
EW also reports (via The Playlist) that Paul had been talking to James Franco about the role of Freddie but that he didn't think the actor was "scared" enough of the role. Unclear when this might have been (post-Renner, pre-Phoenix seems likely) but very interesting nonetheless. Here's what Franco said:
“Paul Thomas Anderson was getting ready to make the Master and he called me and we met. And we talked and we ended up meeting for coffee. We didn’t talk about the Master
but I met him to chat. And then he kept calling me and he wanted to
talk and talk but I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about because
we’d always just kind of bulls— on the phone. So then when he started
talking about the role he said ‘Do you feel like you can do this?’ And I
said ‘Yeah, totally. Look, I think you’re like the best American
director. I feel confident. I know I can do this.’ And he said to me
‘But I want this to scare you. I want this role, going on this journey
to scare you.’ And I was like ‘Scare?! I know I can do it.” Franco now
had the laughing audience in the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental
ballroom in the palm of his hand. “And so, incredible movie, needless to
say I didn’t get the part. I guess I wasn’t scared enough or something,
or whatever reason I didn’t get it. And then when I saw Joaquin in that
movie I realized ‘Oh, he wanted me to like lose my mind.’ And so I
guess that’s just to say I usually don’t get scared of roles.
You'll remember a few months ago that we posted a very funny bit from comedian Paul F. Tompkins called The Rules Of Daniel Day Lewis in which Tompkins described his brief time with the actor filming "There Will Be Blood." We also mentioned that having been at the taping of his new stand-up album in Brooklyn last year, he had another PTA-related bit about being seated next to Tom Cruise at the "Magnolia" table read. While that bit wasn't included in the broadcast version, it is on the album "Laboring Under Delusions" which is presented "unedited" and you can order now for just $10. The album cover is also amazing.
In completely unrelated but still comedic news, the first parody of "The Master" has arrived on YouTube and it's pretty good. Watch it below (via Grantland):
It's been quite some time, but longtime readers of the site will remember a semi-regular feature at Cigs & Vines called "PTA DVD Pick" wherein we would feature a film Paul had recently recommended for optional viewing/purchase. (This was, of course, started well before the existence of Blu-rays but you get the idea.) Thanks to the interview with Sirius XM, we have a few new ones but we'll start with "Breaking Away" (1979). The Peter Yates ("Bullitt") directed drama stars a young Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern and the synopsis reads: a small-town teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl. Paul calls it "essential viewing."
MA: Is there an old classic that you think is essential viewing?
PTA: That's a long list, too. Something that may be off the beaten
track. I don't know if this is a classic or essential but I was
thinking of a film yesterday that just popped into my head that I
haven't seen in a few. Breaking Away. Does anyone remember that film ?
MA: Paul Dooley.
PTA: That's right. Paul Dooley. And Dennis Quaid. Jackie Earle
Haley. I think Peter Yates made that film. And, God, what a great
film. What a terrific film. That popped into my mind for whatever
reason the other day. Yeah, I was thinking about it because the son
comes out and the Italians have just made him crash. And he comes and
he's crying and Paul Dooley says, "What's the matter? Did you lose your
wallet?" And it made me laugh out loud walking down the street.
MA: Great movie.
If you haven't seen it or think it's time for another look, the film is available on DVD (but not Blu-ray) and can be purchased at Amazon (or streamed) and is also available from Netflix. You can Check out all PTA's DVD Picks here.
This morning on a NYC press tour that included stops at The Daily Show, CBS This Morning (with Charlie Rose!) and a surprise Q&A with Jonathan Demme, PTA stopped by the Sirius XM studios to record an hour-long chat called "Paul Thomas Anderson Town Hall." The show was hosted by Rotten Tomatoes and offered a dozen lucky fans the chance to ask questions of their choosing. One half of the C&RV team was on hand to witness the conversation which covered off on a variety of topics and was admittedly pretty damn great. Paul spoke about his favorite filmmaker working today (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), which actors he'd love to work with (Robert DeNiro (still), Jim Carrey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Charlize Theron, Michael Shannon) and what recent films have impressed him ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"). He also spoke about his next project, an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice" which has been brewing since back in 2010.
