CIGARETTES & RED VINES

Pixar's Finest Talk 'The Master,' 65mm vs. IMAX

2012-01-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it pays to be on Twitter all day. Thanks to Cinema Blend (via @florian_jonquil), it appears three of Pixar's finest directors -- Andrew Stanton ("WALL·E"), Brad Bird ("The Incredibles") and Lee Unkrich ("Toy Story 3") -- ended up discussing 'The Master' of all things. We already knew that Unkrich was a fan, so it's great to hear that Paul has many admirers at the brilliant animation studio. The filmmakers were discussing large format film as Bird's latest, "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol," was partially shot in IMAX while several upcoming films like "The Dark Knight Rises" will utilize the format as well.

We were the first to break the news that 'The Master' will be shooting in 65mm though it's still a little unclear whether it will be a mix of 35mm and 65mm (as we received conflicting reports from sources inside production). Well, 9 months later our scoop has been confirmed by Stanton, who drops a little insider knowledge that the production nearly lost one of these cameras while filming in the Bay. (Let's hope it wasn't Kubrick's!) Bird confirms that the film was shot in 65mm not IMAX.

"Pretty sure "Master" is NOT in IMAX. Shot in 65 though... will look amazing, I'm sure."

Though the difference between the two is not something most laypeople would be able to differentiate someone in the comments has helped set them/us straight.

65mm and IMAX use the same film. The difference is that each frame of standard 65mm utilizes 5 perfs, and each frame of IMAX utilizes 15 perfs. So the IMAX frame is 3 times larger. It also has an aspect ratio of 1.4:1, whereas standard 65mm is 2.2:1.

Thanks Mike! Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates. Oh, and if anyone from Pixar is reading this, we love you. Please hire us. Thanks!

Drivers, The Unsung Heroes of Hollywood

2012-01-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

Twitter follower @AnthonyGAguiar passed along a video of behind-the-scenes interviews on the set of a 1992 Robert Conrad made-for-TV movie called "Secret Vows." Why is this relevant? The video is hosted by a 22 year old Paul and it is delightful. "You got me? Okay." Enjoy.

All quiet on 'The Master' front despite our hopes/wishes/dreams that we might see something around Christmastime. The film is starting to show up on a lot of 2012 Preview pieces which we may compile into something, should anything interesting come of them, so keep sending them along on Twitter and Facebook.

Backstage Photos From 'The Master' Emerge

2011-12-09T09:59:00.001-08:00

It's been quite some time since we've seen anything from 'The Master,' well those of us that aren't Emily Watson anyway. During principal photography it looked like we'd be getting frequent peeks at the goings on of the film as reports of cast and costumed extras were rolling in. But (aside from the fact that filming having wrapped up months ago) there really hasn't been a single leak since Stellar Spa took down the pics back in Jun e. Well today, thanks to BlackBook and set photographer Jack Erling, we have another behind-the-scenes look at the film. Take a look after the jump...

Maybe it's just the black and white but the images remind us a bit of these. What do you think?

As always, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Robert Downey Jr. Talks 'Inherent Vice'

2011-12-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Huge props to MTVNews for really using every excuse to ask people about PTA. A few weeks ago they cornered Rami Malek for some details on 'The Master' and today they've gotten a few good quotes out of Robert Downey Jr. about the rumors of their collaboration on 'Inherent Vice.' Now 'Vice' if you don't remember is an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel about an L.A.-based private eye who takes on a case involving an ex-girlfriend, her real estate billionaire boyfriend and a kidnapping. Paul wrote the screenplay back in 2010 after running into trouble with 'The Master' financing and with Downey rumored to be attached, it looked as if 'Vice' had a good chance of going before cameras first.

But this was all before film saint Megan Ellison swooped in and Annapurna Pictures decided to finance both projects and Paul decided to rewrite 'The Master' and do that instead/first. Word has been quiet on the project while he's been busy on the aforementioned film so we can assume there hasn't really been any movement on it for some time. When asked about the project Downey didn't really confirm or deny but definitely seems anxious to work with Paul.

"Anything to do with Paul Thomas Anderson and I doing a movie together is probably true," Downey Jr. said. "We tend to talk about a variety of potential projects, and Thomas Pynchon's 'Inherent Vice' could be great, we'll see."

"I feel like I'm booked but I'm not. I make space for what I want to do," he said, adding that what he enjoys most about Anderson is the fact that he's talented and just darn likeable.

"I just think he's one of our great American directors, I just like hanging out with the guy."

Cross your fingers that with financing already in place and a script that should be ready to go, we won't be waiting another 5 years between films. That is of course, assuming that Paul doesn't decide he wants to rewrite it heavily or do something else entirely. (Thanks @angel_glands & Charlie for the heads up!)

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook. We have another little post about 'The Master' coming up in a few...

Diablo Cody ♥'s 'Punch-Drunk Love' & PTA

2011-12-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

Diablo Cody is a divisive figure in the film world. She won a screenwriting Oscar at 29 for her debut film -- the Jason Reitman directed "Juno" -- but quickly became the target of a backlash against the film's stylized dialogue and apparent "quirkiness." (For what it's worth, we actually liked it.) Cody and Reitman both went off and made other pictures but have reteamed once again for "Young Adult" featuring Charlize Theron as an author of teen novels who goes back to her hometown to reclaim her high school sweetheart. During the press rounds for the film Reitman, Cody, Theron and co-star Patton Oswalt (Delmer Darion himself) were asked which actor or director's they really admired and Cody called herself out as a PTA fan girl and professed her admiration for "Punch-Drunk Love" in particular. Read on (via Collider)...

Diablo Cody: I know a lot of people feel this way, so it’s not the most original answer. I’m the most insane unrepentant Paul Thomas Anderson fan girl. I’ve been watching actually Punch Drunk Love a lot lately. I really love that movie. To express that kind of truth in a film is to me so amazing. Even late last night I was watching this old video he directed for Fiona Apple and I was like I couldn’t even make a feature film as powerful as this three minute video. I just think he is awesome.

Patton Oswalt: I love the beginning of Magnolia, the thing about the dealer. That scene is genius. Brilliantly acted.

There you have it, she's just like us! We caught "Young Adult" the other night and thought was a very good film. Unflinchingly dark at times featuring a monster performance by Theron, it's probably also a career best for both Cody and Reitman and should serve to silence the haters. The film opens this Friday if you get a chance to see it or you can just pop in your 'PDL' dvd one more time while we wait for the Blu-ray.

As always, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Emily Watson Has Seen The First 30 Minutes Of 'The Master,' Says Film Will Be "Incredible"

2011-12-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

Moviefone sat down with "War Horse" star Emily Watson and while talking to her about her career, the conversation turned to her (magnificent) work in "Punch-Drunk Love." The actress mentioned that she'd love to work with Paul again and then let slip that she's actually seen the first 30 minutes of 'The Master.' Take it away, Emily...

One of my favorite movies is 'Punch-Drunk Love.'
[A big smile overcomes her face] Yeah. Me, too.

Were you at all hesitant to take that role? Not with P.T. Anderson, but maybe there was a concern about this being an Adam Sandler wacky comedy?
No, I knew. Paul came to me and said, "I'm doing this film with Adam and I'd like you to be in it." And the idea of the two of us in a room together tickled me pink. Just particularity where he was at and where I was at -- we were from different planets. And I thought, what a delicious idea.

You two should do another movie together.
I'd love to! I would love to do another movie.

I think people do miss the Sandler who pushed himself like that.
Yeah. And he had an incredible work ethic. We did hundreds of takes ... Well, not hundreds, but take after take after take. Adam just went at it, went at it, went at it. He completely gave over to being in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. He gave himself over to it in a very self-effacing way. It's lovely.

And it's been so long since we've seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie.
He has made one, I saw the first half an hour.

Of 'The Master'?
It's going to be incredible. I'm not going to say anything more on that. He'll kill me!

So the first half hour already exists?
Oh, yeah. Well ... they're editing.

Very, very exciting. Our fingers are still crossed there might be some sort of footage released before the end of the year but with likely a full 12 months to go before release we understand if Paul wants to keep a tight lid on things. But that doesn't mean we're not jealous.

As always, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Jonny Greenwood Returning To Score 'The Master'

2011-12-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

We had a feeling this would be the case but for some reason that doesn't make it any less thrilling to see it confirmed: Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood is returning to score 'The Master.' His work on "There Will Be Blood" was brilliant and undoubtedly one of the highlights of the film so it's an absolute joy to hear that he'll be back for another round. This news comes via a tweet on 12/2 by British record label Babel founder Oliver Weindling that said simply, "Zed-U recorded part of soundtrack for Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead last week. Film (by Paul Thomas Anderson) to appear in 2013." Zed-U is a British jazz trio signed to Mr. Weindling's label that are apparently being employed by Mr. Greenwood on the soundtrack. You can check out a few videos of the group below.

~~The one question we have in all of this: 2013?~~ A commenter has pointed out that it's likely true the films U.K. release would be in 2013 if it's still on track for a late 2012 U.S. release. Crisis averted. (Thanks for the headsup, Charlie and Dick!)

As always, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Praise For PTA Continues; Amy Adams Talks 'The Master'

2011-11-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well the unofficial press tour continues. Collider recently got a chance to sit down with Amy Adams and after their chat about "The Muppets" asked about her collaboration with PTA on 'The Master,' (a title which she did not correct, btw). Watch the clip and you can see her get visibly excited to talk about the experience.

Amy Adams: It was amazing. I have to say it feels like, it almost feels like it didn't happen. I know that sounds very strange to say but you kind of go into this world where you're so invested in the character and Joaquin [Phoenix] and Philip [Seymour Hoffman] are so amazing and you're just in it. It was just an amazing experience, enveloping and really transformative for me personally so I just hope that's on the screen. I mean it's Paul Thomas Anderson.

Collider: He's known for doing really long takes, did you get to do any of those famous long takes?

Amy: Yeah, yeah it was really fun.

Update 11/22: NYMag also spoke to the actress who managed to get another brief quote from Ms. Adams.

NYMag: I have to say, though, the film I'm most excited for is the one you just made with Paul Thomas Anderson ...
... which was an incredible experience.

NYMag: He directs so rarely ... what was that set like?
It's hard to talk about right now, because it was such a surreal experience. I had so many great moments on that set, working with Philip and Joaquin, who are so committed that they just pull you right in. It almost doesn't feel real. It feels like it was a dream, like it didn't really happen. But Paul's a lot funnier than I expected. He is! And I don't know what I expected, but it was a remarkable experience for me. It's my third film with Philip, so it's no secret that I totally love him and would do anything with him, but to get to work with him in this way was really a dream.

There you have it. Drips and drabs. So far we've gotten very tight lipped responses from about half the cast: Laura Dern, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rami Malek and now, Adams. Just think, it can't be too much longer before we get our first look at an actual frame of film. In the meantime you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Actor Rami Malek Calls The Experience Of Working With PTA "Staggering"

2011-11-20T13:16:00.001-08:00

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

MTVNews caught up with "Twilight" actor Rami Malek at the premiere for the latest installment of the undead franchise and was thoughtful enough to ask about his involvement in the (still untitled?) PTA film. The MTV news correspondent (who, sidebar, goes to the same gym as me), called Paul "the greatest filmmaker alive" and tried digging for details on the film.

Malek: He, to work with is staggering. Staggering man. I play Philip Seymour Hoffman's son-in-law in the movie and... [it was] one of the best experiences of my life.

MTV: Not about Scientology, to put it to rest, right? [pause] Or is it?

Malek: I'm not allowed to talk about that one either. That's one I really have to keep tight-lipped on.

MTV: Okay, well I can't wait to see that one.

Malek: It's going to be really good.

MTV: I know it will, I know it will.

Thanks Xixax for the tip. We also noticed a small shoutout during Morgan's Spurlock product placement doc, "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," where "Friday Night Lights" director Peter Berg cites Radiohead and Paul Thomas Anderson as being two artists who aren't going to compromise their art to appease brands. Trudat.

As much as we hate to give it any more attention, we should also mention that there was yet another incident recently where someone pretending to be Paul was trying to drum up some attention on Twitter even briefly dragging Julianne Moore into his shenannigans. Please ignore this kind of thing in the future as it's very unlikely that Paul is going to start tweeting in the first place and if he did, we'd be sure to give you a heads up.

In the meantime you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates. Please tell your friends.

PTA Acts As A Minister; Producer Kevin Walsh Joined Cast of 'The Master'

2011-11-09T05:47:00.000-08:00

Not the news we expected to wake up to this morning, but hidden in a Variety article about one-time assistant to Scott Rudin, now producer Kevin Walsh is the following gem:

Walsh even inadvertently nabbed a plum acting role when he attended a wedding in which helmer Paul Thomas Anderson officiated as minister. Anderson liked Walsh's retro looks and cast him in his upcoming period drama "The Master."

We would have loved to be at that reception. Anyone have pics? (via xixax)

On a completely unrelated note, if you've ever wondered what Paul looked like in high school click here. And as always, stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

PTA Moderates 'Hugo' Q&A! Updated 'Master' Synopsis! More!

2011-11-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

It may not be terribly exciting, actually it's even less interesting than the one that debuted over the summer, but the above image is a brand new promo poster for Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project which was spotted at the American Film Market by Collider. The site has also brought us a (slightly modified) synopsis:

Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson (the acclaimed director of, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia and Boogie Nights), this story stars Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) and Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line). Set in America in the years following World War II, a charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor. A truly one-of-a-kind drama, which promises magnetic virtuoso performances, the film marks the fifth collaboration between Anderson and Hoffman, following Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love.

Now many of you are probably asking, why is it being billed as "Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project" after we thought it had been titled "The Master" back in June? Well, we're not sure actually. In June @TheInsneider at Variety said it was confirmed (and we figured Variety was a pretty legit source) but it seems very possible that may not be the final title after all or maybe Paul's just keeping his options open. It would definitely be a little strange at this point to start referring to it as something else, especially after a year of it being "The Master" but trust in Paul, all will be revealed.

In other news, this past weekend (while both myself and Mr. FortyFPS were in LA, mind you) Paul popped up to introduce a special screening of Martin Scorsese's latest, "Hugo" and also stuck around to moderate the Q&A with Scorsese, DP Robert Richardson, composer Howard Shore, production designer Dante Ferretti, edtitor Thelma Schoonmaker, and visual effects supervisor Robert Legato. You can watch a few videos of the talk below via Hollywood Elsewhere and listen to the entire thing over at Hitfix (scroll to the bottom). (Thanks @TheMcRaj for the link.)

Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Albert Brooks Turned Down Burt Reynolds Part In 'Boogie Nights'

2011-11-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to think about the things that might have been, particularly when it comes to casting. We already know that Paul had originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio for Dirk Diggler in "Boogie Nights" but according to a recent interview with Collider, it looks like Albert Brooks (seen most recently in this year's excellent "Drive") says he had to turn down the part of Jack Horner because he was in preproduction on his own movie (looks like either "Mother" or "The Muse").

Is there a part over the last decade or two that you were offered that you turned down and still think about?

Brooks: Well, I turned down so many parts. I couldn’t even begin to tell you. Dead Poets Society and Big and Pretty Woman. One part that I actually wanted to play, and I was in pre-production of my own movie, just because I thought I wanted to work with Paul [Thomas Anderson] was the part that Burt Reynolds got in Boogie Nights. I liked that whole ensemble. When I read that script, I really liked it. But I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t shut down what I was doing. But, regrets are stupid; they don’t mean anything and they don’t add up to anything.

No new news on "The Master" front. But you can check out "The Master" cast here. And for some reason if you like sitting through commercials, AMC is airing "There Will Be Blood" this Saturday where it will be edited and likely still 4 hours long.

Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Laura Dern Talks 'The Master,' Working With PTA

2011-10-13T12:39:00.001-07:00

As you know, things have been very quiet on "The Master" front for quite some time now. Principal photography is finished and the cast have all moved on to other projects. But lucky for us, those projects will inevitably include interviews in which some intrepid journalist will ask the actor in question about the mysterious 'Master.' Actress Laura Dern, who plays a still unknown role in the film, is currently promoting her new HBO series "Enlightened" when she was asked by The Press Assocation (whatever that is) about her experience on the project.

"It's an amazing experience. Joaquin's such an incredible actor and Philip Seymour Hoffman was in the film, they're doing such incredible work. I think [Paul's] so brilliant and one of our most important visionaries ever in film."

And there you have it, the vault once again becomes sealed. As always, more information when it arrives.

Update 11/1: Dern spoke with Slate Magazine who got a little bit more out of her regarding the project.

Slate: You’re in The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie about a religious guru in the ‘50s [according to rumors, the character is based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard]. Is your character an acolyte of this religion?

Laura Dern: It’s someone who is very involved, for sure. You know what I love about Paul, I love a zillion things about Paul like so many of us do, but Paul is old school in the best sense of the word. I was raised in the ‘70s and I’ve worked with people I love and I’ve been on sets with my parents, with people who run a set and require of actors a sense of liberty and freedom and exploration and failure into brave achievement. Other than Jonathan Demme, Paul Thomas Anderson, bless and rest his soul, Robert Altman, who was such a pioneer for Paul and myself, there are very few people making movies like that, so just working on a set with him is so extraordinary. In terms of the subject of the film, and all of the films he makes, he dances so comfortably in the gray. When he takes on the subject matter, any subject matter, he is there to examine what it offers; not just take anything down. It’s funny when people think filmmakers are irreverent. It’s like, “Ooh, what’s he doing. I heard the movie’s about dot dot dot.” They go, “I bet he’s really going to attack it.” In fact, he tries to uncover what he loves. What the worth is in something.

Check out "The Master" cast.

Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Ambyr Childers Joined 'The Master' As Elizabeth

2011-10-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed it's been a while since our last update but fear not, we have not gone on hiatus. The film, which wrapped up principal photography a few months ago, is now in post-production which means Paul and co. have basically gone into hiding. But just believe that it's killing us as much as it's killing you. But to tide you over until we see some sort of official look at the film, we do have a bit of late-casting news via The Playlist. Ambyr Childers, a vet of daytime soap "All My Children" was cast as Elizabeth, the daughter of Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) in the film. You can now see her in our updated "The Master" cast.

In other news, The AV Club recently had an interview with "Hung" star Thomas Jane. He talks about peeing in Paul's lawn and choosing to do a Gene Hackman movie over a second role in "Magnolia." You will probably want to read it.

If you've been following our Twitter account you'd already know that you might want to check out "Elmer Gantry" for a bit of inspiration. Carry on and stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

The Master Wraps, Probably Isn't About Scientology Still

2011-09-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the single, most common things in sports is having the general manager come out publicly and start insisting that whatever rumor about this player or that manager is dominating the press is 100% not happening or untrue. And then a week or two later, whatever was reported usually happens.

At a wrap-party for Ides Of March, one of the writers from Hollywood Elsewhere caught up with Philip Seymour Hoffman (allegedly known as "Philly" in that group) and he asked him directly about some of the endless Master/Scientology reports. Their conversation:

PSH: "It's not a scientology film."

HE: "But I've read an early draft and it seems to be about a Scientology-like cult...and I've read about the parallels."

PSH: "I don't know what you've heard and what script you've read...Trust me, it's not about Scientology."

So there you have it officially from The Master's mouth. It is, or is not, about Scientology. Sleep well until around December when we'll actually have the answer and perhaps the first teaser trailer.

It's A Boy!

2011-07-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

Major congratulations are in order to Paul & Maya on the birth of their first son, Jack. Congrats guys! People Magazine writes...

The Bridesmaids star, 38, and director Paul Thomas Anderson welcomed their third child, son Jack, on July 3, her rep tells PEOPLE.

Jack – who is home and doing great – joins big sisters Pearl, 5½, and Lucille, 20 months.

While pregnant, Rudolph said she was especially excited to discover the sex of the baby, which she and Anderson chose not to find out prior to the delivery.

