Interview: Paul Thomas Anderson

The Times UK, Written By Ryan Gilbey
February 2nd, 2003


A simple little movie? Paul Thomas Anderson tells Ryan Gilbey how he came to beat up romance

Picture the scene. An awkward young man has finally plucked up the courage to make a move on the woman he adores. He has followed her from Los Angeles to Hawaii, where she has been gradually seduced by his goofball charm. They embrace on the bed in her hotel room, and begin exchanging sweet nothings. Him: “Your face is so beautiful, I just wanna smash it, just smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it.” Her: “I just wanna chew your face and scoop out your beautiful eyes with an ice-cream scooper and eat ’em and chew ’em and suck on ’em.”