When asked about the struggles of adapting the book he said...
"The hardest thing is just trying to find how to take 400 great pages and turn it into ideally 110, maybe 120 script pages. And it's just difficult to do. There's no shortage of great things on every paragraph and every page. So, it's a very uptown problem to have. It's not like, 'Oh God, what am I going to do with this turd?' It's just not that at all. It's like somebody dumped bags of gold in front of me and I can only take so much with me. What do I do?"
On why wanted to adapt Pynchon...
"I've always loved his work, his books are just dynamite to me. [He] was always a big influence, [his books are] filled with so much humor and so much craziness and thoughtfulness. Somewhere between fart jokes and kinky sex and just such humanity and delicateness. That was just stuff that I gobbled up, his books. So this is one that, I dunno, we'll try. We'll see."
And if he's adapting the film with any actors in mind...
"Yeah but I can't quite put my finger on it and I wouldn't want to name names out loud or anything to jinx it or something like that. But they're such well-drawn characters it's going to be really fun to go and try to do that. Hopefully soon."
You can listen to the entire thing OnDemand if you're a Sirius subscriber and if you're not you can sign up for a free trial at their site. We're gonna try to get a transcription up soon so reach out if you'd like to help out with that. Have a good weekend everyone!
I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.
"Punch-Drunk Love" was released ten years ago today on October 11th, 2002. If you weren't lucky enough to have caught Paul Thomas Anderson's 4th film when it debuted at Cannes (where Paul won the Best Director prize), you had another agonizing 5 months to wait. During that time the film picked up even more acclaim at festivals in Toronto, Chicago and New York. Paul's longtime producer JoAnne Sellar said of the film's genesis, "After 'Magnolia', which was a huge, dark, challenging movie. I think Paul
wanted to make something that was contained, uplifting and sweet." Prior to its release it was impossible to imagine what a "90 minute Adam
Sandler romantic comedy" would look like through the lense of Paul
Thomas Anderson. But after you see the film, wonderful and strange as it is, you can't imagine it any
other way. The film was not a commercial success and was snubbed at the Academy Awards despite being one of the best reviewed films of that year. In retrospect, the film is a pivotal one in Paul's career, marking the transition from his earlier tightly controlled films to his later more improvisational efforts.
I saw "Punch-Drunk Love" on opening night at Loews Lincoln Square in NYC. I was going to college in Philadelphia at the time and rather than wait another week, I decided to drive up to New York with a few friends to catch the first evening show. The film was nothing like I'd expected but I loved it all the same and proved that the filmmaker who had made "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia" was capable of doing something different, wildly different even, than critics, fans and audiences had expected. I saw the film several more times in theatres and one final time the following summer at a BAM screening in Brooklyn with Paul and Philip Seymour Hoffman in attendance.
Where did you first see "Punch-Drunk Love"?
What are your favorite moments from the film?
Leave a comment below or use the hashtag #PunchDrunkLove10 on Twitter.
Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.
"Boogie Nights" was released on October 10th, 1997 shortly after premiering to raves at the Toronto and New York Film Festival's. The sophomore feature by the then little-known Paul Thomas Anderson arrived less than 9 months after his debut "Hard Eight" had been quietly released into a handful of theatres. But things were different this time. The buzz which had been building since the film went into production had reached a fever pitch by the time it was released. Reviews were ecstatic and many compared the young filmmaker to Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman. Everyone wanted to know just who was this 27 year old that had made such a brilliant film which went on to rack up 3 Oscar nominations including Best Original Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson.
I first saw "Boogie Nights" in 1997 when I was in high school. All my
friends worked at the local theatre so we basically saw everything that
came out. We probably went in expecting something a
little bit risqué but were totally unprepared
for what we saw. I remember stumbling out of the theatre afterwards. My mind was blown. It was hilarious, heartbreaking and unmistakably confident. When the film was re-released for Oscar consideration I saw
it a 2nd time in the theatre and subsequently many more times on VHS (!) and DVD. I knew then that Paul Thomas
Anderson was my favorite filmmaker at that moment. But what I
didn't know was that a decade and a half later he would make such a good case for being the very best filmmaker of his generation.
Where did you first see "Boogie Nights"?