"The exciting part is not knowing who's coming," she explained. "You have to wait nine months for a surprise, but then it's a good payoff because it really is a surprise."

Feel free to leave them some well wishes in the comments on the off-chance that they might read them. Though we can only imagine how stressful it is having a baby while filming your movie, things have been very quiet since "The Master" moved to LA. The only thing of note we've come across is a short piece on Hollywood Elsewhere that points out the script's similarities to Herman Melville. Very interesting indeed.

Once again, congrats to Paul & Maya from C&RV and stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates (and babies).

Sound Mixer Michael Semanick Talks 'Magnolia,' 'There Will Be Blood'

2011-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Quiet week for news on "The Master" as we hear filming has moved to LA for the remainder of the shoot so it looks like we've seen the last of our set images until Paul decides to release one of his own. If you follow us on Twitter you'll see we had heard from one of the extras working on the final days of the Bay Area shoot that Paul was "very hands-on, very present" while filming and not content to hang out in video village.

In lieu of any new news, site contributor Zablotny recently pointed us to this video interview with two time Academy Award winning Sound Mixer Michael Semanick who has worked with Paul on all of his films since "Magnolia." You can check out the full video above though we've transcribed the PTA-related bits. At about the 32:45 mark, Michael spoke a little bit about working with Paul on "There Will Be Blood"

The first screening I saw of "There Will Be Blood" Paul always does this thing where he has me see the film at some point, [the] rough cut of it. So I went to see it and in the first, I think at that point it was almost 30 minutes, there's literally no music and there's no dialogue. It's a long time. And you guys all know movies, Hollywood's like "C'mon man, you gotta get this thing going!" It's like MTV, let's go "Cut, cut cut." "Where's the music to help support it?" [like in] all these action movies.

And I watched that scene and I was captivated by him digging in the hole and the whole thing, the well, the whole thing. I don't know if you know the film but it was captivating and I found it very interesting. And it wasn't like it hadn't been done before but it hadn't been kinda done in a long time. I mean, I think "The Birds," Hitchcock's movie, doesn't even have music in it. So it was something that I came out of the screening and the producers ran up to me and said "isn't it boring? Don't we need to add music in the beginning?" And I was like, "No, I was captivated by it. What are you talking about?" [They said] "We need music we need music."

I told Paul [about it] and he cut the scene down and Jonny Greenwood did add some tonal stuff but it's very tonal. It's not really music, I mean it's music, I don't want to say it's not music. Which worked very well for the movie and those are kind of the things, I knew what Paul was trying to do. I could feel what he was trying to capture and I thought he grabbed it. And Daniel Day Lewis just being so captivating onscreen, it was there. We didn't need to add a whole lot of sound. We added things to fill out the track and make it sound [better]. There's a lot of things in "There Will Be Blood" sonically, like in all the movies, that was an example of taking a chance a little bit, Paul was.

Semanick was then asked if people thought they were crazy and he said "Yeah, but it worked out" and went on to talk about working with an exuberant 29 year old Paul on "Magnolia"...

Hey man, I've had some good times with Paul and we were both pretty young and it was a lot of fun. When we were mixing "Magnolia" at Warner Bros., we were just kids still, it was like, "Dude, can you believe we're here at Warner Bros.?" "Yeah, man. We're mixing movies!" I said, "Yeah, we're making movies." He goes, "I'm a famous director now and I like in the Hollywood Hills and this is cool! I've got a rock star girlfriend..." And I said "it's pretty amazing." [Paul says] "And they pay us!" And they're paying us to do what we love to do. I thought that was "you know Paul, you're right." And we loved it. And times change and now it's like, still having fun, had fun on 'Blood.' [It was] a great time, I had a good time.

Happy Friday everybody!

Check out "The Master" cast.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

"Hollywood Comes To Berkeley" Video From The Set Emerges

2011-06-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Things are still very quiet on "The Master" set as virtually no images of principal cast members have leaked out despite filming in residential communities full of people. And if they don't emerge soon we may not see them for quite some time as we hear the production is gearing up to move from the Bay Area back to LA for the remainder of the shoot. But thanks to Xixax we do have this little video about the production along with a short article over at Berkely Side (which you may have seen on our Twitter earlier this week). No real revelations here though the video does feature a somewhat hilarious mix-up of PSH's name.

They've also uncovered a few pictures from the archives of Paul at the Sundance Labs in 1993 and 2000 (2). We're sure you will find them as amusing as we do.

Check out "The Master" cast.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

First Look At Fiona Dourif; More Photos From The Set

2011-06-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Despite weeks of filming on "The Master," only a few pictures have leaked out from the set and until now the only actors that have appeared have been extras. Above you have your first look at a principal cast member as we believe that's actress Fiona Dourif (whose role is still unspecified). In a case of mistaken identities that recalled the great "Vincent Froio incident of 2006," these images were initially posted on an Amy Adams fansite yesterday morning (where we first saw them) as well as a few gossip blogs. But The Film Stage was first to correct their mistake so you can head over there for a larger look at these photos.

You may have noticed that the local spa that had proven to be quite an inside source for updates has suddenly vanished (along with all the posts in question), so we don't imagine we'll be seeing any future updates from them. We did however come across a few more set pics in the Mare Island Yardbird and it's nothing we haven't seen before, just another look at the mansion, some extras and some cars but you can check them out after the jump courtesy photographer Kim Kulish:

Check out our updated "The Master" cast.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Happy Birthday To Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson

2011-06-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Despite it being Paul's birthday -- no, we didn't forget -- we here at The Vines thought you should be the one to receive wonderful things for coming back and finding us. And this clip, which is essentially additional That Moment-esque footage, is very much that and more. The highlight naturally being Paul providing a "Smiling Peanut" state-of-the-union to everyone on location.

Happy birthday from us. Thank you for everything.

'The Master' Shooting Exclusively In 65mm?

2011-06-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

We recently received an unconfirmed tip from a source close to production who told us "The Master" isn't utilizing a mix of 65mm and 35mm as previously suspected but instead is shooting exclusively in 65mm. We realize you may need a minute to compose yourselves as we did when we first heard the news but HOLY SHIT. If this report turns out to be true then we're all in for one stunning looking film. Additionally, The South Wing tumblr posted the above image which apparently is the camera Stanley Kubrick used on "2001: A Space Odyssey" which you already know is the same camera currently being used by Paul Thomas Anderson on "The Master." You can read a bit more about the 65mm format at Wikipedia.

Update: Since posting this article only a short while ago, another source close to the production has assured us that it's a split format shoot (both 35mm and 65mm). Whichever turns out to be true, we're sure it'll still be a beautiful looking film. Carry on.

If you follow us on Twitter you already know that fansite Just Joaquin posted this short reader report from a neighbor to one of the houses being used for filming. We've left all the hilarious misspellings in tact.

Steve wrote: Just thought you'd like to ( in case you didn't already), that I saw Joaquin Phoenix in Crockett, Calif last Thursday ( Live there). They were filming a movie in the house a couple doors away from mine, but were keeping the whole thing hush hush. At 8am on Thursday morning as I was sitting on my front porch steps, he walked right by me on his way to a waiting car and said "hows it going?". Not recognizing him at first, I casually nodded back to him. He was wearing some those blue pants the people in the Navy wear and smoking a cigarette. Later that day I saw him again, this time in a different outfit ( 1940's) as they were filming him in a scene on the porch of the house they were filming. Thats when I finally figured out who it was. Seemore Philip Hoffman was also doing scenes there. I think the directors name is Anderson or something like that.

Anyway, on Friday they were kind enough to let a few of the locals watch them film the exterior shots. It was pretty cool. They worked until late Friday night and then took off to Mare Island in Vallejo ( just a few miles from the town of Crockett) where they're going to film the shipyard scenes.

Took a bunch of photos with my cell phone, but unfortunately I didn't have a zoom. If you look really carefully you can see Joaquin on the porch of the house.

Check out "The Master" cast.

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2 More Join To The Cast; Film Now Officially Titled 'The Master'

2011-06-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Just as we were winding down for the week comes a late breaking bit of Friday news. According to Variety two more actors have come aboard the Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project. Josh Close (TV's "The Unusuals") will play one of the Master's leading disciples while Fiona Dourif (HBO's "True Blood," daughter of Brad Dourif) has an undisclosed role. We might speculate again that she is playing the elder daughter, 19 year old Elizabeth (though Dourif is 29, she could probably pass for 19 more than Madisen Beaty who is only 16) but again, that's just pure speculation. Interesting to note that in earlier incarnations of the film Paul had been interested in Deborah Ann Woll (also of HBO's "True Blood"), for an unspecified role so it's either a complete coincidence or he's a fan of the show (though this writer can't imagine why). Also of interest is that Close costarred in the show "The Unusuals" in 2009 with Jeremy Renner, who was of course, long attached to the role of Freddie.

In other news it appears the film has a title. The Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project/Untitled Religious Drama/Untitled Scientology Film usually referred to as 'The Master' will officially be titled...

"The Master"

We think we can get used to that. Read the article below.

'The Master' converts 2 thesps
Josh Close, Fiona Dourif board Paul Thomas Anderson's religious drama

By Jeff Sneider, Justin Kroll

EXCLUSIVE: Paul Thomas Anderson's religious drama "The Master" just picked up a pair of late converts in Josh Close and Fiona Dourif.

Currently shooting in Sacramento, pic also stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams.

Hoffman plays a man who begins a faith-based belief system that closely resembles Scientology. Close will play a leading disciple, while Dourif's role wasn't disclosed.
Anderson wrote the pic and is directing. JoAnne Sellar, John Lesher, Bill Pohlad and Megan Ellison producing. Ellison's Annapurna Pictures will finance with The Weinstein Company handling worldwide distribution.

Close most recently wrote, produced and starred in "The Replicas" also starring Selma Blair and James D'Arcy.

Dourif, daughter of Oscar winner Brad Dourif, will soon be seen in a recurring role on HBO's "True Blood" as a witch. She previously had recurring roles on the pay cabler's "Deadwood" and on the FX miniseries "Thief." Earlier this year, thesp co-starred in the Sundance pic "Letters From the Big Man."

Close is repped by Buchwald & Associates and Untitled Entertainment; Dourif is repped by Innovative Artists and Juliet Green Management.

Also if the film is indeed shooting in Sacramento (as Variety suggests), that's news to us. As that city is about an hour+ northeast of Mare Island where we know the film has been shooting all week. Perhaps they meant San Francisco?

Check out our updated "The Master" cast.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Cars! Extras! Costumes! More Photos Arrive From 'The Master' Set

2011-06-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Looks like the folks over at the Stellar Spa blog are becoming a pretty reliable news source as filming continues on 'The Master.' They've just posted the second batch of behind-the-scenes images from the film with the promise of more to come. While still no sign of anyone in the main cast, these are quite a step up from the first batch, giving us a better look at the post-war era in which the film takes place. We've included a snippet of their post below and you can check out the rest of the images after the jump (at your own discretion of course).

The first set of dock worker extras moved onto the set and rehearsed their scenes. At the same time we were told a scene inside one of historic brick building offices was being shot with Joaquin Phoenix. After a couple of short dock scenes were shot, a second set of extras moved into position to board the Potomac for what appeared to be a cocktail party. At about 10:30 “all quiet” was sounded and the scene rolled. Back-in-the-day music blared, the boat horn blew, trucks rolled by, the boat launched, the party rolled on and “cut”. There you have it.

After the scene shot we spotted Philip Seymour Hoffman walking from the set dressed in a dapper greenish colored suit towards catering to sit down for dinner with who else... Amy Adams. How cool. We never made it to “it’s a wrap” that night and I feel for the cast and crew who hit the pillow the next morning probably about the time we were making coffee.

Yesterday we were privy to seeing the "talent" in action at one of the historic mansions being used as a set. Since we were up close, we have some great tidbits, etc. about the acting from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Pheonix, Amy Adams, David Warshofski and Laura Dern. Stay tuned for more tidbits from Stellar Spa & Dana and Patrick Vandeweg...

Check out 'The Master' cast.

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First Images Leak From 'The Master' Closed Set

2011-06-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a local Spa, some images have leaked out from the closed set of 'The Master.' If you've been paying attention to our Twitter feed, you already know that the first dispatch from Mare Island, where the film is shooting came last week with a report of filming at sea. Might be slightly spoilery for those who want to go in clean, so click at your own risk.

Last night they posted another handful of images from a mansion where filming is taking place. The Examiner has posted a short article with photo descriptions that you can check out by clicking the link.

Check out 'The Master' cast.

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Mihai Malaimare Jr. Is Shooting 'The Master'; 65mm Will Be Used

2011-06-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

We've heard the rumors for a while now, starting with a comment on our Elswit story, but we've now received a tip from a source close to production that confirms Mihai Malaimare Jr. is the cinematographer on 'The Master.' The DP previously worked with Francis Ford Coppola on "Youth Without Youth," "Tetro" and the forthcoming "Twixt Not And Sunrise" all of which were shot digitally. But not to worry, 'The Master' is shooting on film and if our source is correct, there will be 65mm. If you're not familiar with his work, we've included a short behind-the-scenes video from "Tetro" and a Sony spot both featuring the DP at work. This will be Paul's first feature without longtime DP Robert Elswit, who was already scheduled to work on the new 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Bourne' films.

Check out 'The Master' cast.

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Jack Fisk Confirmed As Production Designer For 'The Master'

2011-06-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

In a recent interview with Box Office Magazine, legendary production designer Jack Fisk ("The Tree of Life," "Mulholland Drive"), who first worked will Paul on "There Will Be Blood," confirms he's returned for 'The Master.' He's been listed on IMDB for some time but it's not always the most accurate reference for films just entering production. Here is the relevant bit from the interview...

So your brain is fully occupied?

Yeah. I'm working with Paul Thomas Anderson right now and he's also a wonderful director.

How is this process different?

It's a lot different because Terry and he just work differently. They work differently with the actors, they work differently with light and the way things look. But they both give me a amount of freedom which is something that attracts me to these directors. Not that I need freedom or I demand that-it's just the way I work. I first worked with Paul on There Will be Blood and he asked me about building an oil derrick and how was I going to do it and I said I had no idea. But, you know, he's like that. He'll figure out a way. And that's the way with Terry. I often say about Terry, "He asks for nothing, but expects everything," and that's the advice I give to new people working with him. Terry won't ask you for a lot but that's why he's exciting to work with—I love Terry's energy and passion and that's what I think I look for with any filmmakers or even in wardrobe or grips. I just love people with passion and when I started in film, there was so much passion. And then when I was working in Hollywood, it was just boring for 15 years. And when Terry came back to doing film, I just approached it differently and didn't fall into the traps about worrying about your home and your penalties and what you couldn't do, but just start thinking about all the stuff you could do. And I've had so much fun. I'm so excited about production design and I'm just beginning to appreciate how important it is to movies. It's hard to make a film because you have so many people involved and when you find people you work well with you want to keep working with them.

Check out the full interview with Fisk at the site. As you know, the film started shooting recently so there should be lots more news to come.

Check out 'The Master' cast.

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'The Master' Begins Filming; Set For Late 2012 Release

2011-06-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

The day has come. Despite earlier reports that shooting was set to begin June 13, it appears (from reports on Twitter and the IMDB boards) that filming has indeed begun on Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Film a.k.a. 'The Master'. Shooting may have begun about a week ago but it's difficult to discern the actual start date as the production is being kept tightly under wraps. Shooting locations are described only as taking place on "some waterfront and some older buildings." Fansite Joaquin Phoenix Central has received reports of Phoenix being spotted around Vallejo and also links to an article in the Vallejo Times-Herald with a few choice bits of information from Paul's longtime producer Joanne Sellar.

Playing down it's reputation as a "Scientology film," Sellar described it as "a World War II drama. It's about a drifter after World War II." The producer said location work will continue through June before the production returns to LA for the remainder of filming. She also expects the film to have a "late 2012" release. We're really not sure where those 2013 rumors came from but you can probably forget about them now. The article also includes a tiny picture of some vintage cars parked along a small residential street with the caption "Crews film with vintage cars lining Winslow Street in Crockett, Calif., on June 3, 2011." So it looks like that's our first official (unofficial) set picture.

But with the news that filming has finally begun, we'd just like to take a second to enjoy this moment. As most of you know, it's been a long time coming. And we're not just talking about the 3 1/2 years since "There Will Be Blood." This project was first announced 18 months ago by Variety on December 2, 2009 and for a while it was looking like it might not happen at all. But now finally, it's becoming a reality and nobody could be as excited about it as we are. We're just glad we could share it with you. It's on, folks.

Check out 'The Master' cast.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Here Is Your 'The Master' Cast

2011-06-04T15:46:00.001-07:00

With tons of casting news going on recently we thought it might be interesting to see how the cast was shaping up. So here, for easy reference, is your cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's 6th film, "The Master."

Synopsis: A man who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls.

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Lancaster Dodd a.k.a. The Master, a charismatic intellectual who, after witnessing the horrors of WWII, creates a belief system designed to catch on with other lost souls in post-war America.

Joaquin Phoenix: Freddie Sutton, an alcoholic drifter who becomes The Master's right-hand man and disciple.

Amy Adams: Mary-Sue Dodd, Lancaster's wife.
Laura Dern: (unknown)

Lena Endre: (unknown)
David Warshofski: A detective.

Jesse Plemons: Lancaster's son.
Rami Malek: Clark, son-in-law of Lancaster Dodd, married to their sassy 19 year old daughter Elizabeth.

Madisen Beaty: (unknown)
Josh Close: A leading disciple of Lancaster Dodd, a.k.a. The Master.

Fiona Dourif: (unknown)
Ambyr Childers: Elizabeth, Lancaster's daughter

We'll try to keep this page updated as additional casting announcements and details are released for easy reference.

Writer/Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Executive Producers: JoAnne Sellar, Ted Schipper
Producers: Megan Ellison, Daniel Lupi
Cinematographer: Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Production Designer: Jack Fisk

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Madisen Beaty Joins 'The Master'

2011-06-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

According to The Film Stage 16 year old actress Madisen Beaty (whose most notable credit is playing 10 year old Daisy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") has joined the cast of 'The Master' and we can't say that we're surprised. Though it's unclear what role she's signed on for, some have speculated she might be playing Hoffman's character's 19 year old daughter but she seems a few years young for that part. It is worth noting that when Amy Adams was cast in the film we asked, "Can Madisen Beaty be far behind?"as it now appears that every actress mentioned in Deadline's initial story that Paul was "interested in" have now been officially cast. Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Lena Endre and Beaty have all come aboard this week. So while we're sure there are still lots of parts left to cast, they'll be coming from a new pool of names. Also interesting to note as the cast is filling out that only Hoffman and David Warshofsky have worked with Paul before while the rest are all first timers. If you are so inclined you can follow Madisen on Twitter at @madisenofficial.

As always, stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Newcomer Rami Malek Joins 'The Master,' Additional Details Revealed

2011-06-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone. We had a great deal of casting news this week but we aren't done yet. Variety reports that relative newcomer Rami Malek (HBO's "The Pacific") has signed onto the still untitled (but for brevity's sake just called 'The Master') religious drama. Malek will play the son-in-law of the Master (Philip Seymour Hoffman), married to the 19 year old daughter of Hoffman's and Amy Adams's characters.

Malek converts to P.T. Anderson pic 'Twilight' thesp to play the son-in-law of religious leader

By Jeff Sneider

EXCLUSIVE: Having recently wrapped "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part II," Rami Malek has signed on for Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled religious drama.

Malek will play the son-in-law of the main character, the creator of a new faith that closely mirrors Scientology (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Joaquin Phoenix co-stars as an alcoholic drifter who becomes his right-hand man and disciple.

Hoffman and Amy Adams have a sassy, 19-year-old daughter in the film; Malek will play her husband, Clark.

Other confirmed cast members include Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons and David Warshofsky.

The Weinstein Company has worldwide distribution rights to the Annapurna Pictures-financed period pic, which starts production later this month.

