Paul Thomas Anderson discusses his surprising opinion on remakes
With such classic modern movies as There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza, there’s no doubt that the American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest directors of the contemporary craft. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Denis Villeneuve, Sofia Coppola, Jonathan Glazer and Greta Gerwig, Anderson has been at the top of his game ever since his 1996 debut.
Yet to make a ‘bad’ movie, Anderson has claimed 11 Oscar nominations throughout his time as a filmmaker, criminally never taking an award for himself home. Still, each one of his movies is adored by his dogged legion of fans who praise everything from his cult romantic comedy Punch-Drunk Love to his extensive music video work alongside the British band Radiohead.
A lover and student of cinema himself, Anderson has been inspired by some of the greatest filmmakers of all time throughout his career, with many such icons appearing on his list of his favourite movies of all time. Given his stature in the industry, Anderson isn’t too keen on the old Hollywood remake, a largely looked-down-on practice of the industry that sees the same ideas recycled and updated.
Speaking to Playboy magazine back in 1998, Anderson discussed his strong opinion on Hollywood remakes, making a satirical dig at the great Alfred Hitchcock in the process.
“My feeling about remakes is: Just rip it off. Don’t call it a remake. Don’t bastardize it. Just give it another title,” the director stated. “Isn’t re-creating and rehashing and ripping off and riffing off patterns that have already been created part of what we do? So just make it your own and call it something else. Without trying to insult anyone, and unfortunately Gwyneth is in this movie, I’m not sure about the thinking behind remaking Dial M for Murder. Do they think they can do it better? On second thought, maybe all those Hitchcock movies can be done better. Yeah. He’s overrated, that Hitch guy”.
Indeed, whilst Anderson isn’t a fan of remakes, he has never been shy of discussing the movies that have closely influenced his projects. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the time of Phantom Thread’s release, the director said of the film, “It’s not your standard love story. It’s more peculiar for sure. A lot of directors have tried and failed to make Rebecca. I’m probably next in line, but it’s a different story. I’m a large aficionado of those large Gothic romance movies as the old masters might do them”.
Take a look at the trailer for A Perfect Murder below, a remake of Hitchcock’s classic Dial M For Murder that Anderson simply doesn’t see eye-to-eye with.
