The actor Paul Thomas Anderson called “a fucking force”
Born in 1970, Paul Thomas Anderson serves as a reminder that a decent video store can teach aspiring filmmakers more than any film school. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and he spent his childhood hungrily consuming videos. Having soaked up the influence of Rob Reiner, Mel Brooks and countless others, Anderson began making short films and mockumentaries, landing his first feature, Hard Eight, in 1996. Today, he’s one of the most revered filmmakers of the video store generation, having directed such award-winning titles as Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, Inherent Vice and Liquorice Pizza.
Having grown up surrounded by it, it’s no wonder Anderson possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. Like Quentin Tarantino, Anderson’s films are frequently reflective of his filmic obsessions. Discussing the motivation behind his 2017 feature Phantom Thread, Anderson told Film Inquiry: “I wanted to find a way to work with Daniel [Day-Lewis] again, and I wanted to make a – I’m an aficionado of the adopted romance genre, which I’m sure you show a lot of here starting with Rebecca, Gaslight, Suspicion, all those ones that we all know and love. Those are the ones that I always gravitate towards. And so I had an idea that started with a very strong-willed man who was ill, and how nice he became when he was ill, and his spouse thinking, ‘Mhm, I kinda like him when he’s like this.'”
Another key influence on Anderson’s films are those with whom he chooses to collaborate. Daniel Day-Lewis, who has starred in several of his films, is an obvious example. It comes as a surprise to learn, then, that Anderson is yet to make a film with Tiffany Haddish. The American comedian and actor has been at the top of Anderson’s collaborator list since he saw her in Girls Trip.
Following a group of best friends as they embark on a summer vacation to reignite their friendship, this 2017 comedy stars Haddish as Dina, by far the most riotous member of the self-named Flossy Posse. “I dare anybody to try and do what Tiffany Haddish did in [‘Girls Trip’],” Anderson told the Nerdist podcast. “That’s like a fucking magic trip how good she is in that, and I dare anybody to try and go take after take — or do one take as good as she does. She is a fucking force. She’s such a great performer.”
You can check out the trailer for Girls Trip below.