Anderson and his longtime producing partners JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi will produce through Anderson's Ghoulardi Film Co., along with Annapurna's Megan Ellison. Ted Schipper is exec producing.

Malek, who recently starred in HBO's "The Pacific," will soon be seen alongside Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in "Larry Crowne," which Universal opens July 1.

Thesp is best known for playing Ahkmenrah in the "Night at the Museum" pics -- though that may change once he's seen as the powerful Egyptian vampire Benjamin in the final installment of Summit's "Twilight" franchise, due for release in November 2012.

Malek is repped by WME and Kyle Fritz Management.

Still no details on Dern's character and as usual the trade is behind on news it didn't receive via press release (the casting of Lena Endre, which was confirmed by her reps) but more news will surely surface in the coming weeks with filming set to begin very shortly. Can you feel the excitement?

As always, stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Yep, Amy Adams Also Joins 'The Master'

2011-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

They really are starting to fall just like dominoes. Oscar nominated actress (and future Lois Lane) Amy Adams has joined the cast of (the project usually referred to as) 'The Master.' Can Madisen Beaty be far behind? From Deadline...

EXCLUSIVE: Amy Adams has formally been set to star in Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled film, which begins production later this month. She will play the wife of the character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. He plays a man who returns from witnessing the horrors of WWII, and in an attempt to find himself, he forms a belief system that catches on in the 1950s. Deadline revealed in early May that Adams was being courted. Joaquin Phoenix has also been set to play the faith leader's right-hand man, and I've heard there have been conversations with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's Lena Endre and Laura Dern for other roles. The Weinstein Company acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film last month just before the Cannes Film Festival. Megan Ellison is producing through her Annapurna Productions banner, along with JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi, with Ted Schipper exec producing.
Adams is coming off her Oscar-nominated turn in The Fighter, and she will do this film before starting production on Man of Steel, playing Lois Lane in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman franchise reboot. Adams will next be seen in the Walter Salles-directed On The Road, which is being shopped for domestic distribution, and Disney's Muppets. She's repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and WME.

Adams will play the wife of Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, Lancaster Dodd (which was the part that had been speculated for both Dern and Endre, so there's no telling what roles they are filling.) Either Deadline is a day behind the news or they just refuse to acknowledge another source as Dern and Endre have already been confirmed by Variety and The Playlist. But they've been right so far on their initial casting speculation.

As usual, stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Casting Continues: Swedish Actress Lena Endre Joins 'The Master'

2011-06-01T07:49:00.001-07:00

When it rains, it pours. Coming hot on the heels of yesterday's triple-casting news, today brings one more name to the table: Swedish actress Lena Endre ("The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" trilogy). The scoop comes via The Playlist who reached out to the actresses reps. With filming set to begin in just under 2 weeks expect more news of this type in the coming days. Endre was one of the actresses mentioned about a month ago earmarked for the film and it looks like if this continues Amy Adams and Madisen Beaty shouldn't be far behind? We had speculated yesterday that Dern was set for Hoffman's character's wife but with no confirmation it's possible either actress might have the role with the other taking on some other role entirely. Any guesses? Sound off in the comments.

Stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Laura Dern Also Cast In 'The Master'

2011-05-31T14:23:00.001-07:00

Whoops, looks like we (and most other sites) skimmed right over this little nugget of casting info. According to the same Variety article posted earlier today, actress Laura Dern has also joined the film (presumably) as Hoffman's character's wife.

Joaquin Phoenix and Laura Dern co-star, with the former playing an alcoholic drifter who becomes his right-hand man and disciple.

Though the article states this as a fact, this is the first official confirmation we're hearing about Dern joining the film. The last time the actress was mentioned for the role was about a month ago and that was still speculation amongst several other names for the wife/daughter roles (Amy Adams, Lena Endre, and Madisen Beaty). But great news nonetheless as anyone who saw Dern's stellar performance in David Lynch's "Inland Empire" can attest.

That's all for today (we think). Carry on.

And stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Jesse Plemons & David Warshofsky Join 'The Master'

2011-05-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

Things are really starting to happen now. According to Variety, two actors have joined PTA's upcoming still-untitled religious drama (still being referred to as 'The Master'). Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman will be joined by PTA first timer Jesse Plemons (who "Friday Night Lights" fans will recognize as Landry Clarke) and character actor David Warshofsky who appeared briefly as H.M. Tilford in "There Will Be Blood." According to the trade, Plemons will be playing Hoffman's characters son while Warshofsky will be playing a detective. Having not read either draft of the script, this writer couldn't be more excited to see how they figure into the story.

Plemons joins Anderson religious drama
'Friday Night Lights' thesp to play the son of Scientology-like religious leader
By Jeff Sneider

EXCLUSIVE: "Friday Night Lights" thesp Jesse Plemons and veteran character actor David Warshofsky have joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled religious drama, which will be released worldwide by The Weinstein Company.

Script finds Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman playing a charismatic intellectual who, after witnessing the horrors of WWII, creates a belief system designed to catch on with other lost souls in post-war America. Joaquin Phoenix and Laura Dern co-star, with the former playing an alcoholic drifter who becomes his right-hand man and disciple. The tenants of the faith closely mirror those of Scientology.

Plemons will play Hoffman's son, while Warshofsky will play a detective.

Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures is financing the period pic, which Universal was previously considering funding before having second thoughts about its mid-range budget.

Anderson and his longtime producing partner JoAnne Sellar will produce through the former's Ghoulardi Film Co., along with Ellison. Production is scheduled to begin in mid-June in Sacramento.

Plemons, who recently appeared in the studio comedies "Observe and Report" and "Paul," next co-stars in Universal's "Battleship."

Warshofsky previously worked with Anderson on "There Will Be Blood" and was recently cast in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln."

Thesp will soon be seen in two Sundance pics, Miranda July's "The Future" and Gavin James' "Little Birds."

Talent Works reps Warshofsky and Plemons, who is also repped by attorney David Matlof. CornerStone Talent Agency and Patty Woo Management also rep Warshofsky.

We've also heard through (completely unofficial) sources that Phoenix has been slimming way down for the role. Should be very interesting to say the least. And in unrelated news, if you're a Hulu+ subscriber you can now watch Paul's 15 minute introduction for Criterion's edition of the 1953 Max Ophuls film "The Earrings of Madame de" online.

As always, stay tuned to Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Flashback Friday: PTA & John C. Reilly

2011-05-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today's Flashback Friday features an interview between Paul and "his favorite actor" John C. Reilly circa January 2000 in Movieline magazine. Enjoy!

Life of Reilly

A conversation between Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson and his favorite actor, John C. Reilly, reveals what it’s like for Reilly to be starring in Anderson’s new Magnolia, which features a supporting player named Tom Cruise.

John C. Reilly is an unsung hero of American movies. The appealingly grizzled, gruff-looking 34-year-old has given indelible performance in movies like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Dolores Claiborne, Georgia, Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line and For the Love of the Game without attaining critical-darling status the way a showier actor might have. Reilly’s cult following is made up of those who appreciate an absolute natural. It isn’t so much that you don’t catch him making a false move. It’s more like you don’t catch him acting. Reilly’s biggest Hollywood fan is Paul Thomas Anderson, the writer/director who has used him most astutely to date, first in Hard Eight, then in Boogie Nights, and now in his new film, Magnolia. Anderson has such confidence in Reilly that, even though Tom Cruise is also in the movie, Reilly is the film’s romantic lead. What better person to interview Reilly than the director who sees so much in him?

Paul Thomas Anderson: I first became aware of you when I saw your first movie Casualties of War. Then you worked with Sean Penn again in We’re No Angels and State of Grace and I thought you were almost his sidekick, but also a really good actor.

John C. Reilly: It was like, would you like an entrée of Sean Penn with a side of John C. Reilly? Although I got along well with Sean as an actor, I purposely didn’t spend a lot of personal time with him and I didn’t want people to think that I was getting parts because I was his friend. By the time we did The Thin Red Line together, we were fucking sick and tired of each other and were like, “Oh, you old woman, just leave me alone.”

Q: Your first branch-off from Penn was Days of Thunder, which was with Tom Cruise, and now you’re in Magnolia together.

A: I love Tom and think he’s a great actor, but at the time it was all about working with Robert Duvall. That movie was a bizarre experience. I was coming off serious movies and suddenly there’s Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer in their fucking heyday like Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a fall from grace for me as a young man to see the decadence that movie and Hollywood at its most extreme - $100,000 parties and recruiting girls off the beach to come be extras. It was nuts.

Q: Actually, between Days of Thunder and Magnolia, you starred in the short film Tom directed for Showtime’s series Fallen Angels, “The Frightening Frammis.” Tom told me he was concerned he wouldn’t get you for his movie, and I was concerned I wouldn’t get you for Hard Eight because you were too big a star to do it.

A: Which is so the opposite of my pathetic life. I was told Tom wanted to meet me, but it seemed like he didn’t doubt at all I was gonna do it. He was like, “OK, we’re starting on Wednesday, could you comb your hair down?”

Q: So, how does it feel now to be the star of a Tom Cruise movie?

A: It didn’t cross my mind. I’m glad it didn’t, because it would have been more pressure. I just felt like I was part of this huge jigsaw.

Q: Do you feel excited about being “the character actor who gets the girl” in the movie?

A: The thing is, you seemed to be writing for me before we even knew each other. I felt like we were already on the same wavelength when we met.

Q: How would you describe the differences in shooting Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Magnolia?

A: Hard Eight was like we billed somebody’s rich uncle and were getting away with some crazy scheme out in the desert and had to finish before anyone figured out what happened. Gwyneth Paltrow was fairly new in the movie business and it was exciting, all of us giddy with getting to know each other. We knew we were doing a good, original movie. By Boogie Nights, we already had our groove on. This really felt like we were in the big time. One great thing about the three characters I’ve played in your movies is that they’re so committed to the dream of their life, they’re just unshakable. There’s something really poignant and funny about people like that.

Q: What about the vibe on Magnolia?

A: You just took it to the next level and came into your own. There were certain aspects of Boogie Nights that, because of its size, seemed like you were kinda playing it by ear. On Magnolia, it was like, “All right, I don’t have to play it by ear. I know what I like to say and the ways to say it.” It was a very intricate masterwork and you pulled it off.

Q: The character I wrote for you stems from the summer a movie project was taken away from me. In our restlessness, we did video improvs of faux Cops episodes with you and Philip Seymour Hoffman. That’s how the dialogue and characters were created, directly from the improvs – it was a character you’d already lived with for two years.

A: Those improv videos were so great because we were just having a blast. The guy became more grounded in your script.

Q: Remember you once asked me, “Come on, man, can’t you write me a sunrise where I get the fucking girl?” It’s kind of a romantic leading man, right?

A: You did this with a few people in Magnolia – tapped into what’s real not just for the characters, but for the people playing them. In the beginning, it was kind of a joke: “Be careful what you say around Paul, it’ll end up in the movie.” Now, that’s just become a given. But I can’t be “cool John” in front of you. I lay it on the line. I say stupid shit to people. I don’t try to hide my personality at all.

Q: Do you think you’ll get to a point where you just don’t do any publicity?

A: If a project’s success depends on your promoting it, you should promote it. I’m just like an Irish bullshit artist from way back, so I don’t mind. It’s kind of like therapy. puff-piece therapy. There’s this code of silence on a press junket, like you just talk about how great your costars were and how Kevin Costner wasn’t a total prick.

Q: A portion of me thinks that the true appreciation of your work won’t happen until your movies are playing on AMC 40 years from now, a sort of “He was the fucking greatest,” sort of like looking back now on Elisha Cook Jr. or someone.

A: I think I’m appreciated by people who watch movies to the degree that they don’t know who I am from movie to movie. That’s actually a compliment. Some people think I’m just stupid for this, but I try think in long-term goals, to do work that I can be proud of in 10, 20 years, not just disposable crap that made everyone chuckle in the moment.

Q: [Sardonically] And what’s the name of the movie you’re making – The Perfect Storm?

A: Good movie, man. A good character in this movie. Wolfgang Petersen’s directing it. I just want it to be Das Boot, not Air Force One.

Q: Anyway, hopefully this is the last movie we’ll ever make together. I met Oliver Platt today.

A: Hey, I’m just trying to become the Michael Caine/Gene Hackman of my generation.

If you follow us on Twitter and Facebook you will already know that according to SFist, 'The Master' will begin filming in the Bay Area, specifically Vallejo "with some shooting at sea." So stay tuned, it sounds like we should have some really exciting stuff coming up soon.

PTA Suggested Kirsten Dunst To Lars Von Trier For 'Melancholia'

2011-05-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

A quick bit of Friday news for you all. As you may be aware, the Cannes Film Festival is underway in France right now and filmmakers/provacateur/friend of PTA, Lars Von Trier has gotten himself into a bit of trouble over some remarks he made during a press conference. But we're not here to talk about what is presumably a misunderstanding from the troublemaking auteur, we're here to mention that he got the idea for his latest leading lady from Paul! According to an interview with Von Trier for Indiewire...

So you ended up casting Kirsten Dunst, who gives a great performance. Had you seen her in something like “Spiderman”?

I have seen her in several things, but I had had a long discussion with Paul Thomas Anderson years ago about this project, and he suggested her. And she was available.

So there you have it. While we're not sure how the pair know each other, it's cool to see Paul recommend the actress even though the duo have yet to work together.

In other non-news, if you missed it at the end of our last post we rather cryptically suggested checking out John Huston's 1979 religious satire, "Wise Blood." While we can't confirm it as an official DVD pick, it seems there may be a few surface similarities in that film and what we know about 'The Master' project so far. So if you're into that kind of thing, the film is available on Hulu+ and Netflix from the Criterion Collection.

So, happy Friday. And as always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

'The Master' Cannes Promo Art, Filming In The Bay Area?

2011-05-17T19:47:00.001-07:00

A few small tidbits here since we've all been waiting so patiently for the last week. First up is a look at some promo art for "Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project" which was unveiled at Cannes (and you can check out below). Likely whipped up in no time at all (since no filming has taken place yet) by someone (intern) at The Weinstein Co. to help sell the film to foreign distributors during the international film festival, the image is nonetheless exciting because it means that after nearly 4 years the project is actually happening. It's definitely a little familiar stylistically so don't expect the actual teaser poster to look anything like this.

According to some rumors on the imdb boards, (usually never to be trusted, but these seem fairly credible), an untitled film is looking for 40's/50's era extras in the San Francisco Bay Area to film in the small town of Crockett, CA in June. This seems to jibe with what we've heard about the film so far, so it's definitely a possibility and if anyone has any further info please send it along. (via @imdbLive and xixax.)

And as always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

P.S.: What do you know about this?

'The Master' To Shoot This June With Joaquin Phoenix & Philip Seymour Hoffman

2011-05-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hold on to your butts, this is probably the biggest news day of the year. According to Deadline, the stars have aligned and the project informally known as 'The Master' will indeed begin filming this year, June 13 specifically. Additionally, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix are locked for the roles of The Master and Freddie Sutton. With just over a month until filming begins, expect lots of casting news to start trickling in. Reportedly Paul is interested in Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Lena Endre, and Madisen Beaty for (presumably) the roles of The Master's wife and daughter (previously rumored for the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone and Deborah Ann Woll) though none are confirmed at this time.

Apparently Paul has greatly overhauled the script since last year when production was halted. The synopsis now reads "Hoffman stars as a man who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. He creates a belief system, something that catches on with other lost souls" So even those that read the early draft that circulated last year can expect more than a few surprises from the final version. Oh, and if that wasn't enough good news, (savior of film) Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures will finance the $35 million production with The Weinstein Co. handling the worldwide rights. We should find out in the next few weeks whether or not the film will indeed be shooting in 65mm or who might replace DP Robert Elswit should our tipster's report turn out to be accurate.

Check out the full article at Deadline and try to contain your excitement in the comments below.

More on this as it develops on our Twitter and Facebook.

Hard Eight Archives Completed

2011-04-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Over the next week, the entire Paul Thomas Anderson archives that have been collected over the last 12+ years will be uploading to our website. The first archive completed is Hard Eight, featuring endless information and multimedia including:

EXCLUSIVE HARD EIGHT ARCHIVES / Cigarettes & Red Vines

DVD DETAILS
Domestic & Forgein Releases, Art and Technical Specifications

ARTWORK
Posters, print ads & forgein/format specific box art

PHOTO GALLERY
Photos from the premiere of the film & site-exclusive images from the official Rysher Entertainment press kit for Hard Eight

PRESS & RECOGNITION
Features Production Notes transcribed from the press kit, Awards & Nominations & Top Ten Critics Lists.

10 DELETED SCENES
Transcribed from the original draft of the Hard Eight Screenplay.

There is still a little more to be added to the HE archives, but the idea is to fill each section up with the most relevant/unique information for each film and flesh out the pages with the more wildly available information (cast & crew, imdb-esque things etc) after. Enjoy.

Flashback Friday: Ernie Anderson Vs The Copy

2011-04-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

Today's Flashback Friday features an audio recording of Paul Thomas Anderson's father, Ernie Anderson cussing and flubbing through a radio advertisement recording and to describe it any further would cheapen it's brillance. Go go go.

Ernie Anderson_vs_The Copy by CJ Wallis

More Details On 'The Master,' Plus 1 Page Of The Script

2011-04-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an eagle eyed reader we have a little bit of late Friday news for you all. In the new issue of Life & Style magazine of all places, there's an article called "Tom & Scientology Under Fire Again" that suggests that (former Frank T.J. Mackey) Cruise might in some way be responsible for the delays on 'The Master' project. The magazine spoke with a "Hollywood insider" (emphasizing those air quotes) who said, "Producers have been trying to make the film for a while but the project hasn't gotten off the ground. Some have questioned whether Tom and the church have tried to squash it."

They also imply that Jeremy Renner has dropped out of the project because he's co-starring with Cruise in the new Mission: Impossible film (and not because he just signed onto about 4 other franchises). Funny that it hasn't had the same effect on Philip Seymour Hoffman who co-starred with Cruise in the last M:I film. Hmmm.

Despite these baseless, gossipy musings, the magazine does go on to give a few details about the script (which they claim they got as an exclusive peek) as well as publish an actual page. For those who don't want to be spoiled in the slightest, you might want to stop reading now but I'd say spoils are pretty light here.

The movie features a contentious leader who's a science fiction novelist (Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had the same profession) and happens to be against traditional psychotherapy methods. So what's in the script that has the Church of Scientology quaking in it's boots? Drugging, secret missions, implants and claims of being able to cure leukemia in 36 hours are just a few taboo topics covered in the film. For now, the film is slated for a 2013 release.

Well, that's news to us. You can check out some more slight spoilers in the page of script below. (Thanks Bryan!)

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Exclusive: PT Anderson Shooting on 65mm, Without Elswit?

2011-04-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

It seems as though one of the two projects we keep hearing rumblings about is getting substantially closer to coming to life. A photo, we unfortunately cannot publish, was sent to us showing PTA shooting tests and operating a 65mm camera used by Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey on the backlot of a place we also cannot mention. Fear not, I have re-created the photo here to whet your appetite:

The e-mailer suggests that perhaps Paul was inspired by Nolan/Pfister's usage of the format on The Dark Knight & Inception. It's worth noting, though, that Nolan shot 65mm in a square, IMAX format whereas Kubrick kept the format at 2:35.1 to contain as much detail as possible for the optical effects. (thanks JZ) The last line of the e-mail also gloomily claims that whichever film Paul is shooting camera/format tests for will not be shot by Robert Elswit. More as it comes...

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Flashback Friday: PT Anderson Talks With Lars Von Trier

2011-04-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

It has been a substantially long time since this article has re-appeared on our site. In their words:

Europe's celebrated director of The Idiots and Dancer in the Dark talks with the precociously talented director of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love, on ways of seeing America, the egos of actors, and his controversial new film, Dogville.

