Paul Thomas Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age. He made his feature-film debut with Hard Eight (1996). He found critical and commercial success with Boogie Nights (1997) and received further accolades with Magnolia (1999), an ensemble piece set in the San Fernando Valley, and Punch-Drunk Love (2002), a romantic comedy-drama film.
Anderson's fifth film, There Will Be Blood (2007), about an oil prospector during the Southern California oil boom, achieved major critical and commercial success, and is often cited as one of the greatest films of the 2000s. This was followed by The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014). Anderson's eighth film, Phantom Thread, was released in 2017. His ninth film, Licorice Pizza, was released in 2021 to critical acclaim.
He has directed music videos for artists, including Fiona Apple, Radiohead, Haim, Joanna Newsom, Aimee Mann, Jon Brion and Michael Penn. Anderson directed a documentary, Junun (2015), about the making of the album of the same name in India. In 2019, he directed a short film accompanying Thom Yorke's Anima, released on Netflix and in select IMAX theatres.
Anderson's films are often psychological dramas and characterized by depictions of flawed and desperate characters, explorations of themes such as dysfunctional families, alienation, loneliness and redemption, and a bold visual style that uses moving camera and long takes. He is noted for his frequent collaborations with actors Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters and John C. Reilly, cinematographer Robert Elswit, costume designer Mark Bridges, and composers Jon Brion and Jonny Greenwood.
His films have consistently garnered critical acclaim. Anderson has been nominated for eleven Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and eight BAFTA Awards (winning one), and has won a Best Director Award at Cannes, both a Golden and a Silver Bear at Berlin, and a Silver Lion at Venice.