erent Vice (2014) • The Will Be Blood (2007) e (2002) • Magnolia (1999) 97) • Hard Eight (1996) ch (2012) • Flagpole rettes & Coffee (1993) • r Story (1988) • Music by Fiona Apple (2013) n Brion (2002) • "P aper ple (2000) • "Limp" by "S ave Me" by Aimee You C an" by Fiona s the Universe" by • "Try" by Michael A struggle for acceptance in the films of P.T. Anderson
Feature films Inhe Master (2012) • There • Punch-Drunk Love • Boogie Nights (1997 Short films C ouc Special (1998) • Cigar The Dirk Diggler videos " Hot Knife" b • "H ere We Go" by Jon Bag" by Fiona App Fiona Apple (2000) • Mann (1999) • "Fast as Apple (1999) • "Across Fiona Apple (1998) Penn (1997)
erent Vice (2014) • The Will Be Blood (2007) e (2002) • Magnolia (1999) 97) • Hard Eight (1996) ch (2012) • Flagpole rettes & Coffee (1993) • Story (1988) • Music by Fiona Apple (2013) Brion (2002) • "P aper ple (2000) • "Limp" by "S ave Me" by Aimee You C an" by Fiona s the Universe" by • "Try" by Michael
A struggle for accep
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CON T E N T S
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IN T RODUC T ION DIR E C T OR
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BIOGRAPHY
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F ILMOGR AP H Y
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THE FILMS
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HARD EIGHT
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BOOGIE NIGHTS
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MAGNOLIA
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P U N C H - D R U N K L O VE
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THERE WILL BE BLOOD
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THE MASTER
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LOCA T ION
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LOCATION INFLUENCE
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PLACES TO STAY
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P L A C E S T O VI S I T
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RESTAURANTS
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BUTCHERS AND BREWERS
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FESTIVAL
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SCREENING SCHEDULE
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CONCERT
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CR E DI T S
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INTRODUCTION Flawed Film Festival
A struggle for acceptance in the films of P.T. Anderson
Those whose eyes and ears have yet to experience the surreal magnificent of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films need no better introduction than the likes of “Magnolia,” “Boogie Nights,” or even the darker and much more disturbing, “There Will Be Blood;” but if you’re too busy or too lazy, it can be said with extreme confidence, that P.T. Anderson should be mentioned as one of the greatest film makers of all time. P.T. Anderson has made films in a number of genres, but his films often deal with themes such as loneliness and family dynamics, with his usual trademarks of long takes and emphatic use of music. He veers from the art house experimentation to old fashioned melodrama and from profound philosophical inquiry to kinetic violence and dirty sex. Plenty of other directors make great movies, but no one makes movies that have more of what makes movies great in them like P.T. Anderson's films.
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We are proud to present “Flawed”, a film festival that is dedicated to the work of one the greatest American director, Paul Thomas Anderson and his talent to perfection. The festival is a celebration of P.T. Anderson’s work and his deep admiration to his father, Ernie Anderson. The event will take place in Cleveland Ohio, at Connor Palace, located in front of the demolished Esquire Theater where his father worked as Ghoulardi, Cleveland's very popular late night tv show, Shock Theater. The opening date, February 6th, honors his father's passing and celebrates his influence to P.T. Anderson's life; and dedicates three nights of screening and concerts that will focus around the topics of dysfunctional family relationships, addiction, desperation, and isolation.
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I r e m e m b e r b e i n g t a u gh t i n s c h o o l that you
would underline things
that you liked. I remember just underlining everything as a kid, thinking, 'T h is has a l l got ta be i mpor ta nt' I would just underline the whole thing!
—P.T. A nderson
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Yo u h a v e t o b e a b r a t i n o r d e r t o c a r v e o u t y o u r parameters, and you have to be a monster to anyone 11
who gets in you r way. But sometimes it's difficu lt to k now when that's necessa r y a nd w
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P. T. Anderson June 26 , 1970
Studio City , California
B Y
REB ECCA FLIN T M A R X
With his 1997 film Boogie Nights, then-27-year-old director Paul Thomas Anderson took his righteous place on the list of Hollywood wunderkinds. Brash, ensemble driven epic made as a tribute to the Los Angeles porn industry of the 1970s, the film was both an exploration of the industry and the ‘70s version of the American dream. Combining sharp humor, indelible poignancy, and painstaking detail, Boogie Nights was hailed by one critic as the first great film about the ‘70s to come out since the ‘70s. The wide acclaim surrounding it — a s well as Anderson’s Best Screenplay Oscar nomination — put Anderson at the forefront of young American filmmakers, establishing him as one of the most exciting talents to come along in years. Son of voice actor Ernie Anderson, he was born in Studio City, California, on January 1, 1970. Growing up in the Valley, where the porn industry thrived during the ‘70s, Anderson became obsessed with porn movies at a young age. He had a greater fascination with the medium than he did with school; by all accounts a poor student, he was kicked out of the sixth grade for bad behavior. Always interested in becoming a filmmaker, Anderson made his first movie in high school, a 30-minute mockumentary entitled “Dirk Diggler”. Inspired by an article he had read on porn star John Holmes, Anderson’s short — about a porn star and his 13-inch penis — would later become the inspiration for Boogie Nights.
