December 30, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Well, it looks like Magnolia was sort of snubbed (or the nice way of saying it was "overlooked") by the Hollywood Foreign Press who vote for the Golden Globes. Magnolia was nominated for only two awards: Best Supporting Actor - Tom Cruise and Best Original Song - Save Me by Aimee Mann. I have never been a huge fan of their selections, so let's hope this doesn't affect its chances come Oscar time. 

Hopefully those of you in Los Angeles and New York have had a chance to see the movie by now. I would love to hear your thoughts, so send me an email. 

I have a decent sized update today with some new articles and interviews. The Paul Interview/Q & A in Madison Magazine is especially good, but as usual, please read with caution as it does contain some spoilers. 

Interview: Independent Feature Project

The Independent Feature Project, Written By Lisa Y.C. Garibay
December 1999

Anderson's Valley

Paul Thomas Anderson discusses his latest, Magnolia.

In 1997, Paul Thomas Anderson broke into the film world with two risk-taking films - Hard Eight and Boogie Nights - and immediately distinguished himself as a promising director with a personalized cinematic vision. With his new film, Magnolia, Mr. Anderson delivers a heartfelt portrait of a lonely city as seen through the eyes of a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host, and an estranged daughter. Although the film follows nine characters, each role is written with such intimacy and emotion that the viewer feels almost intrusive at times. Magnolia brings together an ensemble of actors often featured in Mr. Anderson's films including John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Philip S. Hoffman, and Melora Walters and also presents powerful performances from Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, and Tom Cruise. New Line Cinema will release Magnolia in theaters on December 24 (Editor's note: Actual release date is now 12/17 in NY/L.A. & 1/7/00 Rest of U.S.)

Interview: The Village Voice

The Village Voice, Written By Chuck Stephens
December 1999

P.T. Anderson Let's It All Hang Out

"Without the pornography, I feel like I'm naked," writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson nervously confides, rapping his knuckles on a cluttered coffee table, less for emphasis than to break his own tension.

Interview: NY Times Magazine

NY Times Magazine, Written By Lynn Hirschberg
December 1999

His Way

Thanks to the critical success of 'Boogie Nights,' Paul Thomas Anderson has total control over his new three-hour movie, 'Magnolia.' So why can't he calm down?

Interview: Magnolia Shooting Script Book Introduction

Magnolia Shooting Script/Companion Book, Written By Paul Thomas Anderson
October 1999

December 16, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul Chat Session Tonight

Paul just completed a chat session tonight at 9:00 EST/ 6:00 PST with Yahoo! There were some decent questions and some typically funny PTA responses. I will post the transcript as soon as it's ready. 

Magnolia Wins More Awards and Nominations

Magnolia edged out Being John Malkovich and was named best film of the year by the Toronto Film Critics Association. Paul Thomas Anderson was also awarded Best Director and Best Screenplay (Tied with Being John Malkovich). I will update the site with any awards Magnolia wins as they are announced. Here is the complete list:

Best Picture

Magnolia

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Screenplay

Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson

The Golden Satellite nominations were also announced today. These are chosen by the International Press Academy. Magnolia garnered a few more:

Best Picture

Best Supporting Actor - Tom Cruise

Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson    

Best Screenplay - Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Original Song - Save Me (Aimee Mann)

Best Ensemble Cast

Interview: Time/Yahoo! Chat Transcript

Time-Yahoo Chat Transcript
December 16, 1999

Timehost: Thanks for coming to our TIME Auditorium tonight. We're really pleased to have Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of the new movie Magnolia, he's also the director of Boogie Nights. And the great movie, which many more people should go back and take a look at Hard Eight. Magnolia is likely to be an enormous hit this Christmas season...a serious, ambitious movie for adults. The first question concerns Boogie Nights. One of the chatters is writing a paper about it and sees the characters as using pornography to achieve their version of the American Dream. He asks if he is off the mark...

Interview: L.A. Times

Los Angeles Times, Written By Patrick Goldstein
December 12, 1999

The New New Wave

Move over, Mr. Coppola. Take a seat, Mr. Scorsese. It's time for the next generation of film directors to shake things up, in the spirit of the French film rebels of yore.

Not long after his second movie Boogie Nights arrived on a crest of critical accolades, director Paul Thomas Anderson was asked to dinner by Warren Beatty. "I told him I'd love to go," says the brash 29-year-old director, who'd flirted with casting Beatty as Jack Horner, porno king of the San Fernando Valley, a part ultimately played by Burt Reynolds.

Interview: L.A. Daily News

L.A. Daily News
December 12, 1999

Anderson Soft on Valley

Filmmaker Boogies Back to Shoot Ambitious, Emotional Epic, Magnolia

“I unashamedly wanted to make the epic, the all-time great San Fernando Valley movie,” Paul Thomas Anderson exuberantly proclaims; then adds with characteristic, mordant honesty, “The competition was not hard, though."

Indeed, the greatest film set in the Valley, for better or for worse, is ``Boogie Nights,'' native-son Anderson's own 1997 study of the porno industry.

Until now, that is.

Interview: "The New New Wave"

LA TImes, Written By Patrick Goldstein
December 12th, 1999


Move over, Mr. Coppola. Take a seat, Mr. Scorsese. It's time for the next generation of film directors to shake things up, in the spirit of the French film rebels of yore.

Not long after his second movie Boogie Nights arrived on a crest of critical accolades, director Paul Thomas Anderson was asked to dinner by Warren Beatty. "I told him I'd love to go," says the brash 29-year-old director, who'd flirted with casting Beatty as Jack Horner, porno king of the San Fernando Valley, a part ultimately played by Burt Reynolds.

"But I told him, 'We're going somewhere public, a really brightly lit place where everyone will see I'm having dinner with Warren Beatty.' "

Beatty took him to Mandarette, one of the star's favorite eateries. While they were having dinner, Francis Ford Coppola stopped by to visit. Coppola offered Anderson a piece of advice. "This is the one moment when you have it, when you can do whatever you want to do," the director told him. "It's the one moment when you have a clean slate, with no stigma attached. And even if your next movie makes $400 million and gets eight Oscars, you'll still have to fight battles that you'll never have to fight right now. So whatever you want to do, do it now."