What are your favorite moments from the film?
Leave a comment below or use the hashtag #BoogieNights15 on Twitter.
Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.
The New Beverly Cinema in LA is currently in the middle of their Paul Thomas Anderson retrospective showing all 5 of his films prior to "The Master." (Which we could've sworn we posted about but it looks like we've only been talking about it on Twitter.) Over the weekend the theatre screened a double-feature of "Hard Eight" and "Boogie Nights" with a special Q&A inbetween with Todd Parker himself, actor Thomas Jane. Reader @westernwilder was kind enough to tape the full Q&A for us where Jane where he discussed being a broke actor in LA, auditioning for the film and getting kicked in the balls by Burt Reynolds. Watch the videos below:
Paul Thomas Anderson on ‘The Master’ and going big for the wrong reason
By Ann Hornaday | September 21, 2012
Source: Washington Post
Perhaps the most useful way to describe “The Master,”
Paul Thomas Anderson’s hotly anticipated film that opened Friday, is to
say what it isn’t: It’s not a docudrama expose about the invention of
Scientology, as many movie industry observers had assumed it would be.
It’s not a sprawling study of a tribal subculture in the way that most
of Anderson’s previous films — especially “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia”
— have been. In fact, it’s not like any other movie currently in
theaters. It’s a weird, often wonderful, occasionally confounding
portrait of mid-20th century America that has garnered critical raves
and festival awards but that just as likely will leave some viewers
befuddled and bemused.
Talking to Anderson, who sat down for a brief interview after “The Master” made its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival,
one gets the sense that even he isn’t entirely sure what he’s done with
it. Soft-spoken and sweet-natured, the 42-year-old writer-director,
hailed by many as the finest filmmaker of his generation, often stumbles
for words as he talks about making his movie, which stars frequent
Anderson rep player Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in
galvanizing performances.
The press tour for "The Master" continues and both NPR and CBC have posted excellent audio interviews with PTA which you can listen to in their entirety at the links below.
At Fresh Air Paul talks about the origins of "The Master" and how the first thing he wrote was the processing scene.
"Well,
it's inspired by the actual questionnaire that's out there as relates
to Scientology, but I had changed it and switched it around. And I came
to that many years ago, and actually found it was a great way to just
start writing. Forget any implications of making a film or story about
this — it was really just writer's block and sitting around. The best
way for me to start writing a story is to get two characters talking to
each other. And if you got questions from one, you're gonna have to get
answers from the other, and you can start to find out who is coming out
of you when you're writing, if you know what I mean."
At CBC Paul spoke about his career evolution and how he is determined to keep pushing himself to doing something different (something I spoke about recently).
"I have no game plan except to try to keep making this interesting for myself & try to keep moving forward. To never stay in the same place creatively too long. And keep being nervous and scared and all the rest and not get too comfy. That's what I've tried to do all along. And it always feels better that way to go to work and be on a tightrope and not be so sure. That's a great thrill and a great privilege and I hope we can keep scaring ourselves."
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Man Behind 'The Master'
Source: NPR
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry
Gross. My guest, Paul Thomas Anderson, wrote and directed several films I
love: "Hard Eight," "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and "There Will Be
Blood." And now he has a new film to add to that list, "The Master." New
York Times film critic A.O. Scott described it as imposing, confounding
and altogether amazing.
The film won top awards at
the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival. "The Master" is mostly set in 1950
after a World War II veteran, Freddie Quell, played by Joaquin Phoenix,
returns to America. Quell is mentally unstable and having a hard time
fitting in anywhere.
He stumbles onto a party
being held by a cult-like group called The Cause and is taken in by
them. Their leader is the charismatic Lancaster Dodd, played by Philip
Seymour Hoffman. His wife, Peggy Dodd, played by Amy Adams, is
suspicious of Quell and afraid he'll be a disruptive force, but
Lancaster Dodd welcomes the challenge of taming Freddie's animal
instincts.
Let's start with a scene from
"The Master." The members of The Cause are at a party where a skeptic
challenges some of Lancaster Dodd's teachings, like his claims about
reincarnation and how he can lead followers through their past lives
through a technique he calls processing.