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Inherent Vice (2 0 14) T he M as ter (2 0 1 2 ) T h e re Will Be Blood (2 0 07) P u nch-Drunk Love (2 0 0 2 ) M ag nolia (1 9 9 9 ) Boog ie Nig ht s (1 9 97) Hard E ig ht (1 9 9 6 )
After a brief stint as an English major at Emerson College and an even shorter stint at the NYU Film School, Anderson began his career as a production assistant on various TV movies, videos, and game shows in Los Angeles and New York. In '92, he made “Cigarettes & Coffee”, a short with five vignettes set in a diner. After it was screened at the '93 Sundance Festival, Hollywood came calling, and Anderson made his first full-length feature, Sydney — retitled Hard Eight. Released in '96, the making of the film — a crime drama set in the world of gambling and prostitution — proved F L AW E D \
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disastrous for the director, who was fired by the film’s production company and not allowed to release his own version of the movie until it had been selected for competition at Cannes. Hard Eight ultimately earned a fair number of positive notices, but went virtually unheard of by audiences. During the troubling production of Hard Eight in 1995, Anderson began writing Boogie Nights as a way to retain a hold on his sanity. The great success that surrounded the film’s release all but ensured that the writer/director would be spared the kind of problems that had marred
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his previous effort. The recipient of numerous honors, including three Oscar and two Golden Globe nominations, Boogie Nights was widely hailed as one of the best films of the year, if not the decade. Anderson remained mum on what he would do next, but in '99 he resurfaced with Magnolia. Like Boogie Nights, it was an ensemble film of epic length, and featured performances by such Anderson regulars as Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, William H. Macy, and Julianne Moore. Centered around themes of love, death, abandonment, and familial estrangement, it served up a lavish helping of the sort of sweeping narrative, visual flair, and off-kilter insight that Anderson had made his trademark. Most critics responded in kind, once again praising Anderson’s touch with actors, particularly his ability to evince a full-fledged supporting performance from the usually-plastic Tom Cruise. Though it turned up on a slew of 10 best lists and secured Oscar nods for Cruise, Aimee Mann’s original song {&”Save Me”}, and Anderson’s screenplay, Magnolia’s three-hour-andtwenty-minute running time scared off audiences, and the film failed to break even Boogie Nights’ $25 million tally. Scaling back his world view somewhat, Anderson spent part of the next year honing his comic skills in the most unlikely of places: on NBC’s venerable sketch show Saturday Night Live. Tagging along for an episode that featured then-girlfriend Fiona Apple as musical guest, Anderson was tapped for his writing talents as well as for a couple of pre-filmed mock-documentary segments. The comedy bug took hold, and it wasn’t long before the amateur would team up with SNL alum Adam Sandler for a high-concept, low-budget (by Sandler standards, at least) romantic comedy. An off-kilter fusion of ‘50s Technicolor musical, extortion thriller, and the real-life tale of one man’s pudding compulsion, Punch-Drunk Love premiered at the 2002
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Cannes Film Festival, nabbing its creator a tie for the Best Director prize (shared with the legendary South Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-Taek). Though its fall release in the US was accompanied by ecstatic reviews and careful marketing, Punch-Drunk failed to connect with audiences — who were perhaps expecting a conventional Sandler comedy — and petered out at the box office after a promising short limited release run. Allegedly suffering from some burn out after the lack of response to Punch-Drunk Love, Anderson took a job assisting one of his idols, Robert Altman, while he directed what would turn out to be his final film, A Prairie Home Companion. This process reinvigorated him to some degree and Anderson returned to screens in 2007 with There Will Be Blood, a loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel {-Oil}. The story of an oilman (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose misanthropy and desire for success costs him his humanity opened to thunderous critical praise and was one of the two films to dominate the year end critics and industry awards. Anderson was cited for numerous writing & directing awards including Oscar nominations for each of those categories.
With the exception of welcoming his third child with significant other Maya Rudolph in 2011, Anderson kept a low-profile for a few years. Anderson continued to present layered work with the 2012 release of The Master, a drama with Scientology themes starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Amy Adams. The director went in another direction with his 2014 adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice, a comedic affair in which the director again worked with Phoenix among a large cast that included Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon and Martin Short. With Vice, Anderson earned another Oscar nomination for an Adapted Screenplay. Rumors have continued to swirl about his next project.
