P.T. Anderson Speaks

About a third of the way into this 20-minute video, Paul Thomas Anderson takes the stage, just after a surprise, world premiere of his new film, There Will Be Blood, at Fantastic Fest 2007 (via Cigarettes and Red Vines). One showing was all it took get the Oscar talk for Anderson and star Daniel Day-Lewis (actually, it was already taking place prior to the screening) and the hyperbole rolling for this work based on the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!, set during the 1920’s oil boon in Southern California. Citizen Kane has been referenced a number of times (Gold Derby), and Cinematical calls it “a stunning surprise…more than a ‘departure’ for the director; it’s a monumental display of ‘evolution’ that’ll wow the established fans and impress a helluva lot more new ones.”

”I was really sick of the way I was writing. Everything looked as though I had written it, and that was a horrible feeling.”

I can’t write up any expectations of There Will Be Blood without a large amount of bias, as the guy is my favorite contemporary American director. The quote above is from a couple months ago, describing the measures he took to create something fresh. The words have been ringing in my head for a while, really wanting to use them as words of advice for a similarly named young auteur with a just released film in the news, who could maybe use a tear-down and restructuring of his aesthetic. But forget the pot shots. Just give me Blood. Please and thanks.

There Will Be Blood will debut on December 26th. Trailer. Original teaser.

tedzee | Permalink | October 8 2007 | Comments (View)