Interview: Cigarettes & Coffee Exclusive

Cigarettes & Coffee, Written By Greg Mariotti
December 11, 1999

PTA Meets Cigarettes & Coffee

I had an opportunity to set down with Paul for a bit on the set of the latest Fiona Apple video “Limp” which will be the second single and video from her critically acclaimed When the Pawn… release. This is their third collaboration together which follows “Across The Universe” and “Fast as You Can”

December 8, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

First Awards For Magnolia Announced

The National Board of Review, the New Hampshire of annual film awards has named their annual awards today with Magnolia winning a few awards. I will list how Magnolia did with the winner also noted.

Best Film
: #3 Magnolia (Winner: American Beauty)

Supporting Actor: 
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia and The Talented Mr. Ripley)

Supporting Actress: 
Julianne Moore                                                                                                                     (Magnolia, An Ideal Husband, A Map of the World and Cookie's Fortune)

Ensemble Performance
: Entire Cast of Magnolia

Here's my last update until I return on Sunday from L.A. and the Magnolia screening at the Egyptian Theatre. I hope to see and meet a lot of you down there

December 6, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

The Magnolia Soundtrack will be available Tuesday, December 7 everywhere. Here's a picture of the cover art and the track listings:

Tracks: 

1: One - Aimee Mann, 2: Momentum - Aimee Mann, 
3: Optimist, (The Fall Of The Worlds Own) - Aimee Mann, 
4 Deathly - Aimee Mann, 
5: Driving Sideways - Aimee Mann, 
6: You Do - Aimee Mann, 
7: Nothing Is Good Enough - Aimee Mann (instrumental), 
8: Wise Up - Aimee Mann
, 9: Save Me - Aimee Mann, 
10: Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
, 11: Logical Song, The - Supertramp
, 12: Magnolia - Jon Brion

Aimee Mann - Save Me (1999)

PTA says its "The most expensive music video ever shot", as Aimee is inserted into a re-created crucial scene of each of the 9 characters. Cut much like a sing-a-long with many new stunt shots that were created for the video, including one with a moving piano, tables & a spinning couch with Hall & Aimee all moving at once throughout the frame.

November 29, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

More Entertainment Weekly Tidbits

Magnolia partially graces the cover of the November 26th issue which proclaims 1999 - The Year That Changed Movies. This article has many comments from Paul and is a definitive must read.

In addition, I have collected the rest of the highlights of the issue below:

They rank Magnolia as one to see for the rest of the year and into 2000:

After 1997's electric Boogie Nights, director Paul Thomas Anderson delivers an Altmanesque epic intertwining the lives of a guru (Tom Cruise), a cop (John C. Reilly), a salesman (William H. Macy), a dying father (Jason Robards) and other denizens of the San Fernando Valley. (Dec. 17 - L.A./NY)

They also list the new directors for the next millennium. The entire article is here, but this is what they had to say about Paul:

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON: Hard Eight (1997) and Boogie Nights (1997) are the work of a Valley Boy full of nerve and verve gunning for the deluxe adrenaline rushes of Scorsese.

Lastly, they review various movie posters and here's what they had to say about the theatrical poster for Magnolia"

MAGNOLIA C

What's New Line's solution to selling a three-hour-plus drama with eight plots that are only tangentially related, and a superstar, Tom Cruise, reluctant to overshadow his fellow thespians? The Magic Eye route: Tom is tucked behind two petals near one o'clock. (You'll need to look at the real poster to find him.) While hiding Cruise's mug is risky business, the studio gets extra credit for referencing the movie's inexplicable plague-of-frogs scene with a Kermit in the corner.

Mike De Luca Article

Here's a nice article on Mike De Luca, president of New Line from Newsweek. It has a nice summary of his career and the fact that he is finally putting his "bad boy" image behind him.

 

The Latest Rumor on Paul's Next Movie

The latest rumor about Paul's next project seems to be the most unlikely to me. This scoop comes from the wonderful UK film magazine Total Film:

Southern book Blue Movie – detailing how a brother and sister form an American acting dynasty decide to make a porn film as an expression of high art – is looking like the next project for Paul Thomas Anderson to direct, reuniting Boogie Nights’ Mark Wahlberg and Heather Graham.

Courtesy of Total Film Magazine - November 1999

I find this rumor very far fetched as Paul has been down the porn road before, and I doubt he's ready to revisit it. 

November 25, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Entertainment Weekly Tidbits

They ran an article recently on holiday movies with long running times. Of course, they mentioned Magnolia. Here's what Paul had to say:

"Magnolia was three hours and 20 minutes, and I'd been cutting like crazy," sighs director Paul Thomas Anderson of his sprawling L.A. drama, whose final running time is just under three hours. "If you're asking someone to give that kind of time, you have to be sure it's for a good reason."

Another article on holiday movies and their Oscar chances. Here's what they said about New Line and Magnolia's chances:

NEW LINE: Can the only major never to score a Best Picture nomination make history with Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to Boogie Nights? If nothing else, MAGNOLIA should provide Tom Cruise with better Oscar chances than Eyes Wide Shut.

November 17, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Screening with Paul on December 10th

Here's the info from the Independent Feature Project and their website:

This month, IFP/West is proud to present an Independent Focus with Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard Eight, Mr. Anderson's debut film, was acclaimed for its complex performances and fascinating glimpse into the human condition. His next film, Boogie Nights, furthered his acclaim, garnering three Academy Award nominations. Magnolia is his third and most ambitious film to date. Following a preview of his new film, host Elvis Mitchell will lead an in-depth interview with this director, who is known for his extremely personal and distinctive cinematic vision.