Ok, let's cut to the chase: An interview between Lars von Trier and Paul Thomas Anderson is a cinephile's wet dream. As two of cinema's most distinctive directors, they have created some of the most searing movie experiences in recent memory. Despite their vastly different approach, both men, are united by a concern with the outsider in society: The awkward and misbegotten lonely hearts of Anderson's Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love find their counterparts in the small-town American of von Trier's Dancer in the Dark and the upcoming Dogville.

Both bring a precise, focused discipline to their movies that leaves little to chance. Von Trier, in particular, has developed a reputation for his combative relationship with his actors, most notably with Bjork during the making of Dancer in the Dark, but his severe approach typically results in career-defining performances. Anderson, too, has wrung brilliance from his ensemble productions, especially from Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has appeared in all of his movies, and Adam Sandler, whose layered, tormented turn in Punch-Drunk Love was one of last year's great surprises.

The two directors convened at von Trier's film studio, Zentropa, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, to gossip about actors, trade views on America, and nominate some of their favorite movies.

LVT: What I would like to talk about is this actor business, because, as I've told you, I was very fond of Magnolia and felt that there was a kind of familiar feeling about the results that you get out of the actors, and you told me that it was because you love them.
PTA: Uh-huh.
LVT: Which was a shock. If you love them--let's just say this is true--how do you work with them?
PTA: Well, they say the lines. And then--
LVT: --You say, ready?
PTA: Go.
LVT: Go? And then they say the lines?
PTA: Well, here's the thing. When I wrote Magnolia, I was writing for the actors, so I could hear it my head how they might do it, and I was writing it with that advantage. But actors don't scare me -- you know what scares me? Bad actors scare me. A good actor is like watching a great musician, but having a bad actor terrifies me, because it means I've got to find something to say or something to do. And that's really frustrating, because you want to be concentrating on everything, and instead you find yourself bogged down with helping someone know their lines or not bump into the furniture, and that's when you want to strangle them. I got really lucky that the first real actor that I worked with was Philip Baker Hall. Coming out of the gate, that was like somebody who, instantly, is right there for you, who wants to work with you and certainly not against you. And so I think I got a bit spoiled sense that this is the way that it should go, and then I'm shocked when Burt Reynolds shows up, or someone like that... I think you secretly love actors.
LVT: [laughs]
BB: Do you not think it works for you to love your actors too much, Lars? Do you keep a distance?
LVT: I try not to, but actors are the only tin that stands between you and a good film. That's how it is. But we're talking about control. It's a little bit like filming animals--they are uncontrollable.
PTA: But not all of them.
LVT: No, and they should be uncontrollable. If you want to have something from anybody, you have to give them some trust, of course, and that's why I've turned the whole thing into more of a game than direction. But there are actors and there are actors. Stellan [Skårsgard] is not an actor.
PTA: But I feel the same way about Philip [Seymour Hoffman] or John C. Reilly: They're not actors--they're family.
LVT: Yeah, but because they're family you also know what they can do and what they can't do. It's like your uncle--you know what he's good at, and what he is not. Of course, they can be so familiar that you don't give your uncle a chance, which is unfair also.
PTA: Is the relationship that you have with your assistant director or editor or photographer or costume designer something like that, one that you can count on more than you can count on with an actor?

LVT: Right now I'm filming with CinemaScope, so I'm running around with this ridiculously enormous camera, with sound equipment, light equipment, you know. And then there are a hundred people around me who just kind of say "good luck," and they leave, and we're alone for four hours, the actors and me. So really, all my fears lie in this technique, because I have a lot of claustrophobia. If I don't do anything, nothing happens. I can't tell you--for these last four months I've been going through my all-time low, and my psychic health is extremely low right now.
PTA: Why? Is it something that happens after you make a film or after it is released? Is there a pattern to it, or do you recognize why?
LVT: Well, there is a pattern to it, of course. When you produce a film, all your power goes into it, so you can't use your power to imagine that you're dying all the time. And also you have this kind of Baden-Powell [founder of the Boy Scouts movement] feeling, that you just have to go marching on for these eight weeks or ten weeks or however long it is, which is good, of course, this masochistic feeling that you just have to go on and hurt yourself, and if you hurt yourself enough then it doesn't matter--you die for a reason.
PTA: Can you curb that feeling, though, when you're writing? Are you writing right now?
LVT: No. No. I think the reason why I'm really, really nuts right now is all this waiting for Nicole [Kidman]. Because normally I write a script, I do rah, rah, rah, rah, and since we've been waiting for her, for one-and-a-half years, it stalled, I feel rotten, I feel terrible. Not about the film--if you're afraid you're going to die, you don't give a shit about a film or how it's received or who is in it, but it's just the fact that the film work is a way to get in a positive mood to get a lot of stuff out of your system.
BB: What do you mean by waiting for Nicole?
LVT: We decided a long time ago that we should do more films together, Nicole and I, but that was not possible, it turns out, after one-and-a-half years of suffering [waiting for Kidman's schedule to clear], and I can't do other films in between. It's a trilogy that I wrote with the same main female.
PTA: When did that come to you, when you were writing Dogville? Did you know that there was going to be--
LVT: --No. I finished it, and I liked the project very much, and I liked Nicole very much, or anyway, I liked her character, Grace, very much, because she's a little more aggressive, a little more human than the other characters I've worked with.
PTA: Wait, is that because she's a more human character or a more human actor?
LVT: [long pause] It's because she's a more human character and a less human actress, but the mixture with Nicole and Grace was a very good one, and I liked that, and then I suddenly saw that I had an obligation to carry on with Grace, to carry on this way of filmmaking, because it's very, very easy to invent new things all the time, but it's not very mature, I feel. So if I really meant something with this film, they I felt I should underline it by going on. Because there are, as I see it, two kinds of directors: there are the ones that, every time, set a new standard, like Kubrick. And then there are the directors that keep on doing the same stuff over and over, again and again. Of course, there are mixtures between these types, but somehow, the mature one is the one that does the same, again and again and again.
PTA: You'll say something different in a few years.
LVT: Let me come back to--I like the inhuman nature of Nicole. I don't know if inhuman is the right word; I know it sounds negative, but it's not really meant to be. She's kind of this larger-than-life star that has a discipline and a skill that is remarkable. To take this kind of size, and force it to break a little bit, was a very good thing to do...but also to take her ability and her professionalism and her willingness to work, which are all very positive things, and to try to break it up a little bit for the sake of the product, which she was very happy to do, which also shows.
BB: She wants to expand.
LVT: Oh yes, she wants to--she is very, very brave in that sense, as the good actors are. Very, very brave. And then came my idea of going on to make three films, but also to make three films that take place in America--
PTA: --Lars, what do I have to do to get you to come to America?
LVT: You have to nuke all of Europe. [laughs]
PTA: Okay, I can do that. I'll do anything.
LVT: But listen, I am an American.
PTA: How do you mean?
LVT: I am there already. I'm taking part in the American life.
PTA: [laughs] You are?
LVT: I know exactly how it is. It's like here, more or less, but you know, the Americans used to be European, or the ones that I can easily relate to, and they are maybe not the--no, I'm not going to say that--
PTA: Say it! Say it! Go on.
LVT: The ones that went to America were not the brightest ones. [they laugh] No, listen, please erase that. No, but you have a lot of stories from people who went to American, because they were starving. And in the liberal society, you go where you are not starving--that's the whole idea--but people are not allowed to do that anymore, for some strange reason. It's not considered to be a good idea to go where the food is anymore. America is closing its borders also, right? Which was a big, big quality, I always felt, about the American idea, as I see it: to let everybody in. In Scandinavia, integration is such a big thing--whenever you come they say, "Will you become Danish?" "Yes, yes, yes," they say. "of course," but somebody is shooting at them from behind, right? And then, to be integrated is very, very important, to learn the language, to learn the customs, to not slaughter your animals in a painful way, all this. To say that you can only come to visit us if you learn the language, if you do this, if you do this... Come on! That's a Scandinavian model because they want to integrate them into society so they can--
BB: --Raise them up.
LVT: Absolutely. But that is so arrogant! And having not been to New York, I love the idea of a Chinatown and all these things, that's fantastic, I really think that's a beautiful idea. But I'm sure that's not how American is. But it is, somehow, I feel part of the idea.
PTA: You know, Lars, when I saw Dogville, it wasn't about America to me. It was about any small-town, small-minded mentality, and it wasn't about America until the end.
LVT: No. I agree completely. The only thing that I've done about America, or that should connect with America, is a kind of positive feeling that I'm trying to create, some things that I remember from Steinbeck or Mark Twain--feelings, or settings--
PTA: --Go back, I can't believe this, 'cause Steinbeck has been an obsession of mine for the past year. Did you read him a lot?
LVT: When I was young, yeah.
PTA: There's a collection of short stories called America and Americans, which is amazing, and I wanted to give it to you. There's a bit in it straight from Dogville, and it's meant so much to me over the past year, because he fought in World War II, he wrote about Vietnam, he wrote from the McCarthy hearings, and he saw it all. He was really a great novelist, but he was a journalist as well, and one of the great American writers.
LVT: I haven't read so much, but the narration in the movie, I thought, was very American, and I was told later on that it was not at all.
PTA: The narration? It's very British!
LVT: It's not British. I talked to John Hurt about it, he said, "This is not British." So it's kind of Danish-British trying to be American.
PTA: But you know, if I didn't know you, I would have no idea where the hell this movie, or many of your movies, came from.
LVT: That, I think, is actually quite good, because that's almost like David Bowie, you know--we were sure he was from Mars actually.
PTA: How did you come up with the idea of ending Dogville with "Young Americans"?
LVT: Paul Bettany and I were great David Bowie fans, and at a certain point when the spirit was quite low on the set, we were playing it over loudspeakers so everybody was dancing to it. I always loved that melody very much, but I didn't understand the lyrics. I still don't understand them. [laughs]
PTA: Absolutely. I understand "Young Americans!"
LVT: But I thought the lyric was, "All night she was the young American," but it is not. It is "All night she wants a young American," which is different. [laughs]
[The conversation is interrupted by a phone call for PTA, warning of his imminent flight to New York]
LVT: Don't worry.
PTA: I'm not worried. Do I look worried? Lars, I'm sitting here with you--you're my hero. I can't be worried.
LVT: Like sitting with Bush, you can't be worried?
PTA: If Bush invited you to the White House, would you go?
LVT: It wouldn't make it easier for me to sit in a plane.
PTA: But we knock you out, give you a couple of pills, everything's over, we wheel you into the car.
LVT: I'm sure Bush has the power to bring me to the White House if he really wants to.
PTA: But if Bush called you and said, "I want you to come to the White House, talk to me about what you're saying," would you go?
LVT: Uh, no. [laughs] You?
PTA: Absolutely. I heard that Clinton loved Boogie Nights, and that really made me excited. It made me like him very much. And then they actually requested a print of Magnolia.
LVT: We sent Breaking the Waves, I think.
PTA: To the White House?
LVT: For Clinton, or his daughter, whatever. They just can't go down to a video store; it's just impossible--it's too far from the White House.
PTA: I don't know though. Clinton used to like to get out of the White House a lot. He would take night trips to McDonald's, and stuff like that. I think he wanted to get out of the house.
LVT: Compared to Bush, Clinton seemed like a good guy, right? He was playing saxophone.
PTA: He was playing saxophone, he was chasing pussy, I mean that's the kind of president you'd like.
BB: I want to ask the question, Paul: As an American, what does America mean to you?
LVT: That's very good. Come on! No, what does Denmark mean to you? Oh, you have such a beautiful country, you have no big guns--
PTA: --I love it, I love it, but there's not a whole lot of places I don't love. I'm pretty free with my love of the place. I grew up in California, and I love California, and for a long time it actually had a sensible sense of itself, until recently, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. And New York is remarkable in that, when I step off the plane, the first thing I notice is--yes, how fat everybody is--but I also notice that everybody is there, everybody is there.
LVT: And what does that mean?
PTA: It feels exciting, and it feels comfortable. I don't get a sense of American pride. I just get a sense that everyone is here, battling the same thing--that around the world everybody's after the same thing, just some minor piece of happiness each day.
LVT: We can't disagree on that, of course, that's how it is.
PTA: I was just in Croatia, and they have this great saying, "There's a different government on every street down here, there's 87 political parties." I feel the same thing about America. I'll rebel against powers and principalities, all the time. Always, I will.
LVT: I am representing all the good things that American should be.
PTA: [laughs]
LVT: But saying that I know how your country could be a better place, as somebody who is not American, is the most provocative thing you can say, and why is that? It doesn't have so much to do with nationalism or borders; it has to do with politics and your basic idea of what you should do with human beings.
PTA: Where did you get the title for Dogville?
LVT: I spoke to Thomas Winterberg, to one of his colleagues, actually, and we were talking about concentration camps, and then it became America straight away [they laugh]. No, we were talking about how they managed to keep discipline and life going on in the concentration camp, and his theory, which I believe, is that they transformed people into animals. If they are animals, then they are much easier to control. It's very easy to make human beings into animals: let them be cruel, let them be anything--it's such a thin layer, and that was part of the strategy in the concentration camps. And then we talked about dogs, and I said the film had to be called "something-ville."
PTA: So there are a few things.
LVT: [laughs] Actually, quite a lot of things. But the strange thing is, in my situation--which you cannot put yourself in--I know so much about America. Eighty percent of my media, the media I see, has to do with America, 80 percent of the paper has to do with America in some way or another, 80 percent of the television, can you imagine that?
PTA: Isn't it that way in most of the world?
LVT: Yes it is, but that puts me in a situation where America is a part of me also, whether I want it or not or whether you want it or not--it is a part of me. And that's why I'm completely entitled to say whatever I want, because I've heard more about America than I've heard about Denmark, for Christ's sake!
PTA: Beautiful.
LVT: I watched Magnolia--actually to cast my own movie--but I liked it very much. It was kind of European, although now I don't like European films, either, because they are too American. It's very much a matter of taste, but it's very fulfilling when somebody dares to do what he thinks is most interesting, and I believe that is what happened with Magnolia. I think it is extremely important to please yourself.
PTA: I can count on one hand, maybe both hands, people that I trust, and I feel that if I make a movie, I make it for myself, absolutely first. But there are people that I want to show it to, that I want to like it, but it's also okay if they don't like it, because they'll let me know why, and how, and for what reasons. And that feels good; that is in no way debilitating or hurtful--but if you can hold them in the palm of your hand--
LVT: --To me it was very, very important to show the first film I did to Andrei Tarkovsky, and he hated it. [laughs] He thought it was a load of crap. The film was Element of Crime. He hated it, I tell you.
BB: How did you feel?
LVT: It was kind of like growing up. But you wouldn't respect him if he had said anything else. The problem about seeing films is that you have some very good directors that you admire very much, but everybody runs out of talent, everybody does. Or they die. Or both.
PTA: Do you remember movies well? I never remember movies well, but I can remember the ones I love, and which meant something to me. I remember Breaking the Waves--I was in the middle of editing Boogie Nights, and I was by myself and it was a Sunday night, and when I saw it, it was really like the clouds opening up--suddenly the sun started to shine, as gray as that movie was. But I don't remember details of that movie.
LVT: That is because what you like and what I like in a film is not a whole. We look at films differently than most people, and that's why we don't remember the whole thing properly. But I like, very much, some of the films that I didn't like when I saw them the first time.
PTA: Like what?
LVT: [Kubrick's] Barry Lyndon is still one of my favorite films, you know. It's a very strange film, but it's still monumental.
PTA: When I saw it, I thought it was very serious, and then I saw it the second time, and I said, "This is fucking hilarious!" And I actually felt that way about Dogville, you know, "This is a fucking comedy, this is insane!" But it was almost like, that sort of bizarre relationship to a movie, when you completely don't understand it at first.
LVT: I was talking to Nicole [Kidman] who had talked to Kubrick about it, and he didn't like Barry Lyndon at all. Of course. He told her it was too long.
BB: He thought it was too long?
LVT: Yeah, I mean come on--this last scene, where she's writing her name on this piece of paper, and it takes, I would say, half an hour, right? To write her name. So if he thought the film was too long, I could find one or two frames that could be cut out.
PTA: Dee, dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee, dee dee dee [imitating music from Barry Lyndon]. Did you ever meet him? I ask that because I got to meet him. It was the first time that I met Nicole, actually. He really didn't like me very much until he realized that I had written the movie that I directed. And that's what made him go, okay, now I'll be nice to you. Like, if you're a director, get the fuck outta here, but if you're a writer, ahhhh.
LVT: Another film that is very dear to me is The Deer Hunter.
PTA: When did you see it? When it came out?
LVT: I've seen it ten times.
PTA: Really. What are the others? What else?
LVT: There's a lot of old Italian films. Pasolini. Antonioni, of course. It all depends on when you become aware of film. I was ready around the time of this German period, with Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders, but I was too late to be fascinated by the New French Wave. But it's very interesting, this question of when you are open to this--I don't think it's very many years, five years or something.
BB: Do you have your Deer Hunter, Paul?
PTA: Yeah, the first thing that comes to my mind is Jaws.
LVT: Jaws! I've never seen that.
PTA: Jaws was a big, big, big, big, big deal to me. My dad was in television in Los Angeles--he did voice-overs, so he was friends with all these technical guys, and really when it was possible to get a 3/4 inch VCR machine in your home, he taped The Wizard of Oz, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and he had a bootleg copy of Jaws. So those were the three movies that I was able to watch over and over. And the VCR was as big as this room, it was like a tank, and the tape was as big as a truck--and I would come home and watch every night, every day, Jaws, Monty Python, The Wizard of Oz. Then later, things happened here and there--like I was saying when I saw Breaking the Waves. And it was interesting because I felt confident enough that I didn't want to copy Breaking the Waves--I just felt, like, I'm allowed to do that. It was almost like it was OK to be that honest.
LVT: You think Breaking the Waves was that honest?
PTA: Don't tell me that! I don't need to know that, I don't want to know that! Shhh!
LVT: No, it was made with good intentions, but honest, I wouldn't call it-- To me the story is very complicated because all these themes that are--as Baden-Powell was--forbidden in my home, all the things that were considered to be bad taste.
PTA: What was forbidden in your home?
LVT: Baden-Powell was forbidden in my home. He was the guy who decided that if soldiers could be disciplined, why not children? So this whole thing about religion and miracles, and blah, blah, blah--it was a boost of freedom to be able to be able to write this stuff. But I thought it was a very American film. [laughs] But I always do.
PTA: That's why I liked it. Lars, have you finished writing this movie?
LVT: Yes, it was written a long time ago.
PTA: How long does it take you to write?
LVT: Three weeks.
BB: Wow, how long does it take you to write?
PTA: Three years.
LVT: Yeah, but I just don't look back. If you want to read the script, you're welcome. If you should cast it maybe you should read it. Because you love actors and have a better relationship with them, maybe.
PTA: I think you secretly love actors.

Joaquin Phoenix In Talks For 'The Master'

2011-04-12T14:34:00.001-07:00

Potentially huge news breaking right now. According to Variety, Joaquin Phoenix is in talks to take the part once earmarked for Jeremy Renner in 'The Master.' This would also seem to imply that 'The Master' might be moving ahead first over "Inherent Vice." More on this as it develops...

Exclusive: Joaquin Phoenix, who hasn't acted since his "retirement" that precipitated "I'm Still Here," is in early talks to join Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled religious drama.
Anderson is directing from his own original script, which chronicles a disaffected disciple's relationship with the founder of a new faith that closely mirrors Scientology.
Hoffman will play Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic intellectual known as The Master, while Phoenix would play Freddie Sutton, an alcholic drifter who becomes his right-hand man only to begin questioning his manipulative mentor.
Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures and Bill Pohlad's River Road Entertainment are looking to finance the period pic, which Universal was previously considering funding before having second thoughts about its mid-range budget.
Anderson and his longtime producing partner JoAnne Sellar will produce through the former's Ghoulardi Film Co., along with Ellison and Pohlad.
Phoenix has stayed out of the spotlight since starring in pal Casey Affleck's faux-documentary "I'm Still Here," a time-consuming vanity project that went on to gross only $698,000 worldwide. His last feature role was in James Gray's 2008 drama "Two Lovers."
Anderson is also developing an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's detective novel "Inherent Vice," which is slated to star Robert Downey Jr.
Phoenix is repped by WME, while CAA reps Anderson and Ellison.

