Paul Thomas Anderson names “my biggest influence”
In the early stages of his career, Paul Thomas Anderson invited comparisons to a slew of notable filmmakers, but it wasn’t long before he stopped being named in conjunction with others and started being regarded as a truly unique talent in his own right.
His first two features – Hard Eight and Boogie Nights – saw him regularly mentioned in the same breath as Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese, which could have been daunting for any relative newcomer to cinema. Instead, Anderson took it all in his stride as he continued carving out his own identity, to the point where he’s now viewed as incomparable.
From the psychological gymnastics of Magnolia to the bruising nihilism of There Will Be Blood via the unquantifiable Inherent Vice and the coming of-age-stylings of Licorice Pizza, the writer and director has effortlessly hopped from genre to genre while still retaining his unmistakable style.
It’s a filmography that’s seen him held in the highest of esteem by both his peers and fans of his work, with Anderson comfortably among the most notable behind-the-camera talents of the last 25 years and change, although he’s yet to win one of the big ones having been unsuccessfully nominated for 11 Academy Awards in four different categories.
Still, a trophy cabinet stacked full of accolades isn’t the be-all and end-all in terms of reputation, status, or standing, with Anderson both embracing and batting away comparisons to some of Hollywood’s most formidable directorial figures during the formative stages of his ascent up the ladder.
When quizzed on those links to Altman and Scorsese by Cigarettes & Red Vines when Boogie Nights first released, he admitted there was an air of second-hand embarrassment about it, but not before making a point of taking a shot at a wildly popular action blockbuster that released the same year.
“No, it’s embarrassing cause it’s like, well, it’s very nice and it’s very flattering and wow and it’s a lot better than being compared to the guy who made Con Air,” he said. “But at the same time, it makes me feel like, come on – don’t do that to me, not yet, I don’t deserve that. I mean hey, I got an ego, I’m proud of my movie, I really love it, I think it’s good. But those guys have careers. Let me have a career first.”
Con Air slander aside, Anderson did name “those two guys” as people who had a direct influence, but in terms of the biggest, he plumped for somebody else. “The influence of Nashville and Goodfellas is all over this movie,” he continued. “But on top of that, Jonathan Demme is probably my biggest influence – contemporary filmmakers, that’s my biggest influence. And then maybe from the past, I’d say Orson Welles and Truffaut, definitely.”
Altman, Scorsese, Demme, Welles, and Truffaut makes for decent company, and it would be fair to say Anderson is very much on the way to joining them in the annals of cinema history based on the nine features he’s helmed to date.