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I don’t miss scenes at all t h e
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THE FILMS Hard Eight
Boogie Nights Magnolia
Punch-Drunk Love There Will Be Blood The Master
P.T. Anderson is in many ways our Kubrick of our generation. There are arguments that can be made that there are better movies from other directors, and we can even entertain the notion that there are better directors. However, like Kubrick and Hitchcock before him, you get the sense that every single shot in a PTA film has been carefully thought out and constructed. From a man sitting down in an empty warehouse to intricate shots following a lead through a highly populated porn party, the attention to detail is so great all we can do is sit back and just admire the man’s vision and his skills. It wasn’t easy choosing and ranking PTA’s filmography, and once we started to dissect each film, we reached the conclusion that while some movies may fare better than others, the following films reflected the most dysfunction possible.
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HARD EIGHT Release date / February 28, 1997 Rated R
102 minutes
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I will f uck you up if you f
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I k now th ree kinds of Ka rate: J uj i t s u ,
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S Y NOP SIS Sydney (Philip Baker Hall), a gambler in his 60s, finds a young man, John (John C. Reilly), sitting forlornly outside a diner and offers to give him a cigarette and buy him a cup of coffee. Sydney learns that John is trying to raise enough money for his mother’s burial. He offering to drive him to Las Vegas and teach him how to make some money and survive, skeptical at first, John agrees. Two years later, John, having gotten the money for the funeral, has become Sydney’s protégé. John also has a new friend named Jimmy (Samuel L. Jackson), who does security work, and is attracted to a woman named Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow), a cocktail waitress in Reno. Sydney encounters Clementine at night, learning she moonlights as a prostitute. Although Clementine believes Sydney might want to sleep with her, Sydney actually wants to set her up with John. Sydney gets a frantic late-night phone call. John February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
summons him to a motel. He arrives to find John and Clementine holding a hostage. He turns out to be a customer who refuses to pay Clementine for sex. John also reveals that he and Clementine eloped. The situation is dangerous, because they have called the hostage’s wife to demand $300. They do not have a plan and they have beaten the hostage badly. Sydney finds a way to manage the situation smoothly over. He angerly advises John and Clementine to leave town and head to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. After the two leave, Sydney is confronted by Jimmy, who threatens to tell John that Sydney killed John’s father unless Sydney gives him money. Sydney pays up, but later sneaks into Jimmy’s house and kills him. He then returns to the same diner where he met John. The film ends with Sydney covering up blood on his shirt cuff.
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Philip Baker Hall › Sydney
Renee Breen › Bride
John C. Reilly › John
Jane W. Brimmer › Aladdin Cashier
Gwyneth Paltrow › Clementine
Mark Finizza › Desk Clerk
Samuel L. Jackson › Jimmy
Richard Gross › Floorman
F. William Parker › Hostage
Cliff Keeley › Aladdin Change Booth Attendant
Philip Seymour Hoffman › Young Craps Player Nathanael Cooper › Restroom Attendant Wynn White › Waitress Robert Ridgely › Keno Bar Manager Kathleen Campbell › Keno Girl Michael J. Rowe › Pitt Boss Peter D’Allessandro › Bartender Steve Blane › Stickman Xaleese › Cocktail Waitress Melora Walters › Jimmy’s Girl Jean Langer › Cashier Andy Breen › Groom F L AW E D \
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Carrie McVey › El Dorado Cashier Pastor Truman Robbins › Pastor Ernie Anderson › Pants on Fire Person Wendy Weidman › Pants on Fire Person Jake Cross › Pants on Fire Person Philip Baker Hall › Sydney John C. Reilly › John Gwyneth Paltrow › Clementine Samuel L. Jackson › Jimmy F. William Parker › Hostage Philip Seymour Hoffman
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P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › Robert Jones Producer › John S. Lyons Executive Producer › Keith Samples Executive Producer › Hans Brockmann Executive Producer › Francois Duplat Co-Producer › Daniel Lupi Associate Producer › Helene Mulholland Unit Manager › Dan Collins
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Sydney: I have a f rie nd in Los Angele s. S o m e o n e ... maybe some one who can he lp. I c an m ake a call f or you, te ll him you're a f rie nd, so o n an d so f o r th , and we can work this th i n g o u t h e re . I think if you ne e d he lp paying f or your m oth e r 's f u n e ral, we can work it out. I want yo u to se e that my re asons f or doing this are not se lf i sh , o n ly th i s: I'd hope that you would do th e sam e f o r m e .
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F L A W E D F I L M F E S T I VJoh A L n: . IC wo OM u ld . Th an k yo u . Sydney: [ shake s John's hand] It's always g o o d to m e et a new f rie nd. I'll se e yo u late r.
