It makes me happy to know that PTA was reading (rereading?) Against The Day.
https://www.gq.com/story/the-dark-optimism-of-paul-thomas-anderson
I know others enjoyed this, and maybe I'm just feeling cranky today, but, with the exception of PTA's quotes, I wasn't a huge fan. The descriptive wrapping thrown around those quotes seems to overly mythologize Anderson in a way that doesn't even necessarily correspond to his public appearances. Kind of reminds me of how Amy Adams said she expected to meet someone who was very aloof and serious prior to filming
The Master and then she met PTA and he was warm, friendly, etc.
I mean, for instance, do we really know enough about this person -- a stranger who makes some movies we all enjoy -- to call him "paranoid"? Or a "recluse"? The latter word, at least, is heavily qualified in the article, which leaves me to wonder why it was even brought up at all. He is one of the most visible, voluble, and candid directors out there -- always ready to promote his work in an interesting and communicative way. We have a trove of PTA interviews. He promotes his colleagues' work, even (i.e., showing up in that Tarantino video during
The Hateful Eight's press tour). He's not Terrence Malick...which is not to say there's anything wrong with Malick being reclusive -- or seeming more like one than Anderson, anyway.
The parallels drawn between whatever is going on with Day-Lewis' character in PT, and Anderson himself, also feels...kind of flimsy, or at least overstated. Then again, I haven't seen the new film. Still, Anderson has never come across as maladjusted as his characters, but, of course, we don't really know what he's actually like, so whatever people say is just...blah. I just dislike the armchair psychoanalysis of public figures outside of cases where it's warranted and substantiated (as opposed to nosy and speculative). Just stick to the films.
I should be more charitable. It's still an interesting and mostly well-done profile.
