Paul Thomas Anderson: Crazy Asshole, Apparently Liked Juno

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Richard Lawson

02/22/08 05:35PM

Filed to: big fat jerks

Paul Thomas Anderson, the auteur behind There Will Be Blood, recently had some angry words for Carpetbagger and delightful character David Carr. Anderson, who "can be a real arrogant brat", evidently flipped out on Carr when he overheard Carr saying that Blood wasn't his absolute, super-ist favorite movie of the year. "You know you don't know a fucking thing about movies!" he shrieked at "the Bagger", and added, cryptically, "[Blood is] the best movie of the year. Except for maybe Juno. And Clayton. And Atonement. Other than that, it was the best movie of the year." Well, I guess that's rather diplomatic of him. Though he's still an asshole: "You really think No Country for Old Men...that movie was better than ours? C'mon, do you really believe that?" Yup. A glorious, gifted asshole. Maybe he could take some lessons from Carr, who used to be quite the hard partier, on calming down and being cool. We think Carr's pretty good at it. [Hollywood Elsewhere] After the jump, video of the Carpetbagger kicking off the awards season.

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TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim Richard Lawson 02/22/08 11:38PM

I saw earnest intent in "There Will Be Blood" — and some well defined atmosphere. And Daniel Day Lewis is not to be discounted, at all.

Also saw a great deal of insensical fighting scenes, and a bunch of stuff that made me wonder how anyone could make such a mixed-up interpretation of what went on in the creation of the West.

Can't discount the picture — but do not like the picture. It is better than his other movies; (there's my proper semi-colon!) this is faint praise.

Reading this also makes me wonder if I'm stupid to have spent a lot of money to see Radiohead in Virginia a couple months from now? No, that's not a non-sequitur: the Jonny Greenwood score for this picture is grating, and unmemorable.

Maybe next year can be better. 2007 was an unfortunate year for the movies.

Usually there are two to three I will ultimately own DVD copies of. But not this time.

Misanthopically yours,

P.S. I am expecting that the Michel Gondry and Jacques Rivette movies that opened today (at least in New York) have chances at being better than anything released last year? Fight the good fight; (again!) things will get better.

Diabolique Richard Lawson 02/23/08 09:56AM

Paul Thomas Anderson has a lot of explaining to do for Punch Drunk Love. I couldn't stand that movie. No wonder he's so arrogant, he would have to be blind to his own shortcomings to make that wretched film. I'm going to put There Will Be Blood on my Netflix, though, just to see what it's like.

Mira Nair had a real stinker with Vanity Fair too, but at least I was able to sit through the whole film. Sorry Paul, I ripped Punch Drunk out of my Playstation 2 as soon as Adam through that chair through the window.

HobeforeHos Richard Lawson 02/22/08 06:07PM

He gets points for being nice to his fellow nominees—otherwise I concur that Juno and Clayton are balls overrated. As is No Country.

Lysergic Asset Richard Lawson 02/22/08 06:14PM

@Lolcait: At least David Carr didn't ask Mira Nair if she shaves her legs.

(A Foxymoron of yours that I still can't get out of my head.)