‘Ask Paul Thomas Anderson’ Delivered Great Advice And A Location For *That* ‘Boogie Nights’ Prop

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Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered some of Hollywood’s most indulgent, challenging, and darkly funny movies over the last two decades. From Reed Rothchild asking Dirk Diggler how much he can bench in Boogie Nights, to Daniel Plainview declaring that he’ll drink your milkshake in There Will Be Blood, PTA is behind some of the most memorable dialogue in recent memory. The guy is funny.

Now, he’s using his humor and social media to promote what is very likely to be Daniel Day-Lewis’ final film in his the masterpiece Phantom Thread. The movie, set in 1950s London, isn’t an easy pitch to your average theater-goer — it’s a slow-burn study of a creative’s journey hitting a speedbump called “love” — but PTA doing his best to remind the world that he’s just a big film nerd with an awesome wife. It might give his sometimes tough to swallow films a coating of sugar.

So, on Twitter, he spent a few hours answering just about every question shot his way. From Daniel Day-Lewis to Star Wars, PTA answered just about everything except “how much do you bench?”

Anderson has already said Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart are his favorite David Lynch films, but now we know what he thinks about Twin Peaks: The Return.


He also gave out plenty of writing advice:

And loves the new Star Wars trilogy, apparently.

Also, there was a Paul W.S. Anderson joke.

Some advice on how to get people to watch Magnolia:

His thoughts on Santa Thread:

General “favorites” across entertainment:

Surprisingly, PTA would be into making a superhero movie, especially for kids:

People wanted to know about his other half, Maya Rudolph:

And of course, about that Boogie Nights prop…