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RE V IE W BY
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The man's face is sad and lined, and he lights cigarettes as if he's been living in casinos for centuries. He has a deep, precise voice: We get a quick impression that he knows what he thinks and says what be believes. His name is Sydney, and he has found an unshaven young bum dozing against the wall of a coffee shop and offered him a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Why? The answer is the engine behind the first half of "Hard Eight." I am not sure it is ever fully answered, or needs to be. Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) is a man who has been gambling for a long time, and knows a lot about the subject, and shares his knowledge with the kid because—well, maybe because he has it to share. The kid is named John (John C. Reilly). He needs $6,000 to bury his mother and has lost everything. Step by step, Sydney teaches him some ropes, like how to start with $150 and recycle it through the casino cashier cages until he seems to have spent $2,000 in the casino, and is given a free room. This opening sequence is quietly fascinating: I like movies that show me precisely how to get away with something. At the end of the process, it's funny how John, now that he's in his own room, becomes the genial host. "Free movies on TV?" he asks Sydney. "Drink from the mini-bar?" Two years pass. Sydney and John are still friends, John dressing like Sydney and even ordering the same drinks. We begin to understand more about the older man. He is a gentleman, with a deep courtesy. He watches the waitress Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow) flirt with a table of drunks, asks her if she "has" to do that to keep her job and says, "You don't have to do that with me." John and Clementine become a couple, even though it's clear Clemmie does some hooking on the side. John also makes a friend of an ominous man named Jimmy (Samuel L. Jackson), who Sydney doesn't trust. "What do you do?" Sydney asks him. "I do some consulting, security, help out on busy nights," Jimmy says. "Parking lot?" says Sydney. "No, I'm inside," Jimmy says, but Sydney's shot has found its target. By this point in the film, its writer director, Paul Thomas Anderson, has us so hooked that we're watching for the sheer pleasure of the dialogue and the acting. Anderson has a good ear. Sydney says precisely what he means. John's statements are based more on hope than reality. Clementine says what she thinks people want to hear. Jimmy likes to say things that are probably not true, and then look at you to see if you'll challenge him. All of F L AW E D \
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Sydn ey : W he re d i d t his t hing g o w rong ? Cleme nti ne: B e c a u s e he t h o u g ht t hat he was s mart and I wa s s t u p id . . . and I ' m not s t up id . Sydney : Wel l , t hi s i s a p retty s t up id s it uat ion, is n' t it ? Clem entine: We ' l l s e e h ow fu c k i ng s t up id I am when we g et my money, won' t we? Syd n ey : Yo u k n ow t he firs t t hing t hey s hould h ave ta u ght yo u at hooke r s c hool ? You g et t he money up front . Cle m e nt in e : Fuck you. Jo h n : Syd , d on' t talk to her like t hat . Sydn ey : I ' m h aving a convers at ion. Jo h n : D on' t talk to her like t hat . Syd n ey : Shut t he fuck up. Jo h n : I ' m wa r n i n g you , Syd ! Don' t fucking talk to h er l i ke t hat ! S h e 's my w i f e! We g ot married t his afternoon.
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them live in the 24-hour days of Reno, where gambling is like a drumbeat in the back of everything they do. There turns out to be a kind of a plot (a customer doesn't pay Clementine $300, and John gets violent and then calls Sydney to help him out of a mess). There is even a secret from the past, although not the one we expect. But the movie isn't about a plot. It's about these specific people in this place and time, and that's why it's so good: It listens and sees. It observes, and in that it takes its lead from Sydney, who is a student of human nature and plays the cards of life very, very close to his vest. Philip Baker Hall has been in the movies since 1975, and has been on a lot of TV shows, even "Seinfeld." He's familiar, in a way: He looks middle-aged and a little sad. And grown up. Many Americans linger in adolescence, but Hall is the kind of man who puts on a tie before he leaves the house. In 1985, he gave one of the great performances in American movies, in a one-man show, playing Richard Nixon in Robert Altman's "Secret Honor." Here is another great performance. He is a man who has been around, who knows casinos and
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gambling, who finds himself attached to three people he could easily have avoided, who thinks before he acts. Movies like "Hard Eight" remind me of what original, compelling characters the movies can sometimes give us. Like David Mamet's "House of Games" or Mike Figgis' "Leaving Las Vegas," or the documentary "Crumb," they pay attention to the people who inhabit city nights according to their own rules, who have learned from experience and don't like to make the same mistake twice. At one point, when Clementine asks him a question, Sydney says, "You shouldn't ask a question like that unless you know the answer." It's not so much what he says as how he says it.
