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Birth
Paul Thomas Anderson was born the third youngest of nine children to Edwin and Ernie Anderson in Studio City, California. Ernie was an actor and television host. -
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PTA shoots his first movie
At just eight years of age the already film-crazy Anderson shot his first movie. According to Anderson, he never had another career in mind outside of directing. -
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Anderson's "college," or "Cigarettes & Coffee"
After spending two semesters at Emerson College as an English major and just two days at NYU for film, Anderson decided to shoot the short "Cigarettes & Coffee" which would serve as his "college." He reportedly funded the film with gambling winnings, his girlfriend's credit card and $10,000 his father had set aside for his college. -
"Hard Eight"
Starring Philip Barker Hall, John C. Reilly Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson, Anderson's first feature film, "Hard Eight," originally titled Sydney for the lead character, is an expansion of "Cigarettes & Coffee." The film tells the story of an older gambler (Hall) who takes on a young, down-on-his-luck man and teaches him how to make money and, ultimately, survive in Las Vegas. The surrogate father-son theme is a sign of things to come in Anderson's films. -
"Boogie Nights"
Anderson's second feature, "Boogie Nights" served as his true coming out party. Also <a href='http://books.google.com/books?id=dNgIU-dg2KEC&pg=PA129&dq="cigarettes+&+coffee"&hl=en&sa=X&ei=J77oT-TGObGJ6wGLypHiDg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q="cigarettes & coffee"&f=false' >expanded</a> from an earlier short of Anderson's, the film, which tells the story of a young man's rise through the 70's porn industry, opened to both rave reviews and huge box office success. It also follows the surrogate father-son relationship storyline Anderson first set in motion in "Hard Eight," as the film's protagonist (played by Mark Whalberg) is taken in and cared for by a notorious porn director. -
"Magnolia"
Upon making "Magnolia," Anderson claimed that this would likely be the best film he would ever make. Given free reign by production studio New Line Cinema to do whatever he wanted after the success of "Boogie Nights," Anderson took full advantage. This epic three-hour mosaic of interwoven characters and events is both experimental and grand in scale. "Magnolia" is the first true example of Anderson's unrestrained artistry. -
"Punch-Drunk Love"
With "Punch-Drunk Love," Anderson, who was determined to make a more intimate 90-minute film, recreated a typical Adam Sandler romantic comedy from a modernist, experimental style of filmmaking. The film also proved Anderson a master at drawing performances from his actors, as the film serves as Sandler's finest to this day. Both dark and screechy in tone, Anderson explores a soul damaged by the abuse of his seven sisters in this well-received intimate character study. -
"There Will Be Blood"
This is unquestionably the high point of Anderson's career thus far. In "There Will Be Blood," a bold epic about capitalism during the California oil boom at the turn of the century, Anderson pulls the best performance out of an actor already considered to be the greatest of his time in Daniel Day-Lewis. It earned Anderson the most critical success of his career, even being called by many the best film of the first decade of the 2000's and was nominated for eight Academy Awards. -
"The Master"
Anderson went back to his experimental roots in this portrait of a scarred WWII veteran who is suduced by the charismatic leader of a new religious movement in the '50s loosely based on Scientology. Though the film divided audiences, many critics claim it to be a "great" film. Anderson again broke new ground "The Master," as it was the first film of the 21st century released in 70mm. The surrogate father-son relationship, which resurfaced in "There Will Be Blood," is again present thematically. -
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Inherent Vice
Anderson's latest work, an adaption of novelist Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice," wrapped shooting in August of 2013 and is set to be released in "mid-to-late 2014." The film, which stars "The Master" lead Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Benecio Del Toro, Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson among others, marks the first time that the Pynchon has allowed his work to be adapted for the screen.
