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!)
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)
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.
Susan King of the Los Angeles Times has written a feature in time for Father's Day which explores some of the more memorable father and son relationships in film. There Will Be Blood is the first on their list.
There is often a lack of communication between fathers and sons. And that's quite literally what happens between an ambitious oil man and his adopted son in Paul Thomas Anderson's award-winning 2007 loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair'snovel "Oil!"
A deep rift occurs between oil tycoon Daniel Planview ( Daniel Day-Lewis in his Oscar-wining role) and his young adopted son H.W. (Dillon Freasier) after H.W. loses his hearing in an oil derrick explosion. Instead of comforting H.W., Plainview leaves the hysterical young boy and rushes off to the disaster. After the boy tries to burn the bed in which his father is sleeping, Plainview sends him off to a boarding school for the deaf. The relationship never recovers, especially since Plainview won't learn sign language.
You can check out the entire list which also includes the likes of the Godfather, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Star Wars and coming in at #15 was a page for great gift ideas for Dad linked up to e-commerce stores!
The Gawker website has taken it upon themselves to tally up countless reviewers Top Films Of The Decade lists that have been spreading everywhere to see which film overall was the highest ranked. With 12 votes, There Will Be Blood won top honors. They said:
In its day, Paul Thomas Anderson's oil-drilling epic had to take a back seat to the Coen Brother's nihilist No Country For Old Men. But a few years later, this Blood will not be washed out.
The web has come alive with Best Film of the Decade lists. Unlike Best of the Year lists, where the same dozen or so films appear again and again, Best of the Decades are where a list-making critic can really take wings and fly, revealing their inner soul through their choices. Are you a Lost in Translation type or a Memento -ite? The choice says everything, and nothing, about the list makers.
So what we've done is added up all the Best lists we could find online — from the New Yorker to spitefulcritic.com; anywhere where people had made a list. We gave each film a point for every inclusion on every top ten list. Some lists made it a bit difficult, doing say an unordered top 15's, but we've included as much as we can to try and get an accurate count.
Also in the case of multi-film series, such as Lord of the Rings or the Bourne films, some critics placed the entire series on the list, some cast their votes for the individual films.
And when the votes were all in, by a nose, There Will Be Blood stood alone at the top of the decade, its straw in the whole damn cinema's milkshake.
Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005
In the current Entertainment Weekly 10th Anniversary Issue, film critic Owen Gleiberman voted Boogie Nights the #2 film of the 1990's! Here's what he said about the selection:
Paul Thomas Anderson's bravura porn-industry epic remains, in every scene, an ecstatic act of filmmaking, as well as the great movie about what happened to the pleasure principle in America.
There's also a great quote in the issue by Mark Wahlberg right after Boogie came out in 1997 that I had not seen:
"I don't want to go out with someone who has seen this movie and is looking for something they're not going to find."
Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005
According to a recent book review by The Chronicle ( A Duke University Newspaper), PTA has purchased the movie rights to David Liss's new book, "A Conspiracy of Paper". This is a mystery novel set in eighteenth century England. Obliviously this information has not been confirmed by PTA & it's not clear whether it was purchased by Ghoulardi for PTA to direct or produce. I will add this to the new Unconfirmed Section of Future Projects & Rumors until I have more information.
PTA was listed by Premiere Magazine in their annual Power Elite (Who's Running Hollywood Now) May issue at #100. This is his first time on the list. Here's their comments:
100. Paul Thomas Anderson
Rank Last Year: Not Ranked
Job Title: Cocksure Auteur
Status Report: Icon for a new generation of writer-directors. After porn epic Boogie Nights, said next would be intimate film, a 30-day shoot. Instead turned in 190-page Magnolia script to New Line, and got $40 million green light, final cut, control over marketing, and Cruise at a discount. Production company, Ghoulardi, seeking to provide safe haven for virgin talents.
Yes. It's True: Scott Rudin passed on Anderson project because of elaborate demands for creative control.
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.
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.
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.
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:
