Paul Thomas Anderson - Definition and Overview

Paul Thomas Anderson (born January 1 1970 in Studio City, California,USA) is an American filmmaker.

He is best known for making works with ensemble casts and complex storylines. He is part of the first generation of "VCR filmmakers" - directors who, through seeing thousands of films on video, have an encyclopedic knowledge of technique and cultural references. He is also the son of voice actor Ernie Anderson.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has appeared in all four of Anderson's features. Other actors with multiple appearances in Anderson films include Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Luis Guzmán, Ricky Jay, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Melora Walters and the late Robert Ridgely. His three big-budget films (after Hard Eight) were headlined by Burt Reynolds, Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler, respectively.

Filmography (as writer and director)

• Hard Eight (aka Sydney) (1996)
• Boogie Nights (1997)
• Magnolia (1999)
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Films P.T. Has Recommended

• Network (1976), written by Paddy Chayefsky; Anderson is shown screening it for Magnolia crew members on that film's DVD.
• Dancer In The Dark (2000), written/directed by Lars von Trier. (Source: message board interview)

Recommendations given to the fan site Cigarettes and Coffee (http://www.ptanderson.com/):

• City Lights (1931), written/directed by Charlie Chaplin
• Les Vacances de M. Hulot (1953) and Mon Oncle (1958), both written/directed by Jacques Tati
• Meet the Parents (2000), directed by Jay Roach
• Putney Swope (1969), directed/written by Robert Downey Sr.
• Dark Star (1974), directed by John Carpenter
• Nashville (1975), directed by Robert Altman
• Sweet and Lowdown (1999), written/directed by Woody Allen

External links

• IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000759/)
• Unofficial PT Anderson site (http://www.ptanderson.com/)