53 Hidden Details And Behind-The-Scenes Facts From Paul Thomas Anderson’s Movies
Jess Goodwin
9 min read
53 Hidden Details And Behind-The-Scenes Facts From Paul Thomas Anderson’s Movies
I don’t know about you, but I’m already eagerly awaiting Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film (whatever and whenever it may be).
To tide me over, I started rewatching Punch-Drunk Love (my favorite PTA movie), and ever the trivia junkie, I started looking up some behind-the-scenes info, which snowballed into looking up behind-the-scenes info for all of his films.
Here’s some of what I found out:
1. As of early 2022, Anderson has directed nine feature films.
Rebecca Sapp / [Getty] for SBIFFHard Eight (1996)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Magnolia (1999)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Master (2012)
Inherent Vice (2014)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Licorice Pizza (2021)
2. Most of Anderson’s movies are set in the past.
New Line Cinema / Courtesy: Everett CollectionBoogie Nights, Inherent Vice, and Licorice Pizza all take place in the 1970s; The Master and Phantom Thread take place in the 1950s; and There Will Be Blood takes place at the turn of the 20th century.
Magnolia also includes numerous scenes that take place decades earlier.
3. Like Wes Anderson (no relation), Paul Thomas Anderson has collaborated frequently with the same people.
Chris Weeks / WireImage via GettyThis includes cast and crew.
4. Between the two of them, Jon Brion and Jonny Greenwood did the scores for eight of Anderson’s nine films.
Jon Super / Redferns, Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
Brion did Hard Eight, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love, and Greenwood has done every film since There Will Be Blood.
5. Aimee Mann also performed or contributed music for the first three of Anderson’s films.
New Line Cinema / ©New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett / Everett CollectionHe also did the costumes for I Heart Huckabees, The Artist, and Joker.
7. All nine of Anderson’s movies have been produced by Daniel Lupi, who was also an EP on Us, Her, and Lincoln, to name a few.
Mark Tillie / Rysher Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection8. Lupi’s fellow producer JoAnne Sellar has worked on each of Anderson’s movies, minus Hard Eight.
©Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionShe also worked on The Wicker Man and The Anniversary Party.
9. Casting director Cassandra Kulukundis has also worked on every PTA movie except Hard Eight.
New Line Cinema / ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett CollectionShe also did casting for Ghost World, Art School Confidential, and the Gossip Girl reboot.
10. Actors Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, and Melora Walters all starred in Anderson’s first three films.
Columbia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection12. Philip Seymour Hoffman improvised most of his scenes in Hard Eight.
New Line CinemaHe told Conan O’Brien it “just wasn’t [his] kind of film” and “made [him] very uncomfortable.”
14. In fact, Reynolds hated the film so much he fired his agent after seeing it for the first time.
New Line Cinema / ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett CollectionBut plenty of other people loved the movie and his performance — he ended up getting an Oscar nomination and winning a Golden Globe.
15. William H. Macy didn’t need to audition to play Little Bill.
New Line CinemaHe told Jason Reitman: “I got the script through the normal channels. I think I was still with CAA then, and the script was even more outrageous. I said, ‘Is this a porn film?’ There was actual shtüpping in it! Then I met with Paul and, the actors in the room will love this, I decided I wanted to do it and met with him at the Formosa Café, and it was about 10 minutes in when I realized he was selling me. I wasn’t there to audition for him; he was trying to convince me to do it, and it was one of the great moments of my career.”
16. Actual adult film stars appear in small roles throughout Boogie Nights.
New Line CinemaThe judge in the scene where Amber and her husband are in court fighting for custody of their son is played by Veronica Hart, and Little Bill’s wife is played by Nina Hartley.
Amber Hunter (aka Lil’ Cinderella) also has a small cameo as Colonel’s friend, Summer Cummings and Skye Blue both play girls in the jacuzzi, and Lexi Leigh plays a member of Floyd’s entourage.
17. Mark Wahlberg kept the prosthetic penis he wore to play Eddie.
© New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett CollectionHe told Ellen DeGeneres: “It’s in a safe locked away. It’s not something I could leave out. All of a sudden, my kids are looking for a spare phone charger and pull that thing out and go, ‘What the heck is this?!’ It wouldn’t be a good look.”
18. Tom Cruise was such a fan of Boogie Nights he specifically asked Anderson to cast him in his next movie.
New Line CinemaHis portrayal of Frank T.J. Mackey ended up earning him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
19. Anderson was inspired by Aimee Mann’s music to write Magnolia.
© New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett CollectionIn fact, Claudia’s line “Now that I’ve met you, would you object to never seeing me again?” is taken directly from Mann’s song, “Deathly,” which opens with the lyrics “Now that I’ve met you, would you object to, never seeing, each other again?”