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
W IN New Generation Award › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
N O MIN ATIO N
Best First Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor › Samuel L. Jackson › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards
Best Actor › Philip Baker Hall › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards
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BOOGIE NIGHTS Release date / October 10, 1997 Rated R
155 minutes
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W hen I close my eyes, I see this t h i n g , i t ’ s l i k e t h i s b i g s i g n , a n d t h e n e o n
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A nd this na me is just so bright a nd so sha r p that the sign it just blows up because the name is just so power f u l. It says Dirk Diggler. D
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S Y NOP SIS 1977, Eddie Adams is a high school dropout who lives with his stepfather and emotionally abusive alcoholic mother in Torrance, California. He works at a Reseda nightclub owned by Maurice Rodriguez, where he is discovered by porn director Jack Horner, who auditions him by watching him have sex with Rollergirl, a porn starlet who always wears skates. After a heated argument with his mother about his girlfriend and his sex life, Adams runs away from home and moves in with Horner at his San Fernando Valley home.
pick and choose his movies. Dirk and his best friend/fellow star Reed Rothchild are featured in a series of successful action themed porn films. Assistant director Little Bill is married to a porn star who has frequently embarrasses him by having sex with other men in public. At a New Year's Eve party at Jack's house marking the year 1980, he shoots both her and her lover, then turns the gun on himself.
Jack and his main source of funding, Colonel James, have a discussion on New Year's Eve with Floyd Gondolli, After agreeing to enter the world of a "theater" magnate in San Diego porn, he gives himself the screen and San Francisco, who insists on name "Dirk Diggler" and becomes a cutting costs by shooting on videostar because of his good looks, youth- tape, a format that Jack detests. ful charisma and extraordinarily large Subsequent to James' imprisonment penis. He is idealistic and does not for child pornography and due to the want to do movies with elements (such technological changes in the industry as abuse) that he views as negative. away from film and towards videoHis success allows him to buy a new tape, Jack gives up and works with house, an extensive wardrobe, a Floyd. He is unhappy with the lack of "competition orange" '76 Chevrolet scripts and character development Corvette Stingray, and is able to in the projects Gondolli expects him February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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E d d i e Ada m s : Ja c k , I was t hinking ab out my name, y ' know ? Jack Horn e r: Yeah? E d d ie Ad a m s : I wa s won d e r i ng if you had any id eas. Ja c k Ho r n e r : I ' ve g ot a few, b ut you tell me. E ddi e Ada m s : We l l, my id ea was, y ' know, I wa nt a n a m e , I wa nt it s o it can cut g las s, y ' know, razor s harp. Jack Horn e r: Tell me. Ed d i e Ad a ms : W h e n I c l os e my eyes, I s ee t his t hing, a si gn , I s e e t h i s n a m e i n brig ht b lue neon lig ht s with a pu r pl e o u t l i n e . A n d t h i s n ame is s o b rig ht and s o sha r p t h at t h e s i g n - i t j u s t b l ows up b ecaus e t he name i s so powe r fu l . . . It s ays, " D i r k Dig g ler." What d o you t hink? Ja c k Ho r n e r : I t hi n k. . .t hat 's a g reat name.
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to churn out. One of these projects involves him and Rollergirl riding in a limousine searching for random men for her to have sex with while a crew tapes it. When a man recognizes Rollergirl as a former high school classmate, he insults both her and Jack. They beat him and leave him bleeding and half-conscious on the street. Leading lady Amber Waves, who took Eddie under her wing when he joined Jack's stable of actors, finds herself in a custody battle with her former husband. The court determines she is an unfit mother due to her involvement in the porn industry, prior criminal record and cocaine addiction. Buck Swope marries fellow porn star Jessie St. Vincent, who shortly thereafter becomes pregnant. Because of his past, Buck is denied a bank loan to open a stereo equipment store. He stops at a donut shop and finds himself in the middle of a holdup. The clerk, the robber and an armed customer are killed in the resulting shootout. Buck escapes with the money and uses it to finance his store. Dirk becomes addicted to cocaine: consequently, he finds it increasingly difficult to achieve an erection and he falls into violent mood swings. After having a falling out with Jack during a film shoot, he and Reed pursue their dream of rock and roll stardom, a move supported by Scotty, a gay boom operator who is in love with Dirk. However, they squander their money on drugs, leaving themselves unable to pay the recording studio for the demo tapes. Desperate for money, Dirk resorts to prostitution, but he is assaulted and robbed by a gang of thugs. Dirk, Reed and their friend Todd attempt to scam drug dealer Rahad Jackson by selling him a halfkilo of baking soda disguised as cocaine. Dirk and Reed wish to leave quickly before Rahad's bodyguard inspects the product, but Todd tries to rob Rahad and is killed in the ensuing gunfight. Frightened by his brush with death, Dirk reconciles with Jack. In 1984, Buck's son has been born, Reed practices a successful magic act at a topless bar, James becomes a victim of beatings in prison, and Amber finds a career in directing local commercials and porn films under Jack's guidance. Rollergirl and Dirk have moved in with Jack and are preparing to start shooting again.
