Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970) is a director and cinema American screenwriter. He has directed five feature films: Sydney (1996) Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007). And it has been nominated for five Academy Awards (best film, best director and best adapted screenplay) There Will Be Blood, Magnolia (best original screenplay) and Boogie Nights (best original screenplay).

Early years

Anderson was born in Studio City, California, the son of Bonnie Gough and Ernie Anderson, who was actor and voice of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) string and character of terror “Ghoulardi”, where his son-producing company takes its name: Ghoulardi Film Company.[ 1 ] Grew up in San Fernando Valley and attended various schools as Buckley in Sherman Oaks, John Thomas Dye School, Campbell Hall School, Cushing Academy and Montclair Prep. He then attended the University of New York, but dropped out after two days.

Career

Anderson’s interest in the film began at an early age. During his times in high school, he made a satirical documentary entitled 30-minute The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), of a young porn star (inspired by John Holmes, who also later served as a major inspiration for Boogie Nights).

For a brief period at Emerson College and an even shorter period at the University of New York, Anderson began his career as a production assistant on TV movies, video clips and shows in Los Angeles and New York. Then made Cigarettes and Coffee (1992), a short five bullet and set in a cafe (not to be confused with Coffee and Cigarettes of Jim Jarmusch). The short was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993, where he received considerable praise. In a few years, Anderson made his feature film debut, Sydney, who would later retitled Hard Eight (1996)

The film that launched his career was Boogie Nights; adapting his character Dirk Diggler a feature film, was released on October 10, 1997 triumphing for critical and commercial level. It was one of the film with better critique of the year and is considered one of the best portraits of the pornographic film industry.[ 3 ] This film did resurgence of Burt Reynolds’s career (that was nominated for an Academy Award) and released to Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore in the category of first-level actors.

Anderson’s next film was Magnolia (1999), which tells the story of the peculiar interaction of the lives of several individuals in the San Fernando Valley, California. Interweaving nine different arguments, Magnolia uses extra-long, shot in a very different style to the movies Hollywood mainstream. Magnolia was featured in the top 10 of more than 150 critical in 1999, and received three Academy Award nominations: best original screenplay, best actor cast (Tom Cruise) and best original song. In an interview after the release of the movie Anderson said: “I really feel… is that Magnolia is, for better or worse, the best movie I’ve done”.

Adam Sandler, Anderson, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman at the Cannes Film Festival (2002).

Returned with the romantic comedy love drunk (2002), starring Adam Sandler. The story focuses on a beleaguered owner of a small business that embarks on a romantic relationship with a mysterious woman (Emily Watson). Sandler received reviews positive role, which was their first away from the typical job comedies that made him famous; Roger Ebert wrote that “Sandler, freed of the formulas that they limited, reveals unexpected depth as an actor.” Watching this movie, you can imagine it in roles of Dennis Hopper. “Is darkness, obsession and energy”.The film gave only 17 million dollars for the 25 which was carried out.

The following Anderson’s film, There Will Be Blood, was a free adaptation of the novel entitled Upton Sinclair oil!. The novel is about scandals oil during administration Harding, describing a detailed portrait of the development of the oil industry in Southern California in the history. The budget for the film was $ 25 million, and gained 40 million. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, who took the Oscar as best actor for his role, and Paul Dano, who received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for best supporting actor. Anderson was nominated as best director for the Directors Guild of America. The film also received eight nominations to the Oscar Award, the highest number of nominations along with No Country for Old Men. Anderson received nominations for best film, best director and best screenplay, being defeated by the Coen brothers in three categories.

In December 2009 Variety announced that Anderson was working on a new script, apparently entitled The Master of a “charismatic intellectual” that found a new religion in the 1950s. Philip Seymour Hoffman would be the protagonist and Jeremy Renner would accompany him.

Style, themes and personal stamps.

Anderson has become famous for making movies with casts and stories intertwined with a high complexity, as it is the case of Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). Part of the first generation of “videocassette directors”, directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith who grew up watching hundreds and hundreds of video films and have almost encyclopedic knowledge of technical and cultural references.

Topics such as family relationships, fate, love predestination and the role of the media in the current life are also recurrent in her work. The director develops the interconnections between the characters in a sometimes chaotic, unpredictable way. One of Anderson cararteristicos stamps is used very few courts, depending on this way strongly travelings (as in the beginning of Boogie Nights, that lasts approximately three minutes without a single cut) and often using sound and music emphatically.

Anderson has had a habit of repeating certain actors. Philip Seymour Hoffman has appeared in all Anderson Productions except the last, There Will Be Blood. Other actors with multiple appearances in his films are Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Luis Guzmán, Ricky Jay, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Melora Walters and the late Robert Ridgely. His three most famous films (from Sydney) were endorsed with the emergence of superstars Hollywood Burt Reynolds, Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler, respectively. In addition, Robert Elswit has been director of photography for all of his films.

Personal life

Anderson and singer Fiona Apple have had a relationship for several years; appear together in the realization of Magnolia on the DVD documentary. The director is currently partner with Maya Rudolph, former member of Saturday Night Live. Live in Los Angeles and New York, and they have a daughter, Pearl Minnie Anderson, born 15 October of the year 2005.

Filmography (as director and screenwriter)

Sydney (1996)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Magnolia (1999)

Punch Drunk Love (love drunk) (2002)

There Will Be Blood (ambition wells / bloody oil) (2007)

The Master (2011)

Shorts

The Dirk Diggler Story (1987)

Cigarettes and Coffee (1993)

Flagpole Special (1998)

Couch (2002)

Music videos

“Try” Michael Penn (1997)

“Across the Universe” Fiona Apple (1998)

“Fast as You Can” Fiona Apple (1999)

“Save Me” Aimee Mann (1999)

“Limp” Fiona Apple (2000)

“Paper Bag” Fiona Apple (2000)

“Here We Go” of Jon Brion (2002)