Magnolia takes place on a random day in the San Fernando Valley, as a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host, and an estranged daughter each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, all linked to one story. Through a collusion of coincidence, chance, human action, shared media, past history, and divine intervention, they each weave and warp through each other's lives on a day that builds to an unforgettable climax. Magnolia is a mosaic of American life that through a series of comic and poignant vignettes presents a striking portrait of a lonely city sometimes called up short on love. Written, directed, and produced by Mr. Anderson, the film has an outstanding cast that includes Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, and Melora Walters.

After the success of Boogie Nights, Mr. Anderson originally wanted to write something "small and intimate" that could be shot in 30 days, but his plans went askew as the story blossomed into a complex tale of human frailty and universal chaos. Although nine stories are intertwined, each character is painted with intimacy and emotion. "I still think that Magnolia is small and intimate," says Anderson. "It just took 200 pages and 90 days to get the right amount of small and intimate."

The Independent Focus presentation screens at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd, in Hollywood.

December 10, 1999 @ 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available for $15 IFP/West members and $25 for the general public. Please note: due to the length of the film, we will be starting the screening at 7:00 p.m.

For reservations, please call 310/475-4379, ext. 10.

I can't wait! I have reserved my tickets and I am searching for a good deal on airfare, etc. I would love to get together with the readers of the site and go see the screening. Please email me, if you would like to do this. I also heard that they are showing Boogie Nights in L.A. at a midnight showing (I'm not sure which theater). It would be great to see that again on the big screen while I'm down there!

I am also trying to set up a meeting with Paul while I'm down there for an interview, so if you have any questions you would like me to try and ask, please let me know.

 

New Aimee Mann Video from Magnolia is Out

You can download Paul's great new music video for "Save Me" at the official Magnolia website. It was shot during the filming of Magnolia and if you missed the great Billboard article on this, please see the Update below from November 13. 

November 13, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

PTA Speaks on Magnolia 

The first PTA interview I have seen regarding Magnolia. The big news here is that Paul says that he is writing a script for his idol Jonathan Demme, but it's top secret! 

The Patriot Ledger (MA) - 11/99

 Magnolia Soundtrack, Aimee Mann, and another new PTA Music Video

I have just finished posting two new Magnolia soundtrack (which is due to be released on December 7) articles. One is dedicated to the creation of the Soundtrack, how it affected Paul's writing of the screenplay, and the new music video he directed for the first single, "Save Me". The second talks more specifically about Aimee Mann (who has 9 of the songs on the soundtrack) and her trials and tribulations. Both articles will be available in the growing Filmography - Magnolia section (of the website).

November 8, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

1st Magnolia Interview

Here's a great interview with John C. Reilly from the Sunday Edition of the LA Times. There is quite a bit about Magnolia as well as John's entire career. Some funny stories are shared about Paul and John and some of the wacky things they do. Check it out. 

Trailer Talk

A very funny and sarcastic take on the Magnolia trailer from my local paper, The Seattle Times: 

We don't really know what this is about, but it's got the director and the cast of Boogie Nights and one raggedy-looking Tom Cruise. He's grown out his hair - does this mean he can act? The camera spins from character to character, and each says, "I'm (fill in the character's name)." What they really should say is, "I'm (fill in character's name) from Boogie Nights, but now I have more facial hair." Except for Julianne Moore.

The Farrelly Brothers?

Entertainment Weekly recently concluded their Online Poll to coincide with the unveiling of their 100 Greatest Entertainers (1950 -2000). These online polls should be taken with a grain of salt (Seth Green from Buffy the Vampire Slayer won best TV actor), but I was interested in how the Best Movie Director category would shake out. Without further adieu, here's the results:

1.  Kevin Smith, 18.9%
 

2.  Quentin Tarantino               16.7%
 

3.  Tim Burton                           14.3% 


4.  Bobby & Peter Farrelly         7.3% 

5.  Andy & Larry Wachowski     5.0% 


6.  Paul Thomas Anderson        4.2% 

7.  John Singleton                       3.9% 


8.  David Fincher                        3.8% 


9.  Sam Mendes                         3.5%
 

10. M. Night Shyamalan             3.3%

Magnolia the Underdog 

Ten Underdog fall movies you shouldn’t miss by Peter Travers

1.  Magnolia - 
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) wants to keep this personal drama under wraps until it opens, but here’s what to expect: Anderson tracks 10 characters over one day in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, crafting an intimate epic that exposes the emotional highs and lows of life at the end of the century. And look for an unbilled Tom Cruise to win the best reviews of his career as a sleazy motivational speaker.

Courtesy of US Magazine - November 1999 Issue

PTA on Cruise

An interesting quote from PTA on Mr. Cruise which was also found in EW's 100 Greatest Entertainers issue (Tom was #52).

"He's like an animal for information. He was always asking questions. Really interesting, technical stuff about what sort of lens I was using, or what I was thinking when I wrote a particular scene. He's ferociously curious."

PTA Alums at the Box Office

Philip Baker Hall turns in another great performance in Michael Mann's new film The Insider. Hall plays a 60 Minutes executive producer and goes toe to toe with Al Pacino. As usual, he's not given enough screen time, but he energizes the film whenever he shows up.

Luis Guzman has a critical (but small) role in the #1 film this past week, The Bone Collector. He gets most of laughs in this thriller in the vein of Silence of the Lambs and Seven (it doesn't hold a candle to these two movies). 

It's good to see these great actors get some screen time in major studio films. 

Interview: USC Daily Trojan

USC-Daily Trojan, Written By David Jay Lasky
November 6, 1999

Director-Writer Anderson Worked Hard on Film

Magnolia is a character-driven drama with an exceptional musical sequence and amazing special effects in a long yet appropriate three hours. It is difficult to even imagine how it was pulled off successfully.

October 19, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Illustrated Screenplay Coming Soon

You heard right, folks. I got word from the owner of the best cinema book store in Seattle, Cinema Books that the illustrated screenplay is due to ship in Mid-November. Here are the details:

Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay includes the complete shooting script, introduction and script notes by Paul Thomas Anderson, a photo section with about 40 photos in color, an interview with the writer/director and complete cast and crew credits.

This will be released by Newmarket Press and will be available in Hardcover ($29.95) and Paperback ($19.95).

