Jon Brion - Here We Go (2002)

The music video for the original track "Here We Go" was edited by Paul, and created from alternate takes & unused sequences from Punch-Drunk Love. The video was initially released within a 13 minute sizzle reel montage on an extremely limited/rare DVD release titled "Blossoms & Blood."

Interview: "Who's Laughing Now?"

City Beat, Written By Steve Ramos
September 19th, 2002


Paul Thomas Anderson and Adam Sandler are Toronto Fest's unlikeliest pair

TORONTO -- Director Paul Thomas Anderson enjoys the last laugh at a Toronto International Film Festival news conference on behalf of his newest film, Punch-Drunk Love, a romantic-comedy about a hot-tempered businessman, Barry Egan (Adam Sandler), whose life improves after falling in love with Lena (Emily Watson), a soft-spoken stranger.

Interview: Exclusive Internet Q&A

Written by Cigarettes & Red Vines
July 7th, 2002


This interview is based from questions submitted by internet fans.

>> What films (if any) did you use as inspiration when writing PDL?

....yeaah! to be able to answer the question which has been inside so long! I was watching tons of Astaire/Rodgers - Carefree/Gay Divorcee and of course ye old lads: Help! on repeat. remember watching tons of Tati...which RUN don't crawl and get. I recommend......the sound! the love! the affection!.........also music, must say: Joan Armatrading, Ferrante and Techer, Ernie Kovacs (!) lots of the Beatles and lots of Neil young 'silver and gold'. ever seen the moon is our home?

Couch (2003)

A very silly 2 minute black and white short featuring Adam Sandler as a man shopping for a couch. Originally premiered on Sandler's official site.

Interview: "Looking For Laughs"

Dallas Morning News, Written By Charles Ealy
May 30th, 2002


Director Paul Thomas Anderson, known for the dark and moody dramas Boogie Nights and Magnolia, was all smiles at a media conference for his new romantic comedy, Punch-Drunk Love.
The Europeans peppered him with questions, primarily wanting him to explain the American phrase "punch-drunk."

Mr. Anderson acknowledged that the title was hard to translate but said that the movie's main character, played by Adam Sandler, "feels stuff that he can't express, so he throws punches" at walls and bathroom stalls. And when you fall in love, it's even more complicated, and you literally become punch-drunk. "At least that's how I feel when I'm in love," Mr. Anderson said.

Interview: "Crazy For Love"

LA Times, Written By Kenneth Turan
May 20th, 2002


The filmmaker whose creative drive was seen in 'Boogie Nights' and 'Hard Eight' has taken on the romantic-comedy genre, and he's determined to push the limits.

CANNES, France--"It's so simple," Paul Thomas Anderson says, looking out at the rain from the marble-floored living room of the rented villa shared with about a dozen of his cast and crew just outside of town. "A camera, film, a microphone. Stuff comes in, stuff goes out. That's it."

Except that with Paul Thomas Anderson, nothing is ever quite like that. Simple is just not in the cards.

It doesn't take more than seconds in the presence of this gifted, aware 31-year-old writer-director to feel the intensity and creative zip that led to "Hard Eight," "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia." He is, in the best sense, a filmmaker who is driving everything--the audience, the form, his collaborators, himself most of all--to go further than they have before. Which is how his latest film, "Punch-Drunk Love," which premiered at the Festival de Cannes on Sunday, came to be.

Interview: Paul Thomas Anderson Brings Adam Sandler, Emily Watson Together In Off-Beat Romance

Associated Press, Written By Jocelyn Noveck
May 19th, 2002


CANNES, France - It all started with pudding.

Paul Thomas Anderson, the talented young director of "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia," read an article about a guy who bought a lot of pudding to take advantage of a frequent-flyer promotion.
Then he got Adam Sandler to be in his movie.

Thus was born "Punch-Drunk Love," starring Sandler and Emily Watson, a film that's described as a romantic comedy but has lots more edge than most romantic comedies.

Interview: "US Comic Adam Sandler Makes Splash At Cannes"

Variety, Written By Jodie Diderich
May 19th, 2002


CANNES, France - Adam Sandler, the accident-prone comic hero of simplistic U.S. hits like "Big Daddy" and "The Waterboy," gate-crashed the rarefied world of art house film Sunday.

Sandler performs a 180-degree turn in "Punch-Drunk Love," a romantic comedy with a twist directed by cult independent director Paul Thomas Anderson.

The New York-born Sandler is emotionally wrenching as Barry Egan, a small business owner brow-beaten by his seven sisters and unable to fall in love until he meets Lena, a mysterious woman played by Emily Watson.

It was also a complete change of direction for Anderson, whose last movie was the three-hour lyrical opus "Magnolia" with Tom Cruise.

The much shorter "Punch-Drunk Love" is competing for the coveted Palme d'Or at the world's biggest film festival, where Anderson said he was thrilled to surprise audiences with his unlikely choice for the lead role.

February 1-4, 2002

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

I spoke to PTA recently & he had a few things to share. He's putting the finishing touches on his untitled Adam Sandler film. He's still not 100% sure on a title & a release date, but we should expect some additional news in the next few months. Be patient, I hear the film will be worth the wait! We should also have some new PTA DVD Picks shortly as well!

Our second installment of PTA Influences is up for reading pleasure courtesy of site reader Bob Ellis. It's an in-depth look at the movies of Martin Scorsese. Enjoy!

Here's an interesting tidbit. Adam Shankman, the director of the recently released film A Walk to Remember (as well as The Wedding Planner) is the same guy who choreographed the disco dancing sequence in Boogie Nights. Interesting career movie, but thought it might be of interest. (Thanks Chris!)