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Mark Wahlberg › Dirk Diggler
Howard Morris › Mr Brown
Burt Reynolds › Jack Horner
Joanna Gleason › Dirk's Mother
Julianne Moore › Amber Waves
Laurel Holloman › Sheryl Lynn
John C. Reilly › Reed Rothchild
Thomas Jane › Todd Parker
Melora Walters › Jessie St Vincent
Jack Wallace › Rocky
Robert Ridgely › The Colonel
Don Amendolia › Bank Worker
Don Cheadle › Buck Swope
Jason Andrews › Colonel's Limo Driver
Heather Graham › Rollergirl Luis Guzman › Maurice TT Rodriguez
Philip Seymour Hoffman › Scotty J
Brad Braeden › Big StudKevin Breznahan › Sheryl Lynn's Husband
Ricky Jay › Kurt Longjohn
Rico Bueno › Hot Traxx Waiter
William H. Macy › Little Bill
Jose Chaidez › Puerto Rican Kid
Alfred Molina › Rahad Jackson
Joe GM Chan › Rahad's Asian Kid››Cosmo
Philip Baker Hall › Floyd Gondolli
Nicole Ari Parker › Becky Barnett Stanley DeSantis › Jerry Nina Hartley › Little Bill's Wife Michael Jace › Jerome
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Dustin Courtney › Donut Boy Jake Cross › Watcher # 2 Gregg Daniel › Minister
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John Doe › Thomas
Mike Gunther › Surfer Punk # 2
Loren Lazerine › Police Officer
Tom Dorfmeister › Watcher # 1
Veronica Hart › Judge
Henry Lee › Tailor
Robert Downey Sr. › Recording Studio Manager
Lawrence Hudd › Dirk's Father
Lexi Leigh › Amateur Actress
Amber Hunter › Colonel's O D Girlfriend
Tom Lenk › Tommy
Patricia Forte › Teacher Jamielyn Gamboa › Colonel's Girlfriend at Hot Traxx
Ron Hyatt › Jail Guard
Goliath › Tyrone
B. Philly Johnson › Rahad's Bodyguard
Allan Graf › Man with Gun
Israel Juarbe › Maurice's Brother # 1
Laura Gronewold › Angie
Raymond Laboriel › Hot Traxx Patron
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Kai Lennox › High School Kid Selwyn Emerson Miller › Hot Traxx DJ Michael Penn › Recording Studio Engineer Jonathan Quint › Johnny Doe George Anthony Rae › Maurice's Brother # 2 F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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Leslie Redden › KC Sunshine
Anne Fletcher › Hot Traxx Dancer
Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler
Jack Riley › Lawyer
Scott Fowler › Hot Traxx Dancer
Burt Reynolds › Jack Horner
Channon Roe › Surfer
Melanie Gage › Hot Traxx Dancer
Julianne Moore › Amber Waves
Skye › Jacuzzi Girl # 1
Eddie Garcia › Hot Traxx Dancer
John C. Reilly › Reed Rothchild
Alexander D. Slanger › Pete
Lance Macdonald › Hot Traxx Dancer
Don Cheadle › Buck Swope
Melissa Spell › Bechy's Friend in Hot Traxx Mike Stein › Super›Duper Customer Michael Scott Stencil › Surfer Punk # 3
Nathan Frederic Prevost › Hot Traxx Dancer Lisa Ratzin › Hot Traxx Dancer
Summer › Jacuzzi Girl # 2 Tony Tedeschi › New Year's Eve Young Stud Eric Winzenried › Doctor Jody Wood › Pedestrian Sharon Ferrol › Hot Traxx Dancer F L AW E D \
Diane Mizota › Hot Traxx Dancer
Dee Dee Weathers › Hot Traxx Dancer
Heather Graham › Rollergirl Philip Seymour Hoffman › Scotty William H. Macy › Little Bill Luis Guzman › Maurice T. Rodriguez Alfred Molina › Rahad Jackson Robert Ridgely › The Colonel
Darrel Wright › Hot Traxx Dancer
Ricky Jay › Kurt Longjohn
Sebastian La Cause › Hot Traxx Dancer
Philip Baker Hall › Floyd Gondolli
Mark Wahlberg ›
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Nina Hartley › Little Bill's Wife Nicole Ari Parker › Becky Barnett
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P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › Lloyd Levin Producer › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › John S. Lyons Producer › JoAnne Sellar Executive Producer › Lawrence Gordon Co-Producer › Daniel Lupi Co-Executive Producer › Michael de Luca Co-Executive Producer › Lynn Harris
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RE V IE W BY
R O G ER EB ERT
