Paul Thomas Anderson Admits He’s Most Proud of ‘The Master’ and Wants Emmanuel Lubezki to Shoot One of His Films
Zack Sharf
Paul Thomas Anderson has been making the press rounds as “Phantom Thread” heads into nationwide release, and his most recent bit of promotion included a Reddit AMA in which he was extremely blunt about a wide-ranging list of subjects. Many directors might have difficulty choosing which film they are most proud of, but not Anderson. The director listed “The Master” when asked, and he elaborated on one of the reasons the film is special to him in another response.
“The first time we shot spherical was on ‘The Master,'” Anderson said. “It seemed like a good fit, evoking the old 50s films like ‘Vertigo’ and ‘North By Northwest,’ those large format films but in a boxy frame. It was a nice change from the earlier films. I wanna shoot scope again though…maybe next time.”
Anderson also continued to praise Tiffany Haddish. The director’s love for the “Girls Trip” breakout star was first revealed during the New York Film Critics Circle awards ceremony. “Phantom Thread” star Lesley Manville was accepting the Best Screenplay honor on behalf of Anderson and read a message from the director in which he gave his phone number to Haddish and begged for a collaboration. He cited Haddish as the actor he wants to work with but hasn’t yet during the AMA.
“I dare anybody to try and do what Tiffany Haddish did in [‘Girls Trip’],” Anderson recently explained to Nerdist about why he keeps signaling the actress out. “That’s like a fucking magic trip how good she is in that, and I dare anybody to try and go take after take — or do one take as good as she does. She is a fucking force. She’s such a great performer.”
Anderson was also asked on Reddit about serving as his own cinematographer on the “Phantom Thread” set. The director noted last fall that it wouldn’t technically be correct to call him the movie’s cinematographer, as he relied heavily on a network of crew members to help him get the job done. Anderson echoed a similar sentiment in his Reddit answer.
“My main takeaway was hire extreme proffesionals to surround you and point like you have a lot of confidence and know what you’re doing,” he said.
Would Anderson be willing to try his hand at cinematography again in the future? “I think I might…..but I also wanna work with Emmanuel Lubezki, Bob Richardson…tons of others.”
Some other highlights from Anderson’s AMA have been included below. Click here to view the entire Reddit thread.
What He’d Tell Himself if He Could Go Back to the “Magnolia” set: “Chill the fuck out and cut twenty minutes.”
Favorite David Lynch Movies: “Blue Velvet” and “Wild at Heart”
Would He Move to Television? “Yes, television. sounds good. but….I like makin’ movies more I think.”
2017 Movies He Liked: “Call Me By Your Name.” “City Of Ghosts.” “Wonder Woman.” “The Post.” “Lost City of Z.” “Star Wars.” “Baby Driver.”
Favorite Daniel Day-Lewis Performance: “Bill the Butcher!”