Is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com among others. Here's the direct link:

Pre-order Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay

Is Lennon Next?

There has been speculation for some time that Paul was going to tackle a biography on John Lennon. I first heard rumors of this after Boogie Nights was released. Well, it looks like those rumors are surfacing again. The Internet Movie Database is reporting that Paul will begin work shortly after post production is complete on Magnolia. Their update is very cryptic and says little else. I will keep you updated if I hear any additional information. (Thanks to Matthew Wilder)

Interview: Patriot Ledger

The Patriot Ledger (MA), Written By Bernard Weinraub
October 11, 1999

Magnolia is Cinematic Wake-Up Call

It's a day and night of heavy rains in the San Fernando Valley of southern California. Over the course of three hours, in the forthcoming film Magnolia, at least a dozen quite different people intersect in sometimes odd ways. There are a television game-show host and his angry, estranged daughter; there are a boy genius who appears on the game show and his ambitious father; there are a dying old man, his young sexy wife and his lost son; there's a policeman in love.

Fiona Apple - Fast As You Can (1999)

The video was shot with many of the new camera tricks & techniques PTA was experimenting with in Magnolia. The opening of the video is shot with the 1920's Lumiere camera Paul used for the Greenberry Hill sequence, as well as a new effect; having the camera operators dropping different lenses into the camera while filming, creating the circular/flip cuts in the train station.

September 30, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul's New Music Video Debuts 10/1/99

According to the Unofficial Fiona Apple Website Never is a Promise - Fiona's incredible new PTA directed video will be debuting on MTV during Total Request Live at 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Friday! Here's their summary of the video (they also have stills and a partial download of the video available at their site).

Fast As You Can - The Video!  As for the biggest surprise of all, we have the video for "Fast As You Can!"  It's directed by P.T. Anderson (who is absolutely crazy about Fiona and it shows!) He has created a simply dazzling video!  With the opening black & white zoomed shots, we're artfully enveloped into an intimate, fresh, and playful Fiona.  There's a seamless transition to color shots of Fiona in various areas including a garage, inside a house and in the L.A. metro.  It's captivatingly edgy, cool, fresh-looking and artistic. You are all going to love it!

September 23, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Soundtrack

According to the Official Aimee Mann Website, the Magnolia soundtrack should hit stores around Thanksgiving and will include 8 of her songs. It's still not clear if there will be a score as well but I will keep you posted as new information comes in.

New Magnolia Trailer/Poster

Word from a loyal cigarettes and coffee reader is that a full trailer and theatrical poster should hit the theaters on or around September 30th. It will be great to see a full length trailer and the new poster design. I will update this information as soon as I learn more. (Thanks to Jason!)

September 16, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul Shooting New Fiona Apple Music Video?

According to the nice folks over at the Unofficial Fiona Apple Website - Never is a Promise, Paul is shooting the first video from Fiona's upcoming new album. No word yet on the concept of the video, which was reportedly shot last weekend. I will keep you up to date on the latest happenings.

September 8, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Release Date?

According to the latest issue of Variety magazine, Magnolia is still scheduled to open up in limited release on December 25, 1999 (the deadline for 1999 Oscar consideration). It would then open wider on January 7, 2000. According to the article, six films are currently scheduled to open on Christmas day, so it's very possible that we may see some movement. Hopefully, Paul and New Line decide to push the title up a bit but it's looking like a very crowded holiday season.

September 5, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

There was a Workprint of the film that Paul talks about extensively on the commentary. It was basically ripped off by one the editing companies that was putting together one of the trailers and it was circulated around town before Paul had locked down the print. He was very disappointed by this and even called up some of the people who had gotten a hold of the workprint and asked them where they got it. Paul was extremely flattered that people about the "buzz" the movie was creating, but he wanted people to see the film the way that it was intended (i.e. finished and in the theater).

I have to admit that I am such a huge fan that I had a copy of it fall in my lap a couple of months ago and I was curious to see it. It's quite a murky mess (because it's not a first or second generation) but it does have many additional bits of dialogue, and scenes (some not included on the DVD or Laserdisc). It follows the script a little more closely and includes many of the dialogue cuts that were probably mandated by the MPAA in order to achieve an R rating.

But please remember that the film that was released was Paul’s director’s cut. Let’s hope that someday he puts together a Special Edition longer cut just for diehard fans that want to see some of the extra bits.

Enjoy!

To make things easier I am using the timing of the DVD version so you will know where the scenes would fit into the film.

.34

The Workprint adds to the opening credits after New Line Cinema presents:

A Lawrence Gordon production

In Association with Ghoulardi Film Company

A P.T. Anderson Picture

7:42

Small dialogue exchange between Reed, Becky & Buck discussing what to do. Little Bill comes along & they all decide to head home (See deleted scene "Ham and Cheese" on the Boogie Nights DVD)

10:35

Little Bill opens the door to his bedroom

Workprint adds

Wide shot of Little Bill’s wife grinding on the stud.

Little Bill: What the fuck are you doing?

Little Bill’s Wife: What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?                                             I’ve got a cock in my pussy, you idiot!

(This line was probably cut at the request of the MPAA as was the fact that during the whole conversation she is continuing to fuck the stud, in the theatrical version she stops grinding during the conversation).

14:06

This montage is in a different order

Workprint

Rollergirl in school

Buck at the stereo store

Eddie and Cheryl Lynn

Theatrical

Buck at the stereo store

Rollergirl in school

Eddie and Cheryl Lynn

25:23

After Rollergirl says “Don’t fucking come in me” Workprint adds:

Jack (off camera): Aim it towards her face, Eddie.

Rollergirl: Fuck you Jack!

Then to the Jack line “aim it at her tits Eddie."

27:33

Eddie and Mom fight

Eddie: I’m not stupid!

Mom: Yes, you are

Workprint omits the following:

Eddie: Please don’t’ fucking do that! Please don’t be mean to me!

Mom: I’m not being mean to you, you’re just too stupid to see it!

