Paul Thomas Anderson was born on 26th June 1970 in Studio City, California, USA. He grew up in ‘The Valley’ in the shadow of Hollywood, among somewhat shady characters and in slightly seedy environments, and these experiences show in his films, three of which are set there. He is a diverse storyteller tackling radically different genres of film making and producing films that are all entertaining and quirky. He has films to his name such as Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master(2012) and Inherent Vice (2014) with it’s somewhat stellar cast.
His style is greatly influenced by video, his father was the first guy on the block to own a VCR and Anderson grew up watching video and began making video films early. His father also hosted a late night horror show in Cleveland.
His film The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), about a once great pornography star, was an amateur film in a mockumentary style that was in a sense remade into Boogie Nights (1997) which Paul initially found success and fame with along with talent like Mark Wahlberg, and Burt Reynolds, who came back into demand on the acting scene after this film. Anderson also cast three actors with whom he would work often in the future: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly and, in a small part, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who went on to feature in four of Anderson’s films. Other returning favourite actors in Anderson’s films include: Julianne Moore, Melora Walters, William H. Macy and Luis Guzmán. He has famously created a stock company of high quality actors, and his films show the depth of their work as well as his. Julianne Moore, Melora Walters, William H. Macy and Luis Guzmán. Anderson was awarded a “Best Director” award at Cannes for Punch-Drunk Love in 2002.
Paul Thomas Anderson Filmography
2014 Inherent Vice
2012 The Master
2007 There Will Be Blood
2002 Punch-Drunk Love
1999 Magnolia
1997 Boogie Nights
1996 Hard Eight
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