20. Mann’s music is also literally seen in the movie.
New Line CinemaThe CD jewel case Claudia snorts cocaine off of is Mann’s album, I’m with Stupid.
21. If you think Magnolia is too long, you’re not alone.
© New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett CollectionAnderson himself told Marc Maron in 2015: “I’d slice that thing down. It’s way too fucking long. It’s unmerciful how long it is.”
The movie is over three hours long.
22. Pat Healy plays two separate pharmacists in Magnolia.
New Line Cinema
He’s in the first scene as the pharmacist who gets murdered, and later appears as the pharmacist Julianne Moore’s character yells at.
23. Thomas Jane was also supposed to play two roles, but due to scheduling issues only appeared as a young Jimmy Gator.
Axelle / FilmMagicJane told AV Club: “I wanted to work with Gene Hackman, so I took this Gene Hackman film [Under Suspicion], but the schedule overlapped into Magnolia, and so I couldn’t play the two parts in Magnolia. I had to only play one. Paul never forgave me. And the movie with Gene Hackman, of course, has been totally forgotten.”
24. Anderson wrote Punch-Drunk Love with Adam Sandler in mind.
Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images for Netflix25. After seeing Magnolia, Sandler wasn’t sure if he could actually work with Anderson.
© Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett CollectionHe said on the SmartLess podcast: “I went alone, and it was sold out, and I was in the front row, and I was looking up at it, and I was fucking terrified,” Sandler said, adding that he thought, “‘Oh this guy is fucking better than me. I don’t want to fucking be in this. I’m going to ruin his movie! Holy shit!'”
26. Sandler wasn’t the only one doubtful about his casting.
©Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett CollectionJoAnne Sellar told Indiewire: “[Anderson] was a huge Sandler fan, and I was just befuddled. I just didn’t get the whole Adam Sandler thing at that stage. I mean, the Saturday Night Live stuff, yes, but the movies that Adam had done weren’t for me. As a British person, I didn’t really get the humor. But Paul just kept saying, ‘Oh my God, he’s so great!’ And he completely made me change my mind about Adam.”
27. In Punch-Drunk Love, the first time Barry goes to the grocery store, an out-of-focus character in red clothes is seen following him.
Columbia PicturesIt’s Emily Watson’s character, Lena. By this point, they haven’t met yet, but as she explains later in the movie, she saw a photo of Barry on his sister’s desk, so would have recognized him in the store.
28. The cuts on Barry’s knuckles after he punches his office wall spell out “love.”
Columbia Pictures / Via reddit.com29. According to Jon Brion, Anderson wanted Punch-Drunk Love “to feel like a musical but nobody ever breaks into song.”
© Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection32. Day-Lewis listened to oral histories from the turn of the 20th century to nail down Plainview’s voice.
© Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection33. Day-Lewis’ speech about building schools and bringing bread to Little Boston was improvised.
Paramount / courtesy Everett CollectionKel O’Neill had been cast in the role of Eli Sunday, but after filming what was supposed to be Dano’s single scene, Anderson asked him to play Eli as well, pivoting the brothers to be identical twins.
35. The story about O’Neill’s departure changes depending on who you ask.
Frazer Harrison / WireImageA New York Times Magazine story from November 2007 said there were “reports that [he] suffered from intimidation” because of Day-Lewis’ method acting and ended up quitting.
However, O’Neill told Vulture in 2017 that he was fired after a few weeks, though there doesn’t seem to be clarity on why.
36. The film The Master was partially inspired by L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology.
Frank Trapper / Corbis via Getty ImagesAnderson claimed that when he showed Magnolia star — and perhaps the world’s most Scientologist — Tom Cruise The Master, the actor “had issues” with the film.
37. Joaquin Phoenix’s parents were briefly members of the Children of God cult.
Weinstein Company / ©Weinstein Company / Courtesy Everett Collection38. Freddie’s first lines in The Master — and the opening lines of the whole movie — were improvised by Phoenix.
©Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett CollectionThe first was There Will Be Blood.
40. Inherent Vice is also the first film adaptation of one of Thomas Pynchon’s novels.
Wilson Webb / ©Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection41. For a while, Robert Downey Jr. was attached to play Doc.
Kurt Krieger – Corbis / Corbis via Getty ImagesJoaquin Phoenix was ultimately cast, and Downey Jr. told GQ: “I think [Anderson] told me I’m too old. Which I love when people tell me.”
42. Inherent Vice originally didn’t have a narrator.
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection43. Inherent Vice was the first of Anderson’s films that Maya Rudolph, his wife since 2001, appeared in.
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett CollectionShe played Petunia Leeway.
44. Rudolph inspired Phantom Thread.
Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty ImagesHe told Metro: “I was very, very sick in bed one night. And my wife looked at me with a love and affection that I hadn’t seen in a long time. So I called Daniel [Day-Lewis] the next day and said, ‘I think I have a good idea for a movie.'”
