How Robert Altman inspired Paul Thomas Anderson: “It was a privilege and an honour”
“Everything of Robert [Altman]’s films has been an inspiration to me,” Paul Thomas Anderson remarked when discussing There Will Be Blood, a film he regrets never having the chance to screen for Altman. Both directors have been lauded as auteurs, celebrated for their unique vision and meticulous craft. Among PTA’s many influences throughout his career, Altman’s impact is unmistakable, deeply shaping Anderson’s approach to storytelling and cinematic style.
From the use of naturalistic, overlapping dialogue—prominently seen in Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Anderson’s Boogie Nights—to the freedom actors were given to improvise, creating dynamic and organic performances, Altman’s influence on Anderson is clear. Altman pioneered a narrative style that dissected the complexities of relationships and broader American culture, a tradition Anderson has carried forward since Altman’s passing in 2006. Most recently, Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, which explores a young man’s first love in the early 1970s, reflects this legacy. The film also marked Anderson’s collaboration with Cooper Hoffman, son of his late, beloved collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman.
A preference for building strong ensemble casts is something Anderson also picked up the torch for, resulting in his own work being praised for its ‘Altman’-like qualities and uniquely skilful execution.
The influence and comparison isn’t merely in philosophical approach, the similarity of how the two directors visually tell their stories is also clear. The long take, something Anderson is often associated with due to his shot length average being over five times longer than most other directors (13 seconds vs 2.5 seconds on average), is something that Altman also had a penchant for. Famously in The Player, the director pays homage to his own influence, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, with a long tracking shot.
It was an opportunity to work alongside each other for the last on A Prairie Home Companion that would give Anderson a meaningful final lesson from Altman; however, when during the production of his last film, Altman would be required to hire Anderson to be a backup for him for a month as “insurance”.
“Just in case anything happened with Bob, I was hired to sit next to him. I can’t tell you what I took from it,” Anderson remarks.
The closeness the two shared toward the end of Altman’s life and the chance to spend 30 days beside someone who had such influence on Anderson wasn’t wasted. “Obviously, it was a privilege and an honour and all that, but just such an amazing good time,” PTA said about his time playing backup to Altman in 2006.
Despite the preoccupations with some of the darker elements of the human condition that both directors would display in their work and the seemingly unending dedication the two would give to their output, Altman would tell Anderson, “What are you worried about? It’s all going to be fine.” The kind of quiet confidence that comes with creating some of the most well-regarded work in cinema? Or a man who understood that to make a great film, all you needed was belief. “Maybe I learned that from him, to relax a little bit more.”