53:26

First Sex Scene

Workprint has a different shot selection (due to MPAA mandated cuts)

Wide angle shot of Dirk laying Amber on the desk and a full view of Dirk’s ass as he is pumping repeatedly into Amber. Their dialogue here is indistinct.

The theatrical version uses a close-up of them and the following dialogue before he lays her on the desk:

Amber: OK, we’re gonna go down now. OK. No, do it again. No, OK.

1:01:41

1st Awards Ceremony

The following lines were added before Dirk comes up to accept his award:

Jessie: I can’t wait to get that big cock inside my mouth, my ass, my pussy or any which way he’ll give it to me. (Probably cut by MPAA request).

1:22:32

New Years Eve

When Little Bill walks into the room, the camera follows him inside and we see Little Bill’s wife leaning over a desk or bed getting it from behind by another young stud. She turns and looks up at him and then turns back around and continues.

1:24:05

The camera follows Little Bill into the room and we see him fire off three shots that hit Little Bill's Wife and the young stud as they collapse onto the floor.

1:26:15

Amber’s Documentary

Brock Landers (Dirk) slaps girl

Workprint adds:

Girl: Do it again, maybe I’ll get my pussy we next time!

[Cut back to Dirk doing interview with Amber]

Dirk: Strength is sexy, you know. My whole thing about being sexy is it has to be masculine, you know?

[Cut to Additional shots of Rollergirl giving him head]

Dirk Voiceover: You can ask any person I’ve ever worked with, any actress I’ve never ever put my hand on her. Unless it’s in a way they wanted me to.

[Cut back to Dirk doing interview with Amber]

Dirk: In that’s just how it is and I think it’s very sexy because it’s between the two characters, you know? And even though I know you’re bad, and you know I’m good, we still get it on.

1:35:50

Dirk trying to get hard in the bathroom

In the Workprint this was one long take of Dirk stroking his thing. Scotty opens up the door (you see this in the mirror) and kinda of takes a long pause and then shuts the door. Dirk looks up and says:

Dirk: What the fuck?!

Then he turns around and opens the door (It’s not clear if he saw that it was Scotty or someone else).

Theatrical version adds dissolves of Dirk stroking and the following lines:

Dirk: Your ready, you were born ready. Come on!

(A little karate pose) and then opens the door and exits the bathroom

1:40:07

Montage

This section has radically different sequencing and added scenes from the theatrical version.

Workprint

Johnny Doe shooting his scene with Jack directing and the Colonel behind him on the couch.

Shot of a house in with the title underneath “Bakersfield, CA”

Jerome: (looks real different know as his head is shaved) Fucking Whore! You’re a fucking whore!

Becky (meekly): Jerome, you’d better stop it.

Jerome: (coming at her with a belt) You like big dicks!

Becky: Stop it!

Jerome: I bet you wish my dick was bigger!

Becky: Don’t you….

[Jerome hits her in the face]

Buck and Jessie at the bank.

Rollergirl and Amber doing coke in the bedroom.

Summer and Skye in the hot tub

Rock Harders (Johnny Doe) footage Johnny can clearly be heard saying:

Rock (Johnny): Lick my balls, bitch!

Todd entering Dirk’s with the coke

Back to the bank.

Back to Rollergirl and Amber

Dirk and Reed trying to get the demo tapes

Back to Rollergirl and Amber

Back to studio (“It’s not an MP, it’s a YP – your problem”)

Back to bank (Buck turned down for loan).

Dirk snorting cocaine

Jack walking through the warehouse.

Added shots of Jack opening the door to receptionist area where two cops are waiting:

Jack: Hello there.

Cops: You Jack Horner.

Jack: Yeah.

Cops: There was an accident the other day.

Cut to Reed walking in to and Dirk lying on the couch.

Reed: Oh fuck Dirk! Remember that kid, Johnny Doe?

Dirk: No.

Reed: The kid from Jack…….

Dirk: What about him?

Reed: (kind of grinning) He died. He got in a car accident a couple of days ago and he died. He like went through the windshield or something. Fucking shit.

Dirk: Are you serious?

Reed: Yeah, he’s dead, can you believe it?

Dirk: Tough luck. Going through the windshield, that’s gotta hurt.

[Phone Rings]

[Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk starts playing the background]

Cut to Becky crouched in the corner of the kitchen holding phone (visibly beat up)

Becky: Dirk, I need you to come and get me. I need you to come and see me Dirk.

[Jerome pounding on the door]

Jerome: Open the fucking door! I’m giving you one more chance!

Dirk: Calm down and tell me where you are.

Becky: Me..Meet me at the Denny's in Bakersfield.

Dirk: OK, I’ll be there right now, just calm down and wait for me. I’m coming right now, right now.

Becky: Please don't do anything to me, Jerome. Please. Please. I ask.

Jerome: Think your Miss Fuckin Movie Star with a dick in your mouth? Huh? You're gonna tell me - tell it me or I'm gonna break your fuckin' jaw.

Becky: I don't know what you want me - 

Jerome: I want you to tell me that you liked getting fucked by those men in those movies. I want you to tell me that you loved getting shit in your face - You fucking say it, cunt.

Becky: I liked it...........

Jerome: Do you like big dicks?

Becky: I don't know what you want me to..

Jerome: Say it.

Becky: Yes, I like big dicks.

Cut to Jerome punching Becky in the face.

Dirk: (to Reed) I gotta go kick some ass!

Reed: whose ass?

Dirk: Don’t worry about it.

Reed: Becky? Like our Becky? I want know.

Cut to Becky as Jerome walks away

Becky grabs a frying pan and hits him over the head repeatedly and then runs out of the house and down the streets as the camera pulls back and up (crane shot).

Cut to Dirk driving down the street, snorting coke, fixing his hair in the mirror as he loses control of the steering wheel and crashes the Corvette into a telephone pole.

Cut to Becky sitting at the diner drinking coffee and waiting for Dirk.

[Judge (Veronica Hart) voiceover]: Do you have a lawyer with you?