45. Daniel Day-Lewis once again employed his meticulous method acting to play Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread.
Focus FeaturesHe worked with New York City Ballet Costumes Director Mark Happel for a year to learn dressmaking. Day-Lewis even recreated a Cristóbal Balenciaga — who Reynolds was based on — gown by hand.
46. According to Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread is his final film.
© Focus Features / Courtesy Everett CollectionJust a few months before the film was released, he announced he was retiring.
47. Anderson specifically didn’t want Phantom Thread to look like a certain Netflix series.
Netflix / courtesy Everett CollectionGaffer Michael Bauman told IndieWire: “One of the first things he said was, ‘Look, this cannot look like The Crown.‘ That was a big thing. When people think of a period movie, it becomes this beautifully polished, amazingly photographed — I mean The Crown looks beautiful — but super clean, gorgeous light, and he was clear it couldn’t look like that.”
48. Jonny Greenwood earned his first Oscar nomination for the Phantom Thread score.
Laurie Sparham / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection49. The term “licorice pizza” is slang for LP vinyl records.
© MGM / Courtesy Everett CollectionIt was also the name of a music store chain ultimately bought by Sam Goody in the mid-’80s.
50. Anderson wrote the role of Alana Kane in Licorice Pizza specifically with Alana Haim in mind after directing music videos for her and her sisters.
MGM51. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son Cooper was cast after Anderson had trouble finding a trained actor who could match Haim’s energy.
MGMLicorice Pizza was both Haim and Hoffman’s first film.
52. Haim and Hoffman had met years before starring opposite each other.
Paul Thomas Anderson / © MGM / Courtesy Everett CollectionShe and her sisters babysat him, though she told Variety: “He hates when I say ‘babysat’ because he was 13 and didn’t need a babysitter.”
53. The character Alana’s family is played by the real-life Alana’s family.
View this video on YouTube
Related News & Content
-
Use wp.media templates to create totally custom modal
Use wp.media templates to create totally custom modal,Following up on this answer I'm trying to determine how to create a modal with completely unique menu items/content than the media modal. If you add a new state you can add a new menu tab and hav... -
Get post by tag
Get post by tag,I want to get several post by tag. So I try to use get_posts() function: <?php $args = array( 'numberposts' => '3', 'post_status' => 'publish', 'tag' => 'travel' ); $ -
Elementor + ACF: How to insert dynamic JSON-LD formatted code into ACF field without sanitizing the script tag?
Elementor + ACF: How to insert dynamic JSON-LD formatted code into ACF field without sanitizing the script tag?,On a normal website, I am able to add JSON-LD structured data, such as below, into a Elementor HTML widget, in a proper way. However, as soon as I insert JSON-LD format into an ACF field (Textarea)... -
Gutenberg InnerBlocks noallowedblocks on parent but allowedblock on Child
Gutenberg InnerBlocks noallowedblocks on parent but allowedblock on Child,This is a continuation of the following post: Custom Gutenberg block with nested InnerBlocks renderAppender not displaying add button I solved one problem but created a different problem. I'm recr... -
Delay Issue: Using Wget with JSON Endpoint – Need Help Understanding Headers
Delay Issue: Using Wget with JSON Endpoint – Need Help Understanding Headers,On a WooCommerce website, I have a REST endpoint created with register_rest_route that returns a JSON response. To perform a routine with a certain frequency and urgency, I have added this instruct... -
How do I change top header background color
How do I change top header background color,Please refer to website: https://virginiafrank.com I cannot get the top header background color (or phone numbers) to change color. I would prefer the background gold and text black. I can't make t... -
How to display the_tags() as plain text
How to display the_tags() as plain text,the_tags by default is displaying as URL. I need to display it as plain text to insert inside HTML attribute. <?php $tag = the_tags(''); ?> <div class="image-portfolio" data-section... -
Give to site admin the option to "skip confirmation email" when adding new user
Give to site admin the option to "skip confirmation email" when adding new user,in wordpress multisite when we give to site admin the option to add new users, site admin dont have the "checkbox" to add the new user without sending the user email with link activation (see the -
Facing Hamas and Tehran, Israel is left with only vengeful madness | Opinion
Facing Hamas and Tehran, Israel is left with only vengeful madness | Opinion,Despite the Terrible Disaster on October 7, and the Failures It Exposed, Israel Is Still Convinced That the Image of the Mad Man Will Ensure Its Security -
Toyota’s Super Bowl Ad Relies on Car Challenges, Not Famous Faces
Toyota's Super Bowl Ad Relies on Car Challenges, Not Famous Faces,Toyota decided just weeks ago to run a Super Bowl commercial, and is betting on a spot that has no celebrities or special effects. -
Release the Beatles Jerk-off Cut
Release the Beatles Jerk-off Cut,Sam Mendes is making four Beatles movies, one for each Beatle. But if none of the movies include the legendary story of John and Paul’s days of group masturbation, Mendes will have blown his wad for naught. -
There’s a Great Movie to Be Made About Bob Marley’s Story. One Love Is Not It.
