Paul Thomas Anderson

Director

June 26, 1970 (56 years)

Studio City, California, USA

Biography

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, he is the recipient of three Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTAs, three Critics Choice Awards, and nominations for a Grammy. He is the only person to have won the Academy Award for Best Director, as well as the Best Director Awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin Internation…

Filmography

6.9

Saturday Night Live

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.

7.3

One Battle After Another

Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

8.1

There Will Be Blood

Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

7.7

Magnolia

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

7.6

Boogie Nights

In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

7.3

Phantom Thread

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

7.1

The Master

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

6.5

Inherent Vice

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

7.1

Punch-Drunk Love

A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

7.0

Licorice Pizza

The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

6.8

Hard Eight

A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

7.3

Anima

In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.

5.2

The Dirk Diggler Story

A mockumentary short film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson at age seventeen. Presented as a behind-the-scenes television profile, it chronicles the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler, a well-endowed porn star whose fame and fortune spiral into drug abuse and tragedy. Modeled on real-life adult film actor John Holmes, the film serves as an early prototype for Anderson’s later feature Boogie Nights (1997).

7.1

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh

Adam Sandler takes his comical musical musings back out on the road, from comedy clubs to concert halls to one very unsuspecting subway station.

7.2

Junun

A documentary capturing the creation of the album Junun inside Rajasthan’s 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. Paul Thomas Anderson follows Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, Nigel Godrich, and the Rajasthan Express as they record a cross-cultural fusion of Indian, Israeli, and Western music.

6.7

Cigarettes & Coffee

At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).

7.0

HAIM / Valentine

Three songs by American pop rock trio Haim, shot live at LA's Valentine Recording Studios, making the 2017 album 'Something to Tell You'.

N/A

Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall

A concert film documenting Cameron Winter's sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall.

2.0

Production Assistant

In 1992, Anderson was knee-deep at night in devising what would eventually become “Boogie Nights,” but during the day he worked as a production assistant on “Sworn To Vengeance,” a telefilm thriller starring Robert Conrad. From this gig sprang a brief, fascinating clip of the future director giving viewers a tour of the different departments on-set, from transpo to catering and make-up/wardrobe.

4.6

Couch

A man shops for a new couch at a Levitz furniture store.