Amber: No, I don’t

Theatrical version

Dirk and Reed in the studio

Johnny Doe shooting his scene with Jack directing and the Colonel behind him on the couch.

Rollergirl and Amber doing coke in the bedroom.

Buck and Jessie at the bank.

Summer and Skye in the hot tub.

Rock Harders (Johnny Doe) footage. Johnny says:

Rock (Johnny): Yes, Bitch!

Todd entering Dirk’s with the coke.

Back to bank

Back to Rollergirl and Amber

Dirk and Reed trying to get the demo tapes

Back to Rollergirl and Amber

Back to studio (“It’s not an MP, it’s a YP – your problem”)

Back to bank (Buck turned down for loan).

Jack walking through the warehouse.

Dissolve to Amber in Court

Theatrical Version adds:

Judge: You must be Maggie, I’m Kathleen O’Malley, the judge.

Long shot holding on Amber.

2:20:51

Final Montage

Workprint adds:

Cut to Becky working in a retirement home serving food to some elderly patients.

Final Note: Don't forget there are many other scenes that did not make the cut. Some which were filmed & others that were not. To read the additional scenes with Maurice & Rollergirl, Dirk's visit back at his parents house where Cheryl Lynn is now married & living, etc., pick up the Boogie Nights script by following the link below.

September 4, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

De Luca named Variety Showman of the Year!

Mike De Luca, President of Production for New Line Cinema was named Variety's Annual Showman of the Year. Previous honorees include Michael Eisner, Michael Crichton, Robert Wright, and Jim Carrey. 

Here are Paul's comments on New Line and Mike:

Paul Thomas Anderson, writer-director of Boogie Nights puts it bluntly, "I go where Mike goes. He lets me do what I want to do but, he can also guide me away from some self-inflicted wounds I might cause." Studios have suggestions, but "if you're an egotistical filmmaker like myself you don't want to listen."

As for what sets Michael De Luca apart: "I really haven't dealt with that many other studio execs. I've met a few of them and I wouldn't want them to have my home phone number. But Mike does.

"Everybody in Hollywood rushes to give their opinion and he doesn't do that. What he can do is not say a lot and keep his mouth shut and let you discover it. I would prefer to not make movies anywhere else and I think there's a lot of people who feel the same way."

Courtesy of Vanessa Torres - Variety Magazine August 23-29, 1999

Paul's Ad

Here's Paul's ad in Variety congratulating Mike De Luca

September 1, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Roughcut Scoop/Magnolia to be trimmed and pushed up??

Editor's Note: This scoop courtesy of Rough Cut 

THE GOOD: Jeff Wells got some early poop on Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia and thus broke the code of silence around the picture. Jeff's concerns about the over-three-hour running time led to an exchange between myself and New Line's Michael DeLuca on Magnolia, with DeLuca kindly laying out the studio's position on how they handle a three-hour movie: "Here's the straight scoop: There's no pressure on Paul to cut. I don't pressure world class filmmakers. I make suggestions, Bob Shaye makes suggestions, but that's it. I flipped over the film, and all I told Paul was that if he could, he should try to keep the running time requirement for four shows a day as opposed to three in his mind while trimming. He agreed and he's been trimming on his own these past four weeks. I let Paul have his own process, and he often screens changes for me.

We totally knew what the film was going to be when we read the script. No surprises. I thought we'd end up with a three and a half hour movie and he's actually going to end up much shorter. We never thought that the commercial chances for Magnolia would be determined by running time. It's either going to connect as the greatest film ever made before the ending of a millennium, or it won't, but a half hour will not make the difference. With this kind of movie, it's the total experience of the film itself that sells the film. All we told Paul was cut the best movie you can."

In Jeff's conversation with Paul Thomas Anderson, a potential Thanksgiving release on as many as 1800 screens was brought up. New Line got killed in platform release for the underrated and underseen Living Out Loud last year, so one more exchange on the release, so I felt compelled to ask if they were going wider to avoid the past. Apparently not. DeLuca on distribution: "We're actually trying to avoid December competition (Ripley, The Green Mile, etc). There's like four three hour movies in December. So I want to either be the first or the last (a January release with a qualifying run, like we did Wag the Dog). We were always going wider than 800, [it was] just a matter of when."

And I guess it still is. There aren't many production chiefs in Hollywood who surf the Web, much less indulge those of us who work out here. Mike DeLuca is a rare bird in that way and in many others. The most remarkable one is that I don't think he's ever misled me, on or off the record. Could being honest be the future of Hollywood? Let's see. In my experience, Fox and New Line are the most willingly informative and most direct of the studios. And they do pretty well. Hmmmm...Like Cosmo suggested in Sneakers, does the power to create destruction (a big Web issue) come from "Too many secrets?" Hmmmm...

Courtesy of Roughcut by David Poland

Premiere Magazine Tidbit

Magnolia is discussed in the September 1999 Fall Movie Preview. 

The Pitch:

During one day in the San Fernando Valley, the lives of several disparate people (including Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and John C. Reilly) intersect, with tragicomic results.

The Big Picture:

Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) denies the rumor that the script for his $30 million-plus follow-up runs a staggering 160 pages. "No," he says with a laugh. "It's longer." He refuses to say much else about it, however. "I feel lately as if I know everything about a movie before I see it, " he says, "and I really want the audience to discover this purely." Some of the Nights cast have returned, plus one rather prominent addition: Tom Cruise, in an un-billed role. And (get this) it was Cruise who approached Anderson. "It's like getting the phone call from the President of the United States, " Anderson says. "If he hadn't called, I just would have assumed he wasn't gettable for me." But if the first days of filming seemed like a class reunion, that feeling didn't last. "Julianne was the first one to shoot - she kind of got the baseball bat in the face," Anderson says, figuratively speaking. "It was emotionally arduous," Moore confirms, "Paul pushed me really hard - much harder than someone I didn't know would have." Macy, who plays a former quiz-show whiz kid obsessed with a male bartender, endured pain of a more physical nature. "Paul had an idea for a gag where I leave the keys on my belt chain in the door and walk away, and it's supposed to knock me ass-over-teakettle," Macy says. "He made me do it 35 times . My whole hip was black and blue by the end of the night." Perhaps Anderson was getting even. Earlier, when the director was discussing how one scene should be shot, Macy observed that the proposed angle was unflattering to him. "Oh, here it starts," Anderson roared. "One fucking nomination and suddenly... You're not a leading man; you're a character actor." Macy gibed back: "And you're a cult director who doesn't know when to stop writing."