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Greg Mottola ♥'s 'Magnolia'

2011-04-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

As we wait for news on PTA's next project, (it has been especially quiet these last few months) we've seen more than a few people voicing their admiration for his work. (Absence makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?) The latest is Greg Mottola, director of "Paul," "Adventureland," "Superbad," "The Daytrippers" as well as episodes of "Arrested Development" and "Undeclared." He recently rewatched "Magnolia" and had this to say on his Twitter:

Watched 'Magnolia' on blu ray over the weekend and it was just as audacious, heartbreaking and lovely as the first time I saw it. Robert Elswit's cinematography is unbelievably great. [And] it looks incredible on blu-ray

Someone responded that they'd recently watched that and "Boogie Nights" recently on Blu-ray and he added that "the lighting is spectacular and perfect for both movies." He also admitted it was the first time he'd seen "Magnolia" since it was released over a decade ago.

"Magnolia" is still available on Blu-ray for just $10.49 at Amazon and Mottola's latest, "Paul" (no relation) is in theatres now.

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Name Drop Round-Up: Bill Nighy, Aaron Johnson, Justin Long

2011-04-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

We recently mentioned Rotten Tomatoes "Five Favorite Films" feature and found PTA's films on a few more lists digging through the archives today. Happy Friday!

Bill Nighy ("Shaun of the Dead," "Love Actually") places "Punch-Drunk Love" among his Top 5:

"A relatively new film that went straight into my top five, I adore Punch Drunk Love, and I can almost recite it to you. It was on TV on a loop for a while, and it's like The Godfather, you hit that film on TV and you stay there. There aren't many, but you just stay there, thinking, 'I could keep flipping, but there's not actually going to be anything better than this,' and it doesn't matter that you've seen it sixteen times - you just dig it because it's such high quality.
I think Adam Sandler and Emily Watson are completely marvellous in it, and I didn't know anything about Adam Sandler, I've never seen any of his other films, so I've only seen him in this. I love Paul Thomas Anderson, and I think it's my favourite of his films. Possibly a controversial thing to say, as his other films are, perhaps, hipper, but I love the fact that it's this fucked up love story. I love it stylistically, the jokes, the visual attitude of it and those funky links that he does. I love the apparent arbitrariness of the plot, which hinges on upon the fact that you get free air-miles with a particular brand of chocolate pudding, and I love the way it dovetails at the end.
Everyone in it is magnificent, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, who's in The Boat that Rocked and who is beautiful in Punch Drunk Love. Adam Sandler gives one of the greatest light entertainment performances I've ever seen. It's a submerged light entertainment, it's so integrated, so authentic in terms of naturalism, that you surprise yourself by laughing, because it's so deadpan, so undercover in terms of comedy, and that's my favourite thing of all time, the highest level. For the first twenty minutes you think you're in art movie hell, but you're not, so don't panic."

Aaron Johnson ("Kick-Ass," "Nowhere Boy") says this about "Boogie Nights":

Paul Thomas Anderson -- what a fantastic director. These are all directors that I would love to work with, you know. I doubt any of them could give a sh*t. [laughs.] Boogie Nights. Pretty epic. It just captured that era so brilliantly. Mark Wahlberg, man -- great role. Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman -- they just blow me away. I could watch it again and again. Great movie.

And Justin Long ("Drag Me To Hell," he's not a PC) also names 'Boogie' as one of his favorites:

I think a lot about Martin Scorsese and how heavily influenced Paul Thomas Anderson was by him. I feel like he learned so much from Scorsese in Boogie Nights, and so I feel like picking Boogie Nights is somewhat accounting for my Martin Scorsese love. But I'm also being very honest about a movie that I can watch over and over. Just the epic nature and the grandness of it, and some of the shots and the style of it, and the music -- my God, the way he uses music -- and that great shot where somebody jumps into the pool and you hear the muffled soundtrack. It's brilliant. I never get sick of watching it. And the acting is just some of my favorite actors at the top of their game. I love doing impressions and one of my earliest impressions of an actor was Philip Seymour Hoffman in that movie, when he's saying how much he loves the name and he's chewing on the pen.

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook. Tell your friends.

Pixar's Lee Unkrich ♥'s 'Punch-Drunk Love'

2011-04-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Pixar currently have the most consistent track record of any studio on the planet so you know they pretty much employ the best of the best. One of their in-house directors, Lee Unkrich ("Toy Story 3"), just did an impromptu Q&A session on Twitter yesterday and gave a little shout-out to Paul. When asked who his favorite contemporary director is he said "That's tough. But probably PT Anderson." And when someone followed up to ask which PTA film was his favorite he replied "Punch Drunk Love." We did a little digging and found that last year Rotten Tomatoes had asked him for his Top 5 favorite films and he said this about the film:

"Really, that just kind of encapsulates all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films for me. I'm inspired by the kinetic energy of his films, and the richness of the characters and the performances especially."

So there you have it, another admirable admirer. As you were. (via Yenni)

Luis Guzman Talks PTA, Getting Cast In "Boogie Nights"

2011-04-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Collider recently sat down with PTA regular Luis Guzman, promoting his new film "Arthur," and got a chance to ask him about his work with Paul. Nothing too revelatory here, just a few nice quotes from Maurice/Luis/Lance.

On how he ended up in "Boogie Nights"...

"He had sent me the script of "Boogie Nights" and it laid down on my desk for a while. One day I was cleaning my desk off and I found the script and said 'Maybe I should read this?' And I read it and was I blown away by it and I called him up. I said 'dude, are they gonna let you do this movie? It is so out there, it is so genuis.' His writing [is] really, really unbelievable, very passionate. And we hit it off, I showed up and then it was a hell of a ride doing "Boogie Nights." We had an incredible cast of people, we shot in some great locations and just the experience of being able to shoot with someone like Paul and seeing his vision come to life. It was really, really impressive."

On whether PTA has changed over the years...

"He's always been that passionate person. That's something that I respect about him, he gets what he wants as a director and I think that's really important, not to settle for less. Even if it means to go back and be shooting a certain scene, 3-4-5 times because you see it, it's just not there. So he's really passionate about those things and I've always admired that about him."

You can watch the entire interview over at Collider and as always, get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook (including some pretty cool fan art we didn't post here on the site). Tell your friends.

PTA DVD Pick: White Heat (1949)

2011-03-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Another bit of new old news here while we pass the time. We recently came across this link that revealed Paul introduced an Academy screening of the James Cagney classic "White Heat" last year in LA. In lieu of an official DVD pick (if anyone has a transcription of what he said during his intro that would be great), we thought we'd pass that recommendation along here. Synopsis below (via Amazon):

This superb 1949 crime drama takes elements of plot, character, and theme familiar from '30s melodramas and orchestrates them as an existential tragedy noir. James Cagney, in a towering performance, is Cody Jarrett, a transparently psychotic robber with a molten temper, feral cunning, and mercurial charm that are finely calibrated extensions of the doomed gangsters he played a decade before, this time coiled not around a Depression-era impetus of greed or class rivalry, but an Oedipal bond. Cody's beloved, calculating "Ma" (Margaret Wycherly) is the compass for his every move, her iron will and long shadow acknowledged not only by Cody but by his gang, his bored, restless wife (Virginia Mayo, radiating sensuality and guile), and the undercover cop (Edmond O'Brien) planted in Jarrett's path.

In other news, actor Jonah Hill recently joined Twitter and made "Punch-Drunk Love" his Movie Of The Day. You'll remember he also had "Boogie Nights" in his Top 5 so it looks like he's officially a fan.

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook. Tell your friends.

Paul & Maya Expecting Child #3

2011-03-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

It looks like some major congrats are in order because according to People Magazine Paul and partner Maya Rudolph are expecting their third child together. Their new baby will be joining daughters Pearl (5) and Lucille (1). Congratulations guys! (via xixax)

As always, you can get the latest news on Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Could 'Inherent Vice' Be PTA's 'Big Lebowski'?

2011-03-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

Vanity Fair seems to think so. In a recent article the magazine draws some (vague) similarities between the two (both LA-set stoner mysteries) following up films that won critical kudos ('Vice' following "There Will Be Blood," 'Lebowski' following "Fargo") but lost Best Picture. VF also compares 'Vice' to Altman's 70s LA mystery "The Long Goodbye" and suggests that a finished script is now circulating in Hollywood though it doesn't appear that they've read it.

Thomas Pynchon’s novels are notoriously unfilmable, and in functionally illiterate Hollywood, the idea of any agent or film executive reading one—let alone wanting to make it into a movie—is funnier than this weekend’s S.N.L. Charlie Sheen opener. At least, that was the case, until Pynchon wrote Inherent Vice—which foregoes his usual cerebral, paranoid, scientific-philosophical synthesis of Western civilization for a more genial, pot-hazed look at psychedelic-60s Los Angeles. It’s a kind of Altman-esque take on The Long Goodbye—with a lot more Mary Jane. It’s not surprising that the L.A.-themed project would appeal to native Valley boy Anderson, whose entire oeuvre, from Boogie Nights to Magnolia to Punch Drunk Love, features Southern California as a kind of background character. (To boot, There Will Be Blood is dedicated to the late, great Altman himself.) And if there’s one filmmaker whose talent feels up to the task of adapting any Pynchon novel, it is the bravura Anderson, especially if he’s armed with Robert Downey Jr.’s nuclear charisma.

You can read the full piece at Vanity Fair.

And don't forget to join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Robert Elswit Talks PTA & How He Almost Didn't Do 'Boogie Nights'

2011-03-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

A bit of new old news here while we wait for new news. Robert Elswit, cinematographer on all of PTA's films (who won the Academy Award for "There Will Be Blood") and his wife Helen (a visual effects person) gave a talk in 2009 at Principia College and thanks to Youtube that hourlong talk has now surfaced. (It was actually put up about a year ago but just now made it's way to our site.) The interview ranges from topics like exactly what a Director of Photography does to how to break into the business ("write a screenplay") and naturally Elswit brings up Paul several times during the talk. He calls Paul a "luddite" when it comes to technology and says that even though he's a young guy he likes to work with very old fashioned methods. He also says Paul is "a director who hopes that movies will come to life if accidents occur. There's a certain amount of planning, but some of it, he hopes will be serendipitous." He goes on to say that even though he liked Paul, he almost passed on "Boogie Nights".

“Helen [Elswit, his wife] read the script to Boogie Nights and really thought that I should not do it. I had done a movie with Paul before and I like Paul a lot. And because I knew him I understood what he was really trying to do. The script was really graphic and strange but Paul’s films are always grounded in something that I think is really fascinating. He makes movies about families All his movies are essentially about the relationships with the people within the family group. It’s either they create or they find or they look for or they throw what they have away and they find another one. But every one of his movies is essentially that. It’s about a family in crisis or a family coming together or falling apart and the nature of all those relationships in complicated ways. It’s not husbands and wives as much as fathers and sons mothers and daughters, all of that. And thats what I saw in Boogie Nights cause I knew him. so I could read that script and say it isn’t about naked people and it isn’t about pornography and it isnt an exploitative movie. What Boogie Nights was, was an American backstage musical. It was 42nd St, it was Gold Diggers Of 1933, it was about a bunch of people who get together and put on a show.”

After "Boogie Nights", Helen says she decided she would not give Robert career advice anymore. He ends the conversation with another good quote about working with Paul on "There Will Be Blood".

"There is a whole approach to filmmaking that Paul embraces which is very different from most people. He doesn't want to control what happens on set, he wants accidents to happen, he wants things to go wrong, he wants the wall to fall down, he wants life to break out. And you can't always control that and so he tends towards pushing things too far. And he has a great relationship with actors so they're willing to trust him and let things go on and on shooting endlessly. He knows that even if he has a preconceived idea of what he wants things to be that it's going to get better. That he's going to end up trading up. And there are a ton of directors who can't do that. They won't embrace that. They want a controlled environment and they don't want to be surprised and they don't want something to happen that they're not expecting. And nobody I know would ever set that thing on fire knowing that they couldn't put it out, ever. And he just did. And nobody can control him really...I found Paul frustrating for about 2-3 years and what I learned from Paul is that it's about not controlling things. It's about haven't things come to life in ways that you don't expect and if you try to manicure everything and if you try to make it, gourmet it up, you end up with still life. You end up with things that don't interest me. Lots of people think of them as well made movies, Paul isn't interested in that world and it's kind of refreshing and it's wonderful to be around. And I'm very lucky to be a part of that. Very few other directors are comfortable with that because there are too many unknowns."

You can watch the full video at Youtube. (thanks Xixax!)

Movies That Made Us Critics

2011-02-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard, Roger Ebert recently rebooted his "At The Movies" with co-hosts 24 year old Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and former AP critic Christy Lemire. To help introduce the pair, the two have recorded a series of videos on The Movies That Made Us Critics and Lemire has chosen "Magnolia" as one of her picks. She says of the film:

"Now, I saw MAGNOLIA when I was just staring out as a critic in 1999, and I found it really polarizing. People were either wowed by it, like I was, or they thought it was over-long and pretentious. It’s one of the first films that forced me to stand my ground, and here I stand today."

Hard to believe that was 11 years ago. You can watch the full video over at Ebert's site. (thanks Matt Martin!)

Boogie Nights Silkscreen

2011-02-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

The market for fan-made prints of movie posters has gone crazy over the past few years. MondoTees in Austin is carving out a nice little niche for themselves with this kind of thing, but there are plenty of great artists doing it on their own. One such artist is David O’Daniel, a San Francisco based designer making original posters for repertory fare at that city's famous Castro Theatre. Scrolling through his site brought up this print for "Boogie Nights". It appears that he has a limited number available for sale for each print but there doesn't seem to be any info for this one. In addition to 'Boogie' he's done great prints for the films of Stanley Kubrick, Charlie Chaplin and more. You may want to take a few minutes to browse through his site (especially if you have wallspace available). (via @MattGoldberg)

EW Greatest Working Directors

2011-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Entertainment Weekly has just posted their list of the 25 Greatest Working Directors and ranked Paul at #11. Here's what they had to say:

11. Paul Thomas Anderson
THE EVIDENCE: Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007)
WHY HIM: One of the most dynamic directors to emerge in the last 20 years, Anderson makes movies that crackle with energy and typically showcase volcanic performances (see: Daniel Day-Lewis in Blood). Anderson is particularly good at taking a well-worn genre — the Western epic, the romantic comedy — and transforming it into something modern and unforgettable. — Tim Stack

Thought the list is (arbitrary and) weighted towards current favorites (would Fincher have ranked so highly after Benjamin Button came out?) it's nice to see PTA make the list even though he hasn't had a film out in almost 4 years. Check out the entire list at EW. (Thanks xixax!)

A Marc Maron Mention with Paul F. Tompkins

2011-02-23T12:54:00.001-08:00

Apologies for the alliteration but just a small bit of non-news while we wait for word on "The Master" and "Inherent Vice". On a recent episode of Marc Maron's WTF podcast, Maron interviews comedian (and friend to PTA), Paul F. Tompkins. You may also remember Tompkins briefly as Prescott in "There Will Be Blood" and as an offscreen voice during Seduce & Destroy. The hour+ long interview is a candid and hilarious discussion between the two comedians which briefly turns to his work with Paul.

MM: What's your relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson?

PFT: I haven't seen Paul in a while...

MM: ...the director of There Will Be Blood.

PFT: That's right. I have not seen him since then.

MM: Did you do another movie? You've sort of shown up in most of his movies.

PFT: Magnolia. I did what ended up being just a voice in Magnolia. And that was it. But he's a guy that I have known off and on through Largo, the old nightclub Largo. And he started coming to Largo around the time that comedy started happening at Largo. It had been open for about a year and it was just a music club and then they started doing comedy on Monday nights. And then all the comics and the musicians started to get to know each other and appear on each others shows.

If you haven't listened to the WTF podcast or Paul F. Tompkins own hilariously weird Pod F. Tompkast, you really should.

In other news, did you know that Amazon recently put Blu-rays for "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights" on sale for $9.49 and $12.99? It's true. So if you were looking to upgrade those old DVD's, now might be a good time for that. They are magnificent.

Inherent Vice Might Shoot This Fall

2011-02-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Downey Jr. is "making plans" to film "Inherent Vice" this fall with PTA. It was reported in December that Downey was being thought of for the lead in the film but his busy schedule made his involvement a big question mark. But as we/everyone speculated recently when he bailed from "Oz The Great And Powerful," he now has room in his schedule for 'Vice.' THR says that Downey's commitment to the film has "recently grown serious" so it looks like a creative relationship might be blossoming for the two. Neither Paul nor Downey have spoken officially about the project, so as usual we will keep you updated as news comes in. For now, you can check out a trailer for the book below:

Watch 11 People Watch There Will Be Blood

2011-02-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

This is an excerpt from There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007). 11 adult viewers were shown the video and their eye movements recorded using an Eyelink 1000 (SR Research) infra-red camera-based eyetracker. Each dot represents the center of one viewer's gaze. The size of each dot represents the length of time they have held fixation.

source: zablotny, facebook.

The Master Hiatus Timeline

2011-02-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Since our site was on a bit of a hiatus as well during our little redesign, and in light of yesterday's good news, we thought it might be nice to do a quick rundown of the status of The Master project over the last 6 months or so.

9/20/10

The Playlist reports that the film has been "postponed indefinitely". The source of this info is an interview with Jeremy Renner in Total Film magazine.

"I was really bummed about that," Renner revealed. "It really kind of stalled because when we were rehearsing — Phil, Paul and myself — we kept coming up against a wall that we couldn't overcome. Or at least Paul couldn't overcome."

They also ask Phillip Seymour Hoffman about the status of it during the press rounds for "Jack Goes Boating". His non-quote:

"I don't have any new information ['The Master']. I really mean that, I'm not being obtuse. I don't quite know what that is at the moment, but hopefully I will and hopefully I'll be part of something soon. It would be great to work with him again."

The Wrap contacts River Road who had been reportedly financing the film and they said they were not involved with the project (though it's not entirely clear if they ever were).

10/12/10

Deadline interviews producer Mike De Luca who offers the following tidbit about The Master's hiatus:

DNY: What does it say when Anderson¹s The Master is having such a hard time
getting off the ground?

De Luca: I think he has the financing. He’s just going through his own creative process, asking himself, ‘Is this what I want to make,’ and is it ready to be made? That’s just what he does.

He also offers a few other PTA-related quotes not about The Master.

DNY: How much tougher would a young Paul Thomas Anderson have getting Boogie Nights made now? He’s struggling with his new film, The Master, about the formation of a religion in the 1950s.

De Luca: Anything that worked at New Line would be ten times harder to get made at a major studio. I’m not sure the Summits or the Lionsgates would go for Boogie Nights or Wag the Dog, or even the first Austin Powers. There’s such a bias against what they call tweeners, the movies that aren’t so cheap that you can’t get hurt, but aren’t big enough to have special effects and big movie stars and directors that make executives feel their bet is somewhat insured. New Line lived in that tweener space. To a certain degree, Social Network is that. It’s not so low budget that you’re protected, but it’s no giant tent pole, either.

DNY: What was hardest about Boogie Nights?

De Luca: That gave Bob the most aggravation, the length issue, the ‘who’s going to see this?’ Until the first reviews, he was really fighting it and unsure. The test screenings were not promising. That process is good for down the middle mainstream movies. Trailers and TV spots prepare you for a movie, and if you saw one for Boogie Nights, you can decide, that’s not for me. You don’t get that from the paragraph they use to recruit an audience. They’re told, comedy with Mark Wahlberg. And when it’s a disturbing film like a Scorsese, a Boogie Nights or There Will Be Blood, pissed off people write disturbed things on their cards precisely because the film did its job. I didn’t think Boogie Nights was appropriate for testing, but we did a lot of them and the numbers were always poor. In Bob’s eyes, the movie wasn’t a winner and a piece of art until the reviews started coming in.