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" is an epic of the low road, a classic Hollywood story set in the shadows instead of the spotlights but containing the same ingredients: Fame, envy, greed, talent, sex, money. The movie follows a large, colorful and curiously touching cast of characters as they live through a crucial turning point in the adult film industry. In 1977, when the story opens, porn movies are shot on film and play in theaters, and a director can dream of making one so good that the audience members would want to stay in the theater even after they had achieved what they came for. By 1983, when the story closes, porn has shifted to video and most of the movies are basically just gynecological loops. There is hope, at the outset, that a porno movie could be "artistic," and less hope at the end. "Boogie Nights" tells this story through the life of a kid named Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) from the San Fernando Valley, who's a dishwasher in a Hollywood nightclub when he's discovered by a Tiparillo-smoking pornographer named Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). "I got a feeling," Jack says, "that behind those jeans is something wonderful just waiting to get out." He is correct, and within a few months Eddie has been renamed "Dirk Diggler" and is a rising star of porn films. If this summary makes the film itself sound a little like porn, it is not. Few films have been more matter-of-fact, even disenchanted, about sexuality. Adult films are a business here, not a dalliance or a pastime, and one of the charms of "Boogie Nights" is the way it shows the everyday backstage humdrum life of porno film making. "You got your camera," Jack explains to young Eddie. "You got your film, you got your lights, you got your synching, you got your editing, you got your lab. Before you turn around, you've spent maybe $25,000 or $30,000." Jack Horner is the father figure for a strange extended family of sex workers; he's a low-rent Hugh Hefner, and Burt Reynolds gives one of his best performances as a man who seems to stand outside sex and view it with the detached eye of a judge at a livestock show. Horner is never shown as having sex himself, although he lives with Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a former housewife and mother, now a porn star who makes tearful midnight calls to her ex-husband, asking to speak to her child. When Jack recruits Eddie to make a movie, Amber becomes his surrogate parent, gently solicitous of him as they prepare for his first sex scene. During a break in that scene, Eddie whispers to Jack, "Please call me Dirk Diggler from now on." He falls immediately into star mode, and before long is leading a conducted tour of his new house, where his wardrobe is "arranged F L AW E D \
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Je s s i e S t . Vi n c e nt : I could d ie of s tarvat ion b e fore I g et s o met hing in my mout h. [cut to b ed room] D i rk D i g gl e r : [ a s Brock] You s t ill hung ry ? Je s s i e St . Vin ce nt : Starving. D i rk D i g gl e r : [unzip p ing his p ant s ] W hy d on' t you feas t on t hat ?
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according to color and designer." His stardom is based on one remarkable attribute; "everyone is blessed with one special thing," he tells himself, after his mother has screamed that he'll always be a bum and a loser. Anderson wisely limits the nudity in the film, and until the final shot we don't see what Jack Horner calls "Mr. Torpedo Area." It's more fun to approach it the way Anderson does. At a pool party at Jack's house, Dirk meets the Colonel (Robert Ridgely), who finances the films. "May I see it?" the silver haired, business-suited Colonel asks. Dirk obliges, and the camera stays on the Colonel's face as he looks, and a funny, stiff little smile appears; Anderson holds the shot for several seconds, and we get the message.
cameraman. "I think every picture should have its own look," he states solemnly, although the films are shot in a day or two. When he complains, "I got a couple of tough shadows to deal with," Jack snaps, "There are shadows in life, baby." Dirk's new best friend is Reed (John C. Reilly). He gets a crush on Dirk and engages him in gym talk ("How much do you press? Let's both say at the same time. One, two...") Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) is a second tier actor and would-be hi-fi salesman. Rodriguez (Luis Guzman) is a club manager who dreams of being in one of Jack's movies. And the gray eminence behind the industry, the man who is the Colonel's boss, is Floyd Gondolli (Philip Baker Hall), who on New Year's Eve, 1980, breaks the news that videotape holds the future of the porno industry.