There’s a Great Movie to Be Made About Bob Marley’s Story. One Love Is Not It.,Walking away from ‘Bob Marley: One Love,’ you may feel you know less about the great musician than you did going in. -
A24 Reveals I Saw the TV Glow Trailer, Announces Star-Studded Soundtrack
A24 Reveals I Saw the TV Glow Trailer, Announces Star-Studded Soundtrack,A24 has shared the trailer for the upcoming horror film I Saw the TV Glow and announced the soundtrack with Phoebe Bridgers, Alex G, and Caroline Polachek,. -
Tom Hanks to Narrate Masters of the Air Companion Doc, The Bloody Hundredth
Tom Hanks to Narrate Masters of the Air Companion Doc, The Bloody Hundredth,Apple TV+ has announced The Bloody Hundredth, a companion documentary to Masters of the Air narrated by Tom Hanks. It premieres on March 15th. -
Benson Boone Eyes Second Week at No. 1 In U.K. With ‘BeautifulThings’
Benson Boone Eyes Second Week at No. 1 In U.K. With ‘BeautifulThings’,Olivia Rodrigo is on track for the week's highest debut with "Obsessed." -
West Virginia Gov. Justice vetoes bill that would have loosened school vaccine policies
West Virginia Gov. Justice vetoes bill that would have loosened school vaccine policies,West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice broke with the GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies -
Blondshell and Bully Team Up For New Single “Docket”
Blondshell and Bully Team Up For New Single “Docket”,Blondshell has teamed up with Alicia Bognanno of Bully for the newly released single "Docket." Listen to the track here. -
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos,CAROL Kirkwood stunned in a figure-hugging dress amid a technical blunder. BBC Breakfast was flung into chaos this morning after a string of sound issues. However Carol, 61, was all smiles as she p… -
Families ‘to sue prison’ where loud inmates ‘terrorise kids’ with screaming
Families 'to sue prison' where loud inmates 'terrorise kids' with screaming,Residents living next door to a new prison who say their kids have to sleep wearing headphones and some leave during weekends due to the racket are threatening to sue the prison service -
Doctor Strange’s Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought – Looper
Doctor Strange's Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought - Looper,According to entertainment leaker Alex Perez, Doctor Strange will find himself confronting his inner struggles as he headlines "Avengers: Secret Wars." -
‘It’s too revealing for a wedding’ people say as guest shares her dress with cut-outs & plunging neckline
‘It’s too revealing for a wedding’ people say as guest shares her dress with cut-outs & plunging neckline,A WOMAN has been mocked after sharing the summer dress she was considering wearing to nuptials. Attending someone’s big day can be just as stressful as organising the wedding ceremony –… -
Carl Weathers dead at 76: Rocky and Happy Gilmore actor mourned by family after dying ‘peacefully in his sleep’
Carl Weathers dead at 76: Rocky and Happy Gilmore actor mourned by family after dying ‘peacefully in his sleep’,ACTOR Carl Weathers has died at 76. Weathers, whose career spanned film and television, action and comedy, is best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise, as well as his performa… -
‘What Jennifer Did’: Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case
'What Jennifer Did': Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case,Most of Jennifer Pan's entire life was made up of lies. When her parents began to catch on, she decided to bring in hired hitmen. -
What’s behind the lack of enthusiasm for this year’s music festivals?
What's behind the lack of enthusiasm for this year's music festivals?,The public sentiment about this year's crop of music festivals is an overwhelming "meh." There are good reasons for this. -
Language and Landscape: Building Communication Skills in Natural Environments
Language and Landscape: Building Communication Skills in Natural Environments,Horsebarn Hill is among the learning environments helping a UConn researcher conduct potentially life-changing research for minimally verbal autistic young ... -
Catherine Jhong ’24, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Catherine Jhong ’24, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,Catherine Jhong reflects on her time at UConn
Warning: file_get_contents(https://www.scienceradars.com/wp-output-content.php?pg=1&cat=&kw=&lvl=): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 526 in /home/wwwroot/xuenou.com/wp-content/themes/chromenews/template-parts/content.php on line 169
Warning: file_get_contents(https://www.bayuexiang.com/wp-output-content.php?pg=1&cat=&kw=&lvl=): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 526 in /home/wwwroot/xuenou.com/wp-content/themes/chromenews/template-parts/content.php on line 173
This is what happens when you chew cloves everyday
IIM Sambalpur invites application for MBA in Fintech Management for working professions
Screening of letters: Officials cite security, inmates raise law misuse
World Central Kitchen workers killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza will be honoured at memorial