DNY: How much did it lose in length?

De Luca: Paul pruned about 20 minutes, through his own process. At one point, Bob asked Paul, let me do a cut, let me show you what I think you should love. Paul wisely said okay, knowing it wouldn’t go further than Bob getting it out of his system. It was not anything we’d release or Paul would sanction. Bob went through the movie and did a cut, showing Paul, here’s what I would take out. Paul sat there and probably wanted to kill himself, but he was really patient, watched it and went back to his own editorial process.

11/30/10

In an interview with MTV (reported on once again by The Playlist), Jeremy Renner gives one more quote about PTA:

“He’s swimming out there somewhere, probably typing behind a computer. That guy is genius. If he was directing the phone book I’d be in it.”

12/2/10

Vulture reports that Paul is now working on an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s "Inherent Vice", so it appears that he has put The Master project aside for now.

2/11/11

Vulture once again breaks the news that billionairess Megan Ellison is looking to co-finanace both The Master project and PTA’s adaptation of "Inherent Vice". All is right with the world.

In other news, Mondo Tees recently put a small number of Olly Moss’ There Will Be Blood Rolling Roadshow prints onsale and they were gone in a matter of seconds. You can find a few of them on eBay if you are so inclined to pay collectors prices.

The Master and Inherent Vice Both Close To Being Financed

2011-02-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Huge news day for PTA fans. According to an article at Vulture, Paul may have found financing for not one, but both of his upcoming projects. Twenty five year old billionairess Megan Ellison, (who recently helped finance The Coen Bros. "True Grit" and John Hilcoat's upcoming "The Wettest County In The World"), is in negotiations to co-finance Paul's adaptation of "Inherent Vice" as well as his untitled religious drama known as The Master. The article also says that Jeremy Renner is no longer attached to The Master project but that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is still "interested." Well, duh.

Paul has been in contact with Thomas Pynchon, author of "Inherent Vice", and is currently halfway through a second draft. Now the question becomes, assuming that the financing goes through, is which project would get made first? Vulture speculates "Inherent Vice" might have the edge since Robert Downey Jr., who is interested in the lead, recently dropped out of Sam Raimi's Oz, The Great And Powerful and now has an opening in his schedule later this year that could very well be filled with 'Vice'. Either way, this is hugely exciting news and we will post more info on this as soon as it surfaces.

Read the full article at Vulture.

Patton Oswald Mentions Fake PTA Film

2010-12-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

Patton Oswalt (on the right) who played blackjack dealer Delmer Darion in Magnolia, decided to include a reference to Paul Thomas Anderson in his essay about the "death of geek culture" for Wired Magazine:

...But back here on Earth, we’ll enter year zero for pop culture. All that we’ll have left to work with will be a VHS copy of Zapped!, the soundtrack to The Road Warrior, and Steve Ditko’s eight-issue run on Shade: The Changing Man. For a while—maybe a generation—pop culture pastimes will revolve around politics and farming.
But the same way a farmer has to endure a few fallow seasons after he’s overplanted, a new, richer loam will begin to appear in the wake of our tilling. From Zapped! will arise a telekinesis epic from James Cameron. Paul Thomas Anderson will do a smaller, single-character study of a man who can move matchbooks with his mind and how he uses this skill to pursue a casino waitress. Then the Coen brothers will veer off, doing a movie about pyrokenesis set in 1980s Cleveland, while out of Japan will come a subgenre of telekinetic horror featuring pale, whispering children. And we’ll build from there—precognition, telepathy, and, most radically, normal people falling in love and dealing with jobs and life. Maybe also car crashes.

You can check out the entire article by clicking here. (CE)

Nina Hartley Talks Boogie Nights, PTA

2010-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Wahlberg Croons A Classic For The Critics

2010-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

During an interview for The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale fell victim to film critic Peter Traver's 'signature' request to sing something. Bale chooses the Powerpuff Girls theme, while Wahlberg decides to belt out a few notes of the Boogie Nights/Transformers/Dirk Diggler Story classic “You Got The Touch”. Click Here to watch the wonderfully awkward experience. (CE)

New PTA Project With Robert Downey Jr, Maybe

2010-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday an explosion of rumors hit the web about the next project from Paul being an adaption of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel "Inherent Vice" with Robert Downey Jr. being courted for the lead role.
Downey would be playing a pothead private eye from Los Angeles set in the late 60s in a novel that Wikipedia has summarized as:

Inherent Vice has been well-received among critics, particularly for its mainstream appeal. In a generally favorable review, the New York Times' Michiko Kakutani called it "Pynchon Lite", describing it as "a simple shaggy-dog detective story that pits likable dopers against the Los Angeles Police Department and its “countersubversive” agents, a novel in which paranoia is less a political or metaphysical state than a byproduct of smoking too much weed."

A review by academic Louis Menand in The New Yorker declared the novel to be "a generally lighthearted affair", while adding that there were still "a few familiar apocalyptic touches, and a suggestion that countercultural California is a lost continent of freedom and play, swallowed up by the faceless forces of coöptation and repression."

In a scathing review in New York magazine, Sam Anderson wrote that "with no suspense and nothing at stake, Pynchon’s manic energy just feels like aimless invention.

As reported, Downey is tied up for the next year but given the implied status of all aspects that will more than likely not slow anything down to severely. More news if/when it surfaces.

Note: After months of making terrible/awkward designs and layouts for the portfolio/media section of the site, the answer has finally revealed itself while trying to tackle similar issues for my own page that have plagued me for ages.

The site will feature a minimal amount of pages/clicking with all information for each project on one page in an easy to find format. A few of you have offered to help out along the last 6-8 months while the site, admittedly, was treated like a middle child so if you were one of those people, feel free to re-message me as I may have a little light-lifting for 1 or 2 of you.

Super There Will Be Blood

2010-10-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

courtesy of one jeffrey zablotny.

Exclusive Interview: Michael "Jocco" Phillips

2010-08-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Michael "Jocco" Phillips is a name you have probably noticed in the credits of a large number of Paul's films as well as many successful television series over the years. Upon discovering he checked in on the site, I contacted him with ten questions to get a fresh perspective on everything from Bones to Ballchewer.

C&RV: Introductions: Name, Current Project & Occupation

M"J"P: Michael "Jocco" Phillips, First Assistant Director BONES

C&RV: For those who may not know exactly what this job entails, can you sum up your daily tasks/responsibilities.

M"J"P: My job divides into two phases, prep and shoot. During prep I am responsible for breaking down the script into it's individual elements (cast, locations, props, etc) and then scheduling the filming in the most efficient way possible. On the set I run the day-to-day operations and make sure all of the elements are available at the right time so the director can maximize his/her shooting day.

C&RV: You've worked on Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. How did you get yourself embedded into The Family?

M"J"P: John Wildermuth and Adam Druxman, the assistant directors I worked for on my first big movie in LA (THE FAN) were hired to do BOOGIE NIGHTS and called me to ask if I wanted to work on their next movie. I said "yes!" immediately and drove to the production office in Hollywood to pick up the script.

I read it when I got home and was terrified! What have I gotten myself into? I had only been in LA a few months from Texas and come from a rather conservative family. Pornos? "Joy Juice"? So after panicking for a few hours I read it again and was able to see beyond the salaciousness of the subject matter and realized this was an amazing script.

When I met Paul his passion and energy were so overwhelming and I knew we were in good hands. One of Paul's greatest attributes is his accessibility to the cast and crew. His love for actors is well known but I was a green Production Assistant and we could talk and joke around like I was an old friend.

Adam was hired to do both MAGNOLIA and PDL and so I was able to work on both of those films as well. It was a very special time in my life.

C&RV: What, if any, are some of the advantages to working on a production with Paul that you don't necessarily experience on other sets.
M"J"P: Well, I partly answered this question in my previous one but Paul knew exactly what he wanted, especially on MAGNOLIA. We would be on the Tech Scout (where all the Department Heads travel to all of the locations) and he would walk into a room and say "24mm lens here... tracking across to here. Dolly track here." Four months later we are in that room to film and sure enough there was a 24mm lens here with dolly track there. It may not seem like a big deal but after 19 years in the industry you realize that that kind of vision and decisiveness is extremely rare. Another thing about Paul that I find unique is that everything is in the script. Shots, angles, ideas, his scripts are very visual.

C&RV: Best On/Off Set Story/Experience That Won't Get You In Trouble/Blacklisted, Go:
M"J"P: BOOGIE NIGHTS - We are shooting 16mm footage for the Brock Landers movies during prep (before principle photography) and Paul decides he needs more "bad guys" for a fight sequence to be shot later in the day. Adam is going to call extras casting but I say "Hey! I could be a bad guy! We can shave my head, give me a moustache or something!" Adam tells Paul and he says "Great!"

Later that day, with a freshly-shorn cranium and big bushy 'stache I make cinematic history fighting with Mark and John C. smashing a bottle over my head (six times!) We develop a back story for my "character". He is a low-level thug that works for Ringo and his name is... Jocco. A nickname is born.
MAGNOLIA - When we finished principle photography Paul was generous enough to hire me as a personal assistant during the post-production process. When he decided to include the Frank TJ Mackey Infomercial on the dvd he allowed me to film a "product shot" and record voice-over for an end-tag to the actual commercial you see in the film. As with my stunt work in BOOGIE NIGHTS, Paul required a level of amateurism that you just can't fake. I delivered that level of amateurism.
Footnote: Paul sent MAGNOLIA to Harry Knowles' Butt-Numb-A-Thon with a video introduction to the film. I was PTA.

C&RV: Sandler, like PTA, is well known for repeating crews and cast. After Punch-Drunk, you had a solid string of work on Adam's films. I assume this stemmed from the two of you becoming friends during Paul's production?
M"J"P: Absolutely. I spent a lot of time in Basecamp on PDL and got to know Adam and his crew very well. They are some of the friendliest, generous, down-to-earth and loyal people it has been my pleasure to meet. I got my first big DGA feature credit on Adam's film FIFTY FIRST DATES. They even named the walrus in the film after me. I didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. (I was flattered)

C&RV: You were not involved with There Will Be Blood. Was that due to scheduling or you just weren't involved?
M"J"P: A little of both. Paul had decided early on that he wanted to work with new assistant directors (Adam Somner, Spielberg's First Assistant). Once in production I was pleased to receive a call to come fill in for the second assistant director but unfortunately I was already in production of season two of PRISON BREAK.

C:RV& Speaking about graphic design briefly, you are co-responsible for one of my favorite cover designs ever: Fiona Apple's "When The Pawn..." What was the pitch/process/story etc -- have you done any design work for others as well?
M"J"P: Again a case of being in the right place at the right time. When I was working for Paul on MAGNOLIA he and Fiona were together. She had this idea that she wanted for the album artwork.

I simply helped her with some photo & lyric layouts on the computer. It was great and pleasant surprise when the cd came out and she had included me in the liner notes. I was just a monkey at a keyboard. It is a testament to her kindness that my name is there and it is something I will always treasure.
(C&RV Note: Michael also mentioned he was the author and cover designer of the 6 Music Videos By PTA DVD that we originally gave out on the site many years ago)

C&RV: You seem t have migrated primarily into series television. Has this format evolved into your preference over film work, or do you go where the most appealing meal is?
M"J"P: I do enjoy the stability that comes from working on episodic television. I had a nice four-year run on PRISON BREAK and I'm just starting my second year on BONES. I was able to move up much faster in television than I would have been able to in features. That being said, I still have a great love for telling one story from start to finish. We'll see what the future holds.

C&RV: After initially scanning your IMDB profile and seeing "Black & White" I knew the plan would be to close with a question about Mike Tyson. Turns out you worked on a different "Black & White." Not one to give up on a plan: Do you have any thing to say about Mike Tyson?
M"J"P: We were watching the Tyson-Holyfield fight at a friend's apartment on a television that was nearly as big as the room. I saw him bite that ear off in way-too graphic detail.
I'm sure he's a lovely man.

C&RV: What is coming next for you sir? Continued work on Bones? Plans to venture into directing or is that not something that appeals to you?
M"J"P: Had PRISON BREAK gone another season or two I definitely would have pursued a shot a directing an episode. I had a very intimate knowledge of the show creatively and from a production standpoint. My real desire is to eventually work as a creative producer. I want to find and develop good stories and assemble the creative team necessary to bring it to the audience. Show Business is one of the few industries in which you must take a pay cut to get a promotion but I will not rest until the sign on the hill says "JOCCOWOOD". ;)

I would like to publicly thank Michael for the interesting responses to my boring questions. You saved the day, sir. Michael also mentioned he was Assistant Director on all of Paul's music videos for Fiona Apple as well as "Couch" and "Ballchewer."

We may sort out a Part Two one day in the future as there aren't really any stories around about the production of the music videos. Oh, and I missed the last two Flashback Fridays. Sorry about that.

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Paul Dano Discusses The Master, PT Anderson

2010-08-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

The Collider posted an article with Paul Dano discussing all of the latest things Dano and the topic eventually turned to his supporting role in There Will Be Blood and working with Paul Thomas Anderson:

Collider: Was there a moment (with Day-Lewis) on There Will Be Blood or (The) Ballad Of Jack And Rose where you go, “Wow, this guy goes where nobody else goes?”
Dano: There was definitely some moments where, you know, I was going, “Holy shit.”
Collider: Like specifically what—
Dano: Because we didn’t really rehearse and so sometimes, I didn’t know how big something that was gonna come out of him was gonna because he’s so powerful. And I don’t really want to say specific instances. I think you can probably imagine hearing some of the lines from that ending scene on the page (from the famous “drink your milkshake” scene of There Will Be Blood) but then, you know, the real deal is just a whole (other) level, you know, from that. I definitely had moments like that. It was cool.
Collider: Yeah. (There Will Be Blood’s director) Paul Thomas Anderson, he’s an actor’s dream to work with and-
Dano: Yeah.
Collider: -he gives you so much room and so much space to explore.
Dano: Yeah.
Collider: First of all, are you working on the religion film with him? (Reportedly titled The Master, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a man who starts a faith-based organization in the 1950’s and is helped by his wife, played by Reese Witherspoon, and a drifter, played by Jeremy Renner)
Dano: No. I don’t think so. We keep in touch. You know, he’s a, he’s a great dude. And he is, he loves actors and you can tell in his movies. He’s a great guy.

You can check out the rest of the Dano article by clicking here.

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TWBB Rolling Roadshow Reports (Updated)

2010-08-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Alamo Rolling Roadshow screening of There Will Be Blood took place this past Sunday in Bakersfield and site friend Ben reported back a little about it.

Screened from a 35mm print and described as "the perfect setting" to see the film, Ben provided you all with a photo for proof. he also passed along an epic silhouetted shot of the nearby derrick.

Rumor has it Paul was spotted at the Jackie Brown screening but wasn't in attendance on Sunday. If you know otherwise, let us know. Before the film started, there was a milkshake drinking competition that involved 3 foot long straws with the winnner receiving a bowling pin from Paul's own personal collection.

These dudes filmed their day and made it into a little bit of business for Youtube.

We will return with Flashback Friday in two days and an exclusive interview with a PTA alumni crew member is on it's way shortly.

Update (12:11pm):

Jade mailed us to say the following:

PTA was at "Jackie Brown", but as soon as he started getting recognized, he quickly left. He may have returned during the film, but I'm pretty sure he left, and was definitely not at the after-party.

I'm sure he was trying to stay to wait for QT, but QT didn't arrive 'til around 8:45 and PTA was there way before then -- around 7 PM.
I'm sure he wanted to leave because people started asking him more about "The Master".

Jade also confirms that "PTA was definitely not at "There Will Be Blood" but it was truly an amazing experience to see the film there. Seeing it at the Kern County Museum made me appreciate the film, California and the journey so much more"

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Brand New There Will Be Blood Poster

2010-07-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

Regarding the Rolling Road Show screening of There Will Be Blood I posted about on the 24th, Apple Trailers now has a page set up for this event and the debut of a brand new poster designed by artist Olly Moss. Click here to see the new poster. (thanks modage)

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Leonardo Dicaprio Biggest Regret: Boogie Nights

2010-07-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today, ShowBizSpy reported what it says in our headline: Leonardo's biggest regret in his career to date was walking away from Boogie Nights. In their words:

Leonardo DiCaprio admits his “biggest regret” is turning down the chance to star in Boogie Nights.
The Titanic star — who is currently riding high at the box office with summer blockbuster Inception — says he still can’t forget the one dream role that got away.
“My biggest regret is Boogie Nights,” says Leo, who lost the role of porn star Dirk Diggler to close pal Mark Wahlberg. “I’m a huge fan of (director) Paul Thomas Anderson but the first time I met him for that role I hadn’t really seen much of his previous work. Now I love that movie."

You have now read this fact 4 different times in an update containing 5 or 6 sentences total.

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Flashback Friday: Exclusive Pat Healy Interview

2010-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Flashback Friday is another site exclusive interview from November 2000 with Pat Healy, who played Sir Edmund William Godfrey and also his son, the younger pharmacist from the Moore meltdown "Don't You Call Me Lady" scene. Enjoy:

C&RV: How did you get started in the acting business?

PH: I came out to Los Angeles in the Spring of 1998. I had done a lot of series television prior to that. I did guest appearances on The Practice, Profiler, NYPD Blue & Buddy Faro (with Dennis Farina). That show didn't last too long. I think it was cancelled after they ran the opening credits. How about "Turks," does anyone remember that one? Hello.....

C&RV: How did your part in Magnolia happen?

PH: My agent had a relationship with the casting director Cassandra Kulukundis. So I sent her my picture. Paul had her looking for real unknown people to populate the world that he created. He wasn't looking for anyone to too familiar for the supporting roles.

C&RV: So she called you in for an audition?

PH: Yeah, I went in on short notice just to be put on tape. She & I just hit it off & we talked for about an hour. I then ran through the scene with her. She left the room & came back with Paul. I was totally blown away. Because I was already a "geeky fan boy" of his anyway. We're roughly the same age & have the same interests. We're both total film geeks.

I did the scene for him a bunch of times & he said, "You can have this part if you want it." I was like, "OK. I have never had that happen before." He said, "It's going to be great. We have the whole day to shoot the scene & Julianne is going to be there." So that's it. He gave me the part.

C&RV: Did you get the whole script at that point?

PH: I didn't have one at the time. I had to sign like two or three confidentiality agreements. It was pretty tight. Then I got the script which looked like a phone book. Every script had the actor's name & it was numbered with the actor's name on every page.

C&RV: So you were only aware that you were doing the part of the young pharmacist?

PH: Yeah. He hadn't talked to me about the prologue scene as Sir Edmund William Godfrey. I had read it in the script, but it never even occurred to me. I didn't know that I'd be doing that part until about five months later. Paul knew all along. I just got a call that they wanted to some additional scenes.

C&RV: How was that to shoot with the Pathe camera on the Universal lot for the prologue scenes?

PH: It was really exciting. Everybody was really excited because no one had used that camera before. They did some tests, but they're weren't sure how everything would turn out. They had a metronome to keep the timing. Paul was still able to move the camera the way he liked.

C&RV: Any problems during that part of the shoot?

PH: No. Except that the little girl who played my daughter was terrified of me. I had the long cape, big hat & mustache on. She was supposed to jump into my arms, but she would stand in the corner. Paul would try to coax her, but with not much luck. You don't end up seeing her much at all.

C&RV: Did you have to do the scene any slower when using the Pathe camera?

PH: No. We did it at normal speed. It's very strange. For example, when I get punched, the arm was nowhere near my face. But because of the speed of the camera, it looks like it hits me right in the face. But it wasn't even close.

C&RV: Tell me about shooting the scene with Julianne Moore in the pharmacy?