August 20, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Another Summary of the Hard Eight DVD

"You know the first thing they should've taught you at hooker school? You get the money up front!"

Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Samuel L. Jackson all learn the hard way that "there are six ways to roll a seven ... but only one way out of trouble," in Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson's debut feature, "Hard Eight: Special Edition" [1996; CTS; A (2.35),PS; DS; R; 101m; EN:CC,EN; $27.95; 10/5].

"Sydney (Hall) is a deadpan professional gambler, who operates in the twilight casino world of Reno. He takes John (Reilly), a younger and somewhat naïve man, under his wing after what appears to be a chance encounter. As their relationship develops, John's confidence grows under Sydney's tutelage. He falls in love with a waitress and sometimes hooker, Clementine (Paltrow), and then falls into some bad company in the form of Jimmy (Jackson), an obnoxious and dangerous small-time crook who openly challenges Sydney's influence. Despite Sydney's attempts to keep him out of trouble, he is soon forced to intervene when John and Clementine kidnap an overzealous client and lose control of what becomes a violent situation. It's then that Jimmy plays his trump card: having learned of Sydney's previous illegal occupation, and the real reason Sydney took him under his wing, Jimmy plots a vicious blackmail."

"Hard Eight" will include:

Two audio commentaries (Director Paul Thomas Anderson and cast; Anderson and cast and crew);

The deleted scene, "The Kiss";

Three Sundance Institute Filmmaker Lab scenes: "The Coffee Shop," "Jimmy Threatens Sydney," and "The Phone Call";

Cast and crew bios, and two "Hard Eight" trailers.

August 16, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Let the Magnolia Invasion Begin!

On the heels of the Entertainment Weekly piece yesterday. The official Magnolia website is up and running! There are two downloadable teaser's, three photos, a poster, and a cryptic plot summary. (Please note: the teasers at this site are different from the teaser that is currently playing at the theatre. The theatrical teaser does have actual footage from the movie while these two do not)

August 15, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia

: Starring William H. MACY, Julianne MOORE, Philip Baker HALL, John C. REILLY, Jason ROBARDS, Felicity HUFFMAN, Tom CRUISE
directed by Paul Thomas ANDERSON
what's the big deal? The much-anticipated follow-up to Anderson's critically hailed ''Boogie Nights'' -- the movie that made Marky Mark a big deal (at least in its last scene).
release date Dec. 25

''I'm going to get final cut once in my career, so I might as well abuse it to the hilt,'' says the 29-year-old director. Exactly how he'll abuse it isn't entirely clear, though we do know, based on ''Boogie Nights,'' that Anderson isn't afraid of complicated story lines or sprawling running times. Nor does he shy away from risqué subject matter. But Anderson, who also wrote the script, is keeping ''Magnolia's plot details double top secret.

This much we do know: The film is set in modern-day San Fernando Valley, takes place over the course of 24 hours (except for a 15-minute prelude set at the turn of the century, which Anderson filmed using an old-fashioned hand-crank Lumiere camera), and features a brief cameo by Tom Cruise.

''It's about family relations, how they need to be mended -- or broken, depending on your point of view,'' is all Anderson will (cryptically) reveal. Hall (who'll also appear in ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'') isn't much help either: ''It's a multiple-story format, with about five different plotlines running through it,'' he says. ''It's a little like Robert Altman's 'Short Cuts'... but that's really all I can say about it.'' BUZZ FACTOR: 7

August 12, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Magnolia Test Screening Down Under?

Editors Note: I received this email from a reader who had the opportunity to see a rough cut of Magnolia in Australia. There are very minor spoilers so read with caution!

I live in Sydney Australia, and would you believe I saw "Magnolia" a week ago! I was handed a flier in the street which said "You and a guest are invited to the most anticipated film of the year 2000". It didn't say anything else other than where it was on and that it ran for 3 hours. Out of curiosity more than anything else I went along. The cinema was packed, and no one new what they were about to see. Finally an American guy came out and said that he wasn't going to say anything about the film except that it wasn't quite finished, and that we were the first audience in the world to see it.

I had no idea what I was about to see or why it was being shown in Australia. Within about 20 minutes of it starting, Tom Cruise appeared. Then one by one, heaps of the cast of Boogie Nights. Then it hit me. Tom Cruise was in the audience. He had to be.  He's in Sydney at the moment doing Mission Impossible 2. The back row of the cinema was reserved with security sitting on the aisles. The back row was empty when the credits rolled (obviously to get Tom out in time) and why else would they show an unfinished version of a new film in Sydney? Obviously Tom wanted to see it and see it with an audience reaction.

So, what was the film like? I thought it was brilliant. It ran for 3 hours 25 minutes and wasn't boring for a second. The performances are uniformly sensational (Tom Cruise at his best ever). It's quite bizarre at times. The soundtrack is great by the way. It's just a superb movie in so many ways.

At the end of the movie the American guy came back into the theatre. There were only about five people left in there. I asked him what his connection with the movie was. He said, "Oh I wrote and directed it". I couldn't believe it. Here was the genius right in front of me. I shook his hand and told him he was brilliant. He asked us whether the film was too long. I said only by a bit, and he said he was going to cut it by about 20 minutes. It would be perfect at that length. I said I loved the music and he said it was all going to stay in. I said, "Even Revolution 9 (Beatles Song)?". He laughed and said, "No, all except that one. I can't afford that one". Damn that Michael Jackson, hey. Anyway, as he was leaving I got him to sign a popcorn container for me. I was pretty chuffed about that. He was THE nicest guy. Very humble, incredibly friendly.