The large cast of "Boogie Nights" is nicely balanced between human The variety of the characters have and comic qualities. We meet brought the movie comparisons to Rollergirl (Heather Graham), who Robert Altman's "Nashville" and never takes off her skates, and in "The Player." There is also some of an audition scene with Dirk adds a the same appeal as "Pulp Fiction," new dimension to the song "Brand in scenes that balance precariously New Key." Little Bill (William H. Macy) between comedy and violence (a is Jack's assistant director, moping brilliant scene near the end has Dirk about at parties while his wife (porn and friends selling cocaine to a star Nina Hartley) gets it on with deranged playboy while the customevery man she can. (When he suddenly er's friend throws firecrackers discovers his wife having sex in the around the room). Through all the driveway, surrounded by an apprecharacters and all the action, ciative crowd, she tells him, "Shut Anderson's screenplay centers on up, Bill; you're embarrassing me.") the human qualities of the players. Ricky Jay, the magician, plays Jack's February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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They may live in a disreputable world, but they have the same ambitions and in a weird way similar values as mainstream Hollywood. "Boogie Nights" has the quality of many great films, in that it always seems alive. A movie can be very good and yet not draw us in, not involve us in the moment-to-moment sensation of seeing lives as they are lived. As a writer and director, Paul Thomas Anderson is a skilled reporter who fills his screen with understated, authentic details. (In the filming of the first sex scene, for example, the action takes place in an office set that has been built in Jack's garage. Behind the office door we see old license plates nailed to the wall, and behind one wall of the set, bicycle wheels peek out.) Anderson is in love with his camera, and a bit of a showoff in sequences inspired by the famous nightclub entrance in "GoodFellas," Robert De Niro's rehearsal in the mirror in "Raging Bull" and a shot in "I Am Cuba" where the camera follows a woman into a pool. In examining the business of catering to lust, "Boogie Nights" demystifies its sex (that's probably one reason it avoided the NC-17 rating). Mainstream movies use sex like porno films do, to turn us on. "Boogie Nights" abandons the illusion that characters are enjoying sex; in a sense, it's about manufacturing a consumer product. By the time the final shot arrives and we see what made the Colonel stare, there is no longer any shred of illusion that it is anything more than a commodity. And in Dirk Diggler's most anguished scene, as he shouts at Jack Horner, "I'm ready to shoot my scene RIGHT NOW!" we learn that those who live by the sword can also die by it.
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If it looks like shit, a n d February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
W IN Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Chicago Film Critics Association
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Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director [Runner-up] › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Toronto Film Critics Association
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Amb e r Waves: I m i s s my two s o ns, you know. I mis s my l ittle An drew... a n d I m i s s my D i r k . I always felt like Dirk wa s my b a by. My n ew b a by. Don' t you mis s Dirk? Roll e rgirl: Yeah. Am b er Wave s : He 's s o fu c k i n g ta l ented , t he b as tard . You k n ow, I ju st ... I l ove hi m , R o l l e rg i r l. I really love t he s t up id j erk. [laug hs ] Roll e r g irl : [i n te a r s ] I l ove yo u , Mom. I want you to b e my m o m, A m be r. A re you my m o m? I ' ll j us t . . . I ' ll as k you if yo u' re my m om , a n d yo u s ay yes, okay ? Are you my mom? A m be r Wave s : [ s m i l e s ] Yes, honey. Yes, yes. [ T h ey emb race, b ot h cry ing ]
N O MIN ATIO N Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture › Julianne Moore › 1997 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture › 1997 National Board of Review Best Ensemble Acting › 1997 Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor › Burt Reynolds › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best First Feature › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor › Samuel L. Jackson › 1997 Independent Spirit Awards
Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1997 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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MAGNOLIA Release date / December 17, 1999 Rated R
188 minutes
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A S T RU G G L E F O R AC C E P TA N C E I N T H E F I L M S O F P.T. A N D E R S O N
I n t h i s b i g g a m e t h a t w e p l a y, life, it's not what you hope for, 49
it's not what you deserve, it's w h a t
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I ' m
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M a c k e y, a m a s t e r o f t h e m u f f i n and author of the Seduce and Destroy system now available to you on video and audio cassette —
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S Y NOP SIS The narrator recounts three instances of incredible coincidences and suggests that forces greater than chance play important roles in life. Police officer Jim Kurring is sent to investigate a disturbance at a woman's apartment and finds a body in her bedroom closet. Dixon, a neighborhood boy, tries to tell him (by rapping) who committed the murder but Jim is dismissive. From there Jim goes to the apartment of Claudia Wilson. Claudia's neighbors had called the police after she had a loud argument with her estranged father, children's game show host Jimmy Gator, and then blasted music while snorting cocaine. Unaware of her addiction, Jim immediately attracted to her and prolongs the visit. He asks her on a date that night; she says yes. Jimmy hosts a long-running quiz show called "What Do Kids Know?" and is dying of cancer; he has only a few months to live. That night the February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
newest child prodigy on "What Do Kids Know?", Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), takes the lead as the show begins. He is hounded by his father for the prize money and demeaned by the surrounding adults, who refuse to let him use the bathroom during a commercial break. When the show resumes, he wets himself and freezes, humiliated when everyone realizes what happened. As the show continues an inebriated Jimmy sickens, and he orders the show to go on after he collapses onstage. But after Stanley's father berates him for freezing on air, Stanley refuses and is against returning for the final round. Donnie Smith, a former "What Do Kids Know?" champion, watches the show from a bar. Donnie's parents spent all of the money he won as a child, and he has just been fired from his job at Solomon & Solomon, an electronics store, due to chronic lateness and poor sales. But he is obsessed with getting oral surgery, thinking he will land the man of his F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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You ng P h a r m a cy Ki d: S t ron g, s t rong s t uff here. What ex a ct ly yo u h ave w ron g, you need all t his s t uff ? L i n da Pa rt rid ge : Mot herfucker. Yo u ng P h a r m