PH: It was shot in one, long twelve hour day. He shot her coverage first which was really great. I got see what see was doing which gave me plenty of time to prepare & know how to react to her. She was incredible. Paul shot her breakdown first & she just nailed it in three takes. I think the scene that was used was like the first or second take. She's just amazing.

C&RV: How is Paul to work for in terms of what he gives to you as a director?

PH: He's great. He's just a fan of actors, so he's completely supportive of anything & everything that you want to bring to the role. His writing is good, so there's just no need to a lot of improvising or adding on to the scene.

He's like a kid. He gets really excited about the camera & the actors. He gets you excited about it. He was really generous while shooting the pharmacy scene, we did it a couple of times & he was like, "OK, that's great, we got it."

I didn't say anything, but I had a look on my face & he looks at me & says, "What?" I told him that if we did it one more time, I think I could really nail it. So he says, "OK, everybody, set it back up, we're gonna do it one more time". Which was really great, because who the fuck am I?

C&RV: Do you find it easier to act the way that Paul writes or do you like more specifics about the character?

PH: I like the way he writes. He really trusts his actors. I just shot my first short film "Mullitt" & found that really good actors will bring a lot to the part. It's been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival. Henry Gibson is in it. He plays a gay landlord.

C&RV: How did you get Henry Gibson?

PH: I met him at the first cast & crew screening of Magnolia. He came up to me after the movie & was very complimentary of my work. He was just a really sweet & nice man. While I finished writing the screenplay, I was watching Magnolia & thought he would be perfect. So I sent him a script & a letter never thinking he would have time or anything. Then a week later I got a call from him & told me he really liked the script. He had some great ideas & said that he'd really like to do it which was great.

C&RV: Any experiences or advice while making your own film that you can share for aspiring directors?

PH: This was a really interesting experience for me making my own film. Just write something that you would like to see & everyday just do something to get it done. Whether that's talking to somebody about being in the film, trying to get your crew, give your script to people, etc.

When you start working on films, you meet people & develop relationships. If you write something good, you'll find that people will want to help you make it. Don't listen to any of the conventional wisdom. You don't have to kiss up to people or sell your soul to make a film.

A huge lesson that I learned from Paul is that he's really excited about what he's doing. More importantly, he's a nice man & he's nice to his cast & crew, so they have a tremendous amount of respect for him.

They all have a good time on the set. If people believe in the project, they will do anything to help out. Paul shot Magnolia for six months, but everyone remained positive & would do anything for him. He also comes to work extremely prepared.

If you think everything out ahead of time, half of your job is done when you get to the set.

C&RV: What else is on the horizon for you?

PH: In the spring, I finished filming In Memory of My Father, Ghost World with Steve Buscemi & I have a small part in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor. But I've had the most fun shooting my own short film which I'm also acting in.

C&RV: Thanks for your time.

PH: Thanks a lot man. I frequent your site & I'm really honored to be a part of it.

And now, the moment some of you have been waiting for: The Winner Of The Poorly Planned Facebook/Twitter Contest. The winner is Max Watts. Max wins a copy of PTA's 6 Music Videos DVD and having any future contest regulations/limitations named in his honor.

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Rolling Road Show Screening There Will Be Blood

2010-07-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Throughout the month of August, the Rolling Roadshow Tour has lined up 9 venues across America to screen films starting in Los Angeles with Jackie Brown to a rooftop in New York showing Godfather 2. August 8th, they have decided to show There Will Be Blood: (thanks @jeradams)

One of the most celebrated releases of the past decade, THERE WILL BE BLOOD is acclaimed auteur Paul Thomas Anderson's most epic film to date. Set in the uncharted Southern California of the turn of the 20th century, the film follows ruthless oil man Daniel Plainview as he toils his way from lowly prospector to cruel magnate and crushes all of the little people along the way.
The film's scope is huge, on par with a picture like CITIZEN KANE. It also tells a version of the America myth, a rags to riches story through treachery and backstabbing that acts as a great metaphor for American industrialism. The cinematography of the vast and empty Western landscapes is breathtaking. The unsettling and daring score by Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood is superb. Add to this grand narrative the unbelievable performances by Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano as the ill-fated preacher boy, and THERE WILL BE BLOOD rises to the status of masterpiece.
What better place to see this beautiful film than in a boundless field in Bakersfield, California -- where much of the film takes place -- and in eyeshot of an actual oil rig? We'll be enjoying this show at the Kern County Museum.

General Info: Screenings begin at sunset. Please bring your own chair or blanket. Restroom facilities will be available.

Kid Policy: 18 and up; Children 6 and up will be allowed only with a parent or guardian. No children under the age of 6 will be allowed.

Visit/Bookmark this page to purchase tickets to the show, as they are not yet available. If any of you end up attending the event, feel free to pass along your thoughts/reviews to me for potential inclusion on a slow news day.

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Flashback Friday: Exclusive Mark Rance Interview

2010-07-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today we take you back to August 21st, 2000 when our site first posted an exclusive interview called "Reliving 'That Moment'" that focused on Mark Rance. My own interview title offering featured on the banner. On topic: Mark was the filmmaker responsible for creating the feature length documentary following Magnolia from pre-production to projection that can be found on the newly released Magnolia Blu-Ray disc.

Reliving "That Moment" with Mark Rance
Mark Rance & his company, 3 Legged Cat has been a pioneer in creating supplemental footage for special edition releases. Mark made a name for himself working for Criterion on their LaserDisc releases such as Silence of the Lambs, This is Spinal Tap, El Cid & Lord of the Flies from 1991 - 1995.

Mark then helped establish New Line with the ground breaking Platinum Series DVD’s. Mark was an integral part of many of the early releases including Spawn, Blade, Lost in Space, Nightmare on Elm Street Collection, Detroit Rock City, Austin Powers, Dark City, The Corrupter, Pleasantville & more.
It’s Mark’s work with Paul Thomas Anderson that immediately comes to mind. He worked on the commentary tracks for both the Criterion LaserDisc of Boogie Nights & New Line’s first DVD Platinum Release.

He followed that up with his work on the Hard Eight Special Edition for Columbia/Tri Star before tackling his most ambitious DVD project to date. That Moment, A Magnolia Diary, is a 74 minute intimate look at the creative process following PTA’s latest film from conception to creation.

Not your typical promotional documentary or featurette, That Moment shows you the highs, lows & especially the hard work required to make a film. I spoke with Mark about his relationship with PTA, making “That Moment” & his future projects.

C&RV: When did you first meet PTA & get involved with the Boogie Nights releases on DVD & LaserDisc?
MR: I had already been given the assignment to work on the Criterion LaserDisc of Boogie Nights, when we met really briefly at the Los Angeles Film Critics Award luncheon. I went over to an apartment where he was living. I got there early so I was in the building sitting on the steps across the door from the apartment & he comes up carrying groceries.

There's this young woman following him carrying groceries as well. "Hi I'm Paul, how are you doing?" I really didn't put two & two together until everybody sat down for the interview & I realized, "Oh, that's Fiona Apple." She sat there during the interview drawing pictures & listening. We did that in the living room of his apartment in January 1998.
C&RV: How did the Hard Eight DVD come about. Did PTA seek you out?
MR: Yeah. I was at a screening of one of my friend's films & we ran into each other. Paul says, "You gotta help with this thing". We began recording the tracks with Philip Baker Hall while he was still writing Magnolia. We probably did about six hours worth of recording. This is my tendency. I like these longer interviews & try to reduce them down to fit. Edit them to sound chatty without them being chatty.

There was a lot to talk about on this film. When it was edited down, we had one full track & a half hour worth of material for a second track. We dedicated the first track to PTA & Philip on his first film & making the thing. The second was dedicated to isolating the soundtrack cues & talking about Rysher. I wanted to make the ultimate commentary about first films, bad experience & successful experience.
C&RV: Rumor has it that Columbia/TriStar was not happy with one of the commentary tracks that PTA did & his comments about Rysher. The word inflammatory comes to mind. Did anything have to be reedited for the release?
MR: Yes. When the thing was submitted to Columbia, they reviewed it with their legal department & asked us to take out all the stuff referring to Rysher. Around that time, MGM had been sued by a writer who did not receive proper credit on a commentary track. The suit went through & the guy won.

That made some of the studios nervous about what people might say on these things. It's that whole issue when an opinion is libel. It took them months to decide this & Magnolia was in production. I came on the set & I was thinking exactly what Paul said. Let's go around & interview everybody that worked on Hard Eight.
C&RV: Whose idea was it to isolate the score on the second commentary track?
MR: I wanted to do that because I'm always fooling around with the format. I loved the score & sort of by accident put it up against the picture without any dialogue. I thought in that in a couple of cases, when you do that with a movie, it becomes a different movie in a good way. In addition, the soundtrack's not available, so it seemed like a good idea.
C&RV: And include the alternate closing credits song [Aimee Mann's "I Should've Known"]?
MR: Yeah, it was a surprise because he was singing that song during one of the commentary recordings to loosen up. I knew the song really well & thought these lyrics are kinda cool for this movie. I had it better in a rough cut, the timing was cooler.

They're was a better edit. It's off a few frames. The really interesting thing is that it's the exact running time of the original credit sequence. The great thing about working with Paul is that he lets you surprise him & I try to.
C&RV: Tell me about recording his commentary tracks. I know you prefer to do extensive interviews & then edit them coherently to the film? Is that what you did with the Boogie Nights & Hard Eight?
MR: There's a lot of stopping & starting. I'm a firm believer in not forcing people to watch the movies. It's the technique that a lot of studios have adopted because it's fucking cheap. But I also think it's the technique that's killing commentaries.

That's why a lot of people don't want to do them anymore. There's so much resistance at this point from people who have heard all the dumb ones. There's more of those than the smart ones, that the idea of being trapped, having to come up with something as fast as the movies are generally cut is criminal.

MR: In all of these cases & especially with Paul, I like just sitting & talking, seeing where he's at, trying to understand where he's coming from. Finding more if I can about the background to a particular movie, a particular scene, working with an actor, an idea in the film, films that he likes, what he admires in those films. Let those digressions take the conversation where it goes because often enough, it comes back.
C&RV: It seems that PTA went from house to house doing segments with all the principal actors on Boogie Nights, were you involved with the recording?
MR: Paul & Dylan Tichenor did the original actors & I helped with the new additions of Melora Walters & Luis Guzman. When I got it, I made separate tracks with each voice. We dropped in the new interviews where Paul's solo commentary used to be since it duplicates the other commentary track. The new material will hopefully make the "Is Luis Guzman High?" joke pay off.
C&RV: Your condensed version of what happened to Exhausted?
MR: Paul toyed with the idea of including WADD: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes but decided to stay with the Exhausted footage from the Criterion LaserDisc. It ultimately came down to money & the director of Exhausted & New Line couldn't agree on a price.
C&RV: Moving to the Magnolia DVD, with PTA’s public comments about not wanting to do a commentary track for this film, did you explore other possibilities such as a cast & crew, actors, composer or film critic [Roger Ebert recorded one for New Line’s Dark City Platinum Edition]?
MR: No commentary period. No analysis.
C&RV: Did you guys explore other supplemental material such as the Charlie Rose Show, The "Cops" Footage or the Worm subplot?
MR: We did talk about all that kind of stuff, but he really didn't want any more of the deleted scenes on the disc. He was very specific about that. Paul's vision here was a simplified DVD with the fewest buttons to push. After Paul saw the work done on New Line's Detroit Rock City DVD, he called me up & said, "OK, Mark we got to talk about this. What the fuck were you doing?"
C&RV: I assume PTA chose the Magnolia 12 chapter stops as well?
MR: Yes, I think the beauty of it is that it emphasizes, as Julianne Moore says, the operatic structure. It's in movement, it's in passages. It's not in scenes. These scenes interconnect. There's an association building up between the characters, the lives they lead & the meaning of those lives. Paul is dead on about this & he told me that you could probably do it with one button or chapter. It's probably coming. Someone's gonna do that again.
C&RV: How did “That Moment” come to fruition?
MR: It was Paul's idea. He told me that I would be the only one on the set & "do my thing." He had seen a documentary I made called "Mom". He told me to try & document everything. It was that simple. There was no other direction or list of things to get.
C&RV: Tom Cruise, was noticeably absent from the film. Were there any limitations to your filming or access?
MR: Cruise's people asked that he not be filmed. The only limitations were my availability as I was working on multiple projects for New Line.
C&RV: It's surprising to see Tom Cruise in the outtakes then?
MR: We thought since we didn't have him in the documentary & Tom liked those outtakes, thought they were hysterical, & that they would represent his participation. Paul & Tom had a great relationship, so it really wasn't a stretch to include them.
C&RV: Was there every any tension on the set between you & the cast & crew?
MR: The only time that happened was when one of the actors was ready to start work & didn't want to be distracted. He made a good point that when the second camera is there, his peripheral vision would catch that & he's not sure where to play. It throws him & I understood that. The way that I was taught to make films is that it's not the camera, it's you. It's your job as a filmmaker to be human, to be present, to be the person you are. You just happen to have a camera.

You do things to make them familiar with you holding the camera. In this way, you develop a more intimate relationship with everyone around you. Try to minimize the idea that they should feel like there's something different between you with the camera & without. That's just the whole style. Not to over analyze this, but interviews tend to separate you. The power switches from the star to the interviewer. In that imbalance, you get less.

People are less willing to talk. They become guarded. If you show that you are not threatening them, then you get different kinds of footage. Like walking up to Bill Macy to ask him what he thinks about the script is sort of like walking up to Macy for the umpteenth time & asking him a stupid question. That's the way he talked to me all the time. If you needed a laugh, just go say something to Macy.
C&RV: How much footage did you shoot?
MR: 128 hours. I had two very good people logging the stuff. We started thinking about structure & because we didn't have a lot of time to edit. I kept shooting. We decided on the most linear structure. It could been much more of a mosaic or organized in a different manner. The diary thing just became the guiding rule because there was no time to play with it more than once. The first edit was eight hours. The second edit was four. Then it hovered around 2:20 - 3:00 hours for a couple of weeks. I showed the cut to Paul three times after it was less than three hours. Paul gave me notes three times & we finally ended up at 74 minutes.
C&RV: Did you have complete freedom in what footage was ultimately included?
MR: Yeah. Paul did give me suggestions on where to trim it. There was plenty to choose from & that is always a problem. Throwing away a lot of good stuff early was kind of painful, but it was the only way. If you hang on to something, then you would have to hang on to two other things to explain it. You want to try to avoid adding voice over & let it evolve from the camera's point of view.
C&RV: Was the very funny exchange between Paul/Fiona spontaneous or scripted? How did it come to pass?
MR: Spontaneous. I came upstairs & Paul said watch this. They did it again later in the evening at dinner. It wasn't quite as funny because she couldn't move around as much. They probably did some version of it at home. It was on the night it went into wide release (January 7th). We were about to get in a car & drive around to the various theaters & see the audience reaction.
C&RV: The last shot shows PTA listening to Aimee Mann’s Red Vines & working. Was this actual footage shot during the editing process?
MR: Paul was working on Fiona's Limp video. There was still this residue from the release of the film. Articles were lying around. There was just this feeling of exhaustion. I don't even know why I started shooting. I was just goofing around. I really love that song, too.
C&RV: What are your thoughts now looking back on the Magnolia Diary?
MR: The beauty of what Paul asked me to do...He's like the first person who really believed me as a filmmaker in ten years. I can't thank him enough. Making that thing for Magnolia was maybe the most challenging & the most fun thing I've had to do in all of this. As much as I like meeting all my cinema heroes & making these commentaries that is more meaningful to me. The fact that he liked it is even better.
C&RV: What future DVD projects can we expect from 3 Legged Cat productions?
MR: We're working on the Seven Platinum Series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me & a John Waters box set for New Line. A Crow box set & Red, White & Blue for Miramax. I really want to do more work on foreign films but the market still isn't there yet. The market is still heavy into the science fiction films because they are the big sellers.

Tomorrow we will have details for an interesting upcoming screening of There Will Be Blood.

Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for extra updates & content.

Contest: Win "6 Videos By PT Anderson" DVD (Updated)

2010-07-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to help spread the word about our new site location and (nearly completed) archives revival, I will bribe you with winning a copy of the extremely rare "6 Music Videos With PTA" DVD.

How to enter the contest is simple and you can do it two different ways:

Number One: From Your Twitter Account

Post a message anyway you like but it has to include @cigsandredvines (so i know you did it and can easily track the entries) and our address: www.ptanderson.info. A 'Follow Friday' mention will count as well, if you prefer to spam a bit more subtly.

Number Two: From Your Facebook Account

Post a message anyway you like but it has to include a tag to our group page (@Cigarettes And Red Vines for the same reasons as above) and our address: www.ptanderson.info

Contest Entry Rules & Deadlines

Each time you do an update and tag us counts as one contest entry. Obviously you are not limited to only doing one or the other and you can enter as many times as you are willing to spam your friends and associates.

The contest begins right now and will run until Midnight PST on Friday, July 30th, 2010. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries. And part of the deal is I humbly request the winning party not be a knob and put copies up on Ebay.

Context: We were only ever given 5 copies back in the day when Paul printed them for us. I believe we gave away 3 of them to site readers and Greg and I kept one each.

My disc didn't come with cover art for some reason or another that Greg told me so unfortunately I will only be able to send you a copy of my copy in a basic case. The only thing you are missing out on is Paul burnt "Non Playable Side. Dummy" into the holographic information ring in the middle of the disc.

The videos are Michael Penn's "Try," Aimee Mann's "Save Me" and Fiona Apple's "Fast As You Can," "Limp," "Across The Universe" and, my favorite by far, "Paper Bag."

Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook.

Fascinating Update, 5:20pm:

This has been literally going on since 7am this morning, both averaging about a post every 15 seconds. In the blue trunks, hailing from Facebook: Max. In the red trunks, all the way from Twitter: Nigelfordham. Max's friend Ben got really pissed off at him for posting over 200 times by 1pm and is now trying to keep pace in an attempt to win it out of spite, which is hilarious. Thank you for the great response so far and entertaining the hell out of me along the way.

Try Music Video Archives Completed

2010-07-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Paul Thomas Anderson's first music video "Try" by Michael Penn is a single shot video that is set inside a three quarter-mile long hallway in Los Angeles. In Michael Penn's words:

"I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to do for a video for this song, and I was talking to Paul about it and he had always expressed a desire to do it, but I really didn't think that he would do it, that he would be able to because he was cutting Boogie Nights at the time.
We started talking about the song apparently he knew a location in Los Angeles which is the longest hallway in North America, it's 3/4 of a mile long, and we went there together and kind of looked at the location and we walked it while a walkman was playing the song and it was just about the same length to walk it as the song.
That kind of suggested an idea and it worked out great because the video is one continuous shot so there was no editing involved so we were able to do it all in one weekend. And that's what we did. I think it took about 14 takes to accomplish."

There are a few interesting facts you may or may not have known and they can all be viewed here.

Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for extra updates & content.

Cigarettes And Coffee Archives Completed

2010-07-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

There isn't a ton of information about Paul's short film Cigarettes and Coffee but whatever is known has been uploaded and archived onto our site here. The main feature of this page would probably be the only-known review written by VHS Nation about the short.

Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for extra updates & content.

Flashback Friday: Exclusive Melora Walters Interview

2010-07-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

For today's installment of Flashback Friday, we have a site exclusive interview with Melora Walters that was conducted in 2000 called "Minutes With Melora" because apparently alliterations are awesome.

Minutes with Melora

After numerous TV appearances in such shows as Roseanne, The Wonder Years & Seinfeld, Melora Walters appeared in supporting roles in the feature films Dead Poet's Society, Ed Wood, Cabin Boy & Eraser. But it's her roles in Paul Thomas Anderson's films that have propelled her into the spotlight. Each of her roles have continued to increase in PTA's films culminating with her starring role in Magnolia. I spoke to Melora about her relationship with Paul, bringing her characters to life & future film projects.

C&RV: How did you first meet PTA & get involved with Hard Eight?