August 9, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Hard Eight DVD Officially Announced!!!!!!!

Columbia TriStar has announced the October 5th release of HARD EIGHT. HARD EIGHT will feature audio commentaries, a deleted scenes, DD surround and dual aspect ratios including 16x9 enhanced widescreen. 

courtesy of The Big Picture

Also set for release on October 5 is a special edition of Hard Eight, a gambling drama in the realms of Reno starring Samuel L. Jackson. The release will contain two separate commentary tracks with the director and various actors and crew members. A deleted scene called "The Kiss" will be part of the release and you will be seeing the Sundance Institute Filmmaker Lab Scenes "The Coffee Shop", "Jimmy Threatens Sydney" and "The Phone Call" on the disc. "Hard Eight" comes with a pan & scan and anamorphic widescreen transfer and a Dolby surround soundtrack

July 31, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Hard Eight DVD

Here is the latest news on the Columbia/Tri-Star release of Paul's first film Hard Eight. 

It's latest scheduled street date (not confirmed) is October 5, 1999.

Paul has recorded two commentary tracks but according to an inside source one track was so "inflammatory" that it may be edited or left off altogether.

It will include a trailer for the film that was cut by Paul himself.

No word on if it will be retitled back to Sydney or stay as Hard Eight.

More info as soon as it develops with a review of the DVD as soon as I can get my hands on it.

July 23, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

PT on the Set of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut

Because of the nature of the material--and also because it's how Kubrick always worked--filming on Eyes was an intensely intimate affair. Kubrick himself usually manned the camera, allowing only a handful of crew on the set. One outsider permitted to watch the proceedings was 29-year-old Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson (Cruise, who'll be appearing in Anderson's follow-up, Magnolia, smuggled him past security). "Kubrick had a really small crew," recalls Anderson. "I asked him, 'Do you always work with so few people?' He gave me this look and said, 'Why? How many people do you need?' I felt like such a Hollywood a--hole."

Aimee Mann label troubles/Magnolia music

Among the most publicized dropees has been ex-'Til Tuesday singer Aimee Mann, who's become the martyred poster child for axed artists. Last January, the critically admired Geffen singer played her third solo album to her new bosses. (The record includes tracks that may be featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's December movie, Magnolia.) "At first they told us they liked [it]," says Mann's manager, Michael Hausman. "But later we found out they didn't like it so much. I met with Jimmy [Iovine, former Interscope cohead-turned-Interscope Geffen A&M cochair], and he was like, 'You'll have to excuse me, it's so crazy here--we're merging bathrooms.' I've got an artist who spent two years making a record, and this guy's telling me about bathrooms." In early May, Mann received official word she'd been let go. Adding insult to penury, to take her unreleased record elsewhere, she must first buy back the master tapes from UMG, which could run into several hundred thousand dollars. (UMG would not comment on the status of these negotiations.)

July 19, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

I received an e-mail today letting me know that a title for the film used during shooting was The Rose

July 18, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul has final cut

Ideally, the studio and director have nailed down the details before filming begins. New Line production's president and COO, Michael De Luca, has given Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson final cut on his next film, Magnolia; he says that it is vital to have as many meetings as possible before the deal with the filmmaker is even signed. "It's something in general we'd rather not do, but after Boogie Nights it became part of Paul's deal," De Luca says. "But Paul and I are so close it's a trust issue." (De Luca also supported the two and a half hour running time of Boogie Nights and says he only regrets that the movie wasn't longer "with a disco intermission.")

July 15, 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

John C Reilly and a little tidbit on Magnolia

REILLY TAKES A “STORM”: Emerging as the perfect guy to play a male buddy, John C. Reilly will join George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in the Warner Bros. pic “A Perfect Storm,” playing an experienced fisherman who joins the other two in the ill-fated voyage of the Andrea Gail. Film, to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is based on the bestselling nonfiction account by Sebastian Junger.

It’s Reilly’s second tour with Wahlberg after playing his porn star buddy in “Boogie Nights,” a film that launched Reilly into playing Kevin Costner’s best buddy and catcher in “For the Love of the Game,” the Beacon/Universal drama about a pitcher’s perfect game that will open Sept. 17.

Reilly gets a chance to be the star this Christmas in New Line’s “Magnolia.” He’s the central figure playing a police officer in a star-studded ensemble directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, for whom Reilly starred in “Hard Eight” and “Boogie Nights.”

February 1999

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

Paul - Y2K and beyond!

Paul listed was listed as one of the 20 talents we'll still be talking in the Year 2020.

"This auteur's skill with the quill - his control of interlaced story lines, his creation of complex characters, and his attraction to society's underbelly - aligns him more with Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and even Billy Wilder than with the would-be Tarantino crowd.

Interview: Roger Ebert Q&A

Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook
1999


Chicago, October 1997 - Paul Thomas Anderson has made one of the best films of 1997, and at age twenty-seven is getting the kind of attention no young director has had since Quentin Tarantino erupted. His Boogie Nights, which follows a cast of colorful characters through six eventful years in the adult film industry, is the year's best-reviewed film - a hit at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals.

Although the film's subject matter is touchy, Boogie Nights is not a sex film; porno supplies the backdrop to a traditionally structured Hollywood story about an unknown kid (Mark Wahlberg) who is discovered by a director (Burt Reynolds), encouraged by an older actress (Julianne Moore), and becomes a star - until his ego and drugs bring everything crashing down.

Apart from anything else, the film is about filmmaking. It captures the familial atmosphere of a film set as well as any film since Truffaut's Day for Night. The focus is not on sex but on loneliness and desperation, leavened with a lot of humor, some of it dark, some of it lighthearted.

Boogie Nights is Anderson's second feature. When I saw the first one in 1996 at the Cannes Film Festival, I felt I was watching the work of a born filmmaker. Hard Eight starred John C. Reilly and Philip Baker Hall in the story of a relationship between an old gambler who shows the ropes in Nevada to a broke kid. As characters played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson get involved, the story reveals hidden connections. It is a riveting debut film.