MW: I auditioned for Paul. You know, one of those audition things? I guess Gwyneth Paltrow wasn't going to do the part of Clementine for a while due to a scheduling conflict, so I actually auditioned for that part. I read the script & thought this was the most wonderful script that I'd ever read. Then when I met him, I thought he was amazing.

Anyways, Gwyneth ended up doing it & in the middle of shooting there was this little part & they asked if I wanted to do it & I was like "Yeah!" I wanted to work with Samuel L. Jackson & I wanted to work with Paul & I wanted to be part of that story.

C&RV: So, did he mention the Boogie Nights script to you during or after filming Hard Eight?

MW: No. It came up a few days before he started shooting Boogie Nights. Paul said, I want you to read the script & look at the part of Jessie St. Vincent. I said they'll never let me play that part. Paul said, "Trust me." I told him that I didn't want to read it & fall in love with it & not be able to do it. That would kill me. He said, No. Trust me." Three days later, they were dying my hair that color!

C&RV: What kind of research did you do for your character in Boogie Nights? Were you involved in the infamous porno film visits?

MW: No. I did watch the "Exhausted" documentary & that was very important, but I didn't want it to be about the way porno is now. I felt Jessie St. Vincent was just so much of a misfit among these people. She was very genuine. She didn't take drugs. She was just an actress. She got married, had babies & she was an artist. That was what it was about.

C&RV: Did you have fun doing the commentary track with Paul on the new Boogie Nights DVD?

MW: It sounded kind of crazy with my children in the background. I drove Paul home afterwards & told him that I think we should do it again. He said, no, It was fine." I told him that we should do it again because I thought I was acting like Jessie St. Vincent & the kids were talking.

C&RV: How did you become involved with Michael Penn's "Try" music video?

MW: Paul just said, "Will you come down & be in this video?" I said sure. It was only one day of shooting & was a lot of fun.

C&RV: How flattered were you that after the success of Boogie Nights, Paul specifically wrote the part of Claudia, the center of Magnolia, for you?

MW: It was the most amazing gift in the world. I was completely flattered. It's an opportunity that you dream of.

C&RV: When you first read the Magnolia script & your part, were there any doubts that you could handle the emotional intensity of Claudia?

MW: Not really. I did get scared. I get scared every time I start something new. I told Paul that I will go in my darkest depths as long as he was there to save me if I start drowning. And he was always there.

C&RV: So, did you lean on him heavily for some of the more intense scenes? Did he provide you direction or just let you go?

MW: It guess it was a combination. He created her. It's all there. You just know this person. She's alive on the page. So, then you just follow what he's created & he kind of steers you. It was very intimate & very intense.

C&RV: What sort of research did you do for Claudia?

MW: I started with the script & Aimee Mann's music. I had some friends in New York who had really horrid childhoods. So, I've been around people who have been damaged. I suppose we all have been damaged in one way or another. I don't know how, but she just made sense to me.

C&RV: Was it hard to escape the character & not take it home with you?

MW: It's funny because when I think of it, it was very cathartic & I went home happy because all my demons came out during the day. But my husband did say later, when the film was finished, that he was glad I was done, because I was starting to bring it home. I didn't think I was, so that's kinda of telling right there.

C&RV: Tell me about singing Wise Up?

MW: That was the scariest part, because I can't sing. I was absolutely terrified. I listened to the music a lot. The whole movie set was such a safe, nurturing, intimate environment. That provided a great place where you were safe to do anything.

C&RV: How many times did you have to shoot the last scene?

MW: I can't remember how many, but we did it quite a few times.

C&RV: What's it like working with John C. Reilly?

MW: He's amazing. He's really funny. He's really sweet.

C&RV: How has Paul helped your personal development as an actor?

MW: Paul was the first one who saw how I can change into different characters & he's taken advantage of that. Because his films are so amazing, then people see that, & it's giving me wonderful opportunities.

C&RV: Why is it that virtually everyone that works with PTA devotes themselves to him for the rest of his life? What does he have that no one else does?

MW: I don't say genius lightly. I really think that's what he is. He really taps into something very deep when he creates these stories. Whenever somebody can do that, the people around cannot help but be touched by it. You feel it & then you're just committed to it, because it's rare. It's like Mozart. If you listen to his music, it touches something in you. Paul's films touch something very primal within you & how can you resist that?

C&RV: Paul is so vocal about his respect for actors in general and for specific actors (you included). Does this respect ever lead to expectations that you have found difficult to live up to?

MW: I try not to think of those things. I try to simply focus on the part I'm playing completely & make that person as true & real as I can. I can't worry about the rest or I would go crazy. Paul is always communicating with me & making constant adjustments when necessary. I would do anything for him.

C&RV: Were you disappointed over the lack of recognition you received for Claudia?

MW: No. I just think that the only thing you can do is just try to do really good work. The rest is all gravy. I was disappointed that Paul didn't win because I think in the whole film business, he is one very unique voice. I mean he doesn't make big special effects movies. Although the frogs were a special effect. [Laughs] That made me really mad that he didn't win.

C&RV: Let's talk about your upcoming films. Tell me about Desert Saints with Kiefer Sutherland?

MW: I play an undercover cop. It was really fun. I haven't seen a final cut yet. Kiefer is a bad guy & you get the sense he can kill you at a moment's notice. And you think, don't go with him, but I turn out to be worse than him! So I thought this is gonna be fun!

C&RV: What about Speaking of Sex with James Spader, Jay Mohr & Bill Murray?

MW: I finished that in July & it was so much fun. It's a big comedy farce about marriage, sex, marriage counselors, therapists & divorce lawyers. I'm married to Jay Mohr & he has a problem. In the process of trying to save my marriage, I end up sleeping with my therapist & then all hell breaks loose.

C&RV: Tell me about Rain, which is being executive produced by Martin Scorsese?

MW: I'm getting ready to do that now. It takes place in a very small town with deep, dark secrets. I will be filming this in Iowa.

C&RV: What do you think about Paul working with Adam Sandler?

MW: I think it's great. We talked about me being involved, but I don't think I'm supposed to say anything about it yet. It's top secret! [Laughs] It should be really interesting & fun.

Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter and Facebook for extra updates & content.

Exclusive: The Master Set To Shoot Very Soon

2010-07-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

I caught up with Paul Thomas Anderson this evening at Fred Armisen's Largo show and briefly spoke about various things and we can exclusively tell you, despite everything else circulating the net (and hopefully without getting in trouble) that it sounds like The Master is set to shoot sometime next month. More details about things hopefully soon.

Semi-Unrelated Update: For those re-finding the site at its new address, finding it for the first time or for the people who have been e-mailing me questions all day: Welcome! The main site is/was in the middle of a major facelift/overhaul - we are not a new site and have been around since 1999. Everything will be in working order by the end of this month. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.)

Watch PTA's Short 'Cigarettes And Coffee'

2010-07-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Flashback Friday: Balsmeyer & Everett Creates 'Magnolia' Titles

2010-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Flashback Friday highlights a great interview with the creative team at Big Film Design who were contracted to create Magnolia's composite clip underneath the main title presentation card. They discuss the process, ideas and working with Paul along the way.

Design director Randy Balsmeyer and his team at Balsmeyer & Everett designed and produced the opening title sequence for P.T. Anderson's enigmatic film Magnolia. Working from abstract design directions born out of Anderson's mental imagery, Balsmeyer and his team combined a blooming magnolia flower with street maps and images from the film to create a poignant and provocative sequence. The result is a dynamic explosion of contrast and color that heralds the fortuitous character intersections of the film's intricate storyline.

"Director Paul Anderson and editor Dylan Tichenor were incredibly secretive about the film. We never got to see the whole thing -- only the first reel and numerous scene clips -- so the project was quite mysterious. We knew only that the film was about the intersections of people's lives. The creative thrust for the title sequence came from Paul.

The veins in flower petals had always reminded him of street maps, and he wanted to tap into that idea to communicate the notion of the characters' lives crossing and connecting, almost tangentially. He also wanted the opening to include a montage of images from every scene from the film so the viewer would subliminally recognize each scene when it played.

He couldn't really define what he wanted much more tightly than that, so it was a question of us trying to see things as he saw them -- all in a six-and-a-half second graphical sequence. We came up with three ideas and showed video tests to Paul and Dylan. We had no way of knowing if we were on the right track, but one of our tests was exactly what Paul wanted. It would have been just as easy to completely miss the mark, but what I saw in my mind turned out to be the same thing Paul was seeing.

"We thought we were going to have to shoot original time-lapse photography of a blooming magnolia flower, but our research revealed that magnolias bloom only once a year, and we had just missed that year's bloom. We opted to use stock photography instead. After coming up with three or four passable clips, we found one that was outstanding. We had it scanned, skipped out a number of frames to get it to bloom in the allotted time, and brought it into Photoshop to do the paint work.

We removed a number of branches that crossed in front of the petals and added all the veins in the flower."  "The street maps were scanned from a poster-sized version of the Thomas Guide to Los Angeles and combined with satellite photos of the corresponding geography. We turned them into 10K-20K textures in Photoshop and used After Effects to edit them into the order we wanted. As the sequence progresses, the map layer evolves from the street map to the satellite photo. We constructed the final layer of the sequence out of single frames from every scene in the film.

Our original plan was to use high resolution film scans to preserve the image quality, but time got short and we realized it would be much more expedient to work off videotape. Everyone was nervous about it, but we ran a film-out test with a few dozen digitized frames from the dailies and were pleased with the results. In terms of the balance between the film frames and the other two layers, we didn't tweak the color of each frame individually; it was more a question of selecting the right frame to complement what was happening in the other two layers.

We did quite a few passes like that, and subject matter made a big difference; for example, one particular iteration had a film frame with a big sign in it. Having the text from the sign showing up underneath the 'magnolia' title was very distracting. It was a one-frame blip, but it brought the whole sequence to its knees. In other iterations we had light-colored frames that washed everything in the frame out. We focused on the overall composition -- a balance of light and dark and considering the interplay of tonal values rather than colors. We wanted a feeling of randomness, so if we had too much repetition, the whole sequence would stall.

"The title sequence remained in three layers until the end, allowing us to manipulate any part until we were satisfied. As we developed each layer, we checked it against the other two. We'd look at a portion, and think for example, 'The picture looks good but the flower's overpowering it, so let's bring the flower down.' It was always a question of balance, which amounted to a great deal of fussing over six seconds of image.

When we got the sequence to the point where we were happy with the total composition, we brought it together in After Effects and added the solarizing effect on a secondary pass. Gray Miller was the principal hands-on guy for the After Effects work, and he certainly deserves the lion's share of credit for making it work.

In retrospect, there was some trepidation on our part going in because the project was so loosely defined. I was concerned that we could go around in circles for months, but it turned out to be one of the most straightforward, streamlined projects I've been involved with -- none of those horrendous dead-ends that you sometimes run into. In spite of our initial concerns, everything came together beautifully."

Paul Thomas Anderson's Unseen Short Film 'Flagpole Special'

2010-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

You may or may not have heard of the 1998 short film called Flagpole Special which was written and directed by PTA starring John C. Reilly and the late Chris Penn. It was only screened once and suffered from technical errors throughout.

There isn't much known about it aside from it was the overall beginnings of what would become the Frank Mackey character played by Tom Cruise. I have created a page with all available information including the only printed review of the film that is known to exist. Click here to view the page.

Boogie Nights Opening Steadicam Map

2010-07-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

While we wait for The Playlist to tell everyone what's happening next with The Master, I thought I would highlight this illustration from Empire Magazine which gives a mini graphical play-by-play of the nearly 3 minute continuous shot that opens Boogie Nights.

Paul Thomas Anderson Multimedia Archives

2010-07-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

The multimedia content that is set to be featured in the archives on the main website is currently uploading to our flickr account. Content includes, but is not limited to hundreds of Oscar Ads, premiere photos, promotional items and foreign artwork. In the meantime of coding the actual website, you can click the name of the film you wish to see an advanced look at what is coming: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love.

Fast As You Can Archives Complete

2010-06-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

The archives for Fast As You Can has been completed and uploaded to our projects page complete with rare promotional items, quotes and a photo essay explaining a few of the effects in the video that have been asked about most by e-mail/visitors to the site. The news archives are continuing to grow daily as well (I think we are at August 2000 currently) and will be up in their entirety by the end of the week.

Also, please please help re-spread the word of the site's revival and/or address change. Additionally, the site exists on Facebook and Twitter for exclusive things and random discussions.

Exclusive Paul Thomas Anderson DVD Picks

2010-06-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

A page has been created in the multimedia section for all of our exclusive content we've received from PTA over the years including interviews, updates and the ever popular "PTA DVD Picks."

I've started by compiled all of the DVD recommendations given to us over the years and conveniently linked each one up to a revenue sharing account with popular webstore amazon. please consider helping to support the site by clicking through the links provided should you see something to your liking.

New Feature: Quick Reference Events Calendar

2010-06-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have added another new page to the multimedia section of the site called "Quick Reference Events Calendar" which simply lists events and the day they occurred in a calendar format for ease of use. There is only a little information up at the moment, but it will be consistently added to over the next day/s.

PT Anderson Turns 40 Today

2010-06-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

happy birthday sir. thanks for everything as always.

feel free to add/read comments to this, or any post, by clicking the blog title.

Robert Ridgely Commercial Outtake

2010-06-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

a website called jalopnik posted a commercial outtake from the 1960s where the camera cranes down to a man in a suit who suddenly begins to improvise in a lipsy light voice about all the things he could do with his shiny new car part. turns out the man in the video is the late robert ridgley.

Flashback Friday: Kevin Smith's April Fools Prank

2010-06-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

from starting to archive all the old posts from the early days of the site, i thought it might be nice to bring back "flashback fridays" where we would post old articles or things of interest that may be interesting with new context or forgotten about.

this week we offer you an april fools day prank by kevin smith aimed at our site & paul thomas anderson fans. as you may remember, kevin & the view askew offices were passionately attacked by you all when he expressed his strong distaste for magnolia. paul never really spoke about any of it, but things escalated rapidly on kevin's message boards. for example:

Poster: Out of all of your films, is there one particular scene or moment that you absolutely cringe at... just an awful moment. "What was I thinking???"

Kevin Smith: The scene where I had the little boy come into his father's room and insist he be treated better.

Oh wait - that wasn't me.

There are a few moments in all the stuff we've done that I shake my head at. Can't call any to mind right now, though, but I know I've spotted my share.

on april 1st and at the most played out height of the controversy, kevin called attention to the silliness of the entire situation by completely overhauling their view askew website to mimic how our own website looked at the time. they spent a fair amount of time doing it as well as the multi-page website was fully functional and complete with faux multiple exclamation mark pta news taking a shot at greg's enthusiastic posting style.

re-check out everything as it was written and evolved by clicking here. scroll to the bottom of the page and read to the top as they run newest to oldest. click to see a screen capture of view askew's cigarettes and coffee/pta inspired website.

Deborah Ann Woll Confirms Talks With Paul Thomas Anderson

2010-06-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Deborah Ann Woll recently spoke to Movieline and addressed the mumblings surrounding her involvement in The Master. She had this to say:

Despite only playing a supporting role in the popular increasingly campy HBO series "True Blood," Deborah Ann Woll looks to have caught the eye of Hollywood with the actress now confirming talks between her and Paul Thomas Anderson about his upcoming untitled religious drama.
Woll was originally reported to be one of three actress along side Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone being eyed for the role of Elizabeth, the daughter to the lead character to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, with the interest now evidently leading to early discussions of some sort.
"There’s nothing official," Woll told Movieline. " [But] I will say that I have talked with him, and he’s very nice. I don’t think we or he is anywhere near making a decision — I think he’s still working on the script, so he’s got that job to do. There’s really nothing official there, it’s just some interest that he and I both have."
The actress is certainly capable of holding her own shining amongst the talented likes of Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard in "True Blood." She'd be a great fit, we think, along side Hoffman and Jeremy Renner, who is attached to play his troubled protege Freddie Sutton.
However, as Woll affirms, speculation should probably be set aside for now as it's only early days in the project's development with PTA evidently still tinkering on the script, which is not a surprise considering the draft that leaked earlier this year was incomplete, featuring lots of placeholders that needed to be filled in. A June start was briefly and erroneously mentioned but with Hoffman's imminent schedule seemingly clearing up (and a directorial stint at Cate Blanchett's Sydney Theater Company due to begin in October) and Renner having passed on the August shooting "Battleship" for it, a late summer start is probably not out of the question for the River Road production just yet.

Jonah Hill was interviewed over at Rotten Tomatoes to promote Get Him To The Greek and countless other movies he is co-starring in and was asked to give his Top 5 Favorite Films. Boogie Nights came in at #4: "Paul Thomas Anderson, it was difficult to not have all 5 of my favorite movies be yours" (thanks Cory)

Punch-Drunk Love Ranked Top 10 of 2002

2010-06-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

UK website "Top 10 Films" has posted a list of films from 2002 and rank them according to their moniker. Punch-Drunk Love rated second, behind Alexander Payne's "About Schmidt". Their words:

2. Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
Adam Sandler proved he was more than just a lightweight comedy actor with Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark romantic comedy. Anderson had shocked many when he stated after previous film “Magnolia” that he wanted to work with Sandler. The comic actor was known for his box office comedy hits such as “Big Daddy” and “The Wedding Singer” but seemed like a strange match for Anderson who was conversely known for the hard-hitting and often downbeat, ensemble epics “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia”. However, credit to both actor and director for pulling off what is arguably their best work.

You can check out the rest of their list by clicking here.

Hard Eight Archives Completed

2010-06-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

We invite you to check out the completed archives for Paul Thomas Anderson's first feature film "Hard Eight"

As it will be with all the films, videos and short project pages shortly, you will find: Multiple different formats of poster art, promotional materials, reviews, low-res photos from the premiere, 9 deleted scenes transcribed from the original draft of the "Sydney" screenplay, original press kit production notes and more will be added once other pages have caught up.

Note: Please remind people that we exist under this new address http://www.ptanderson.info whenever you get the chance as we have had to change hosting companies/addresses a few times in the last while, but will be here permanently. Join Cigarettes & Red Vines on Twitter & Facebook.

Gloucester House Rentals Puts Up Maya, PTA

2010-06-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

We stumbled upon the Gloucester Housing Rentals in Massachusetts website while looking for photos for the site and they seem to be pretty happy about their semi-recent celebrity guests complete with photo evidence.

June 19, 1998-June 19, 2010

2010-06-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

12 years ago today the first ever post went up on this website. It simply read:

Paul Makes EW's It List
Age 27 Why him? After the porno-poetic thrill of Boogie Nights, which this San Fernando Valley wunderkind wrote and directed, actors are clamoring to work with him as they did for Altman. Like the trailblazing '70s auteurs, Anderson gives his films emotional texture that comes from the gut: "The scenes that truly affect people are the ones based in personal shit."
Work habits "I write early, like 6 a.m., and I can only really write for three hours," he says. "That's because I smoke myself into a sickness. The best stuff comes in the first blast ... the idea behind writing very early is that your subconscious is still kicking ass. You're not paying attention to what you should be writing."
Creative crutch "The biggest thing for me when I'm writing is the music. Now it's Aimee Mann and Michael Penn." And filmmakers? "Blake Edwards ... 10 is a fucking masterpiece."
Weirdest career moment "Burt Reynolds."
Next? Another L.A. story: "It centers around an odd occurrence in nature."

As you may or may not know, this website was originally called Cigarettes and Coffee when it started in 1999. (Remember this?) It was run and maintained by Greg Mariotti and myself. In 2005, Greg moved onto working with Cameron Crowe on his official website and I took over and re-branded it Cigarettes & Red Vines, after the Aimee Mann song which is, in part, apparently about Paul.

I thought it would be interesting to keep the previous sites posts archived on the new site as there are endless amounts of additional information and random things hidden within each. I have tried to tag them all as accurately as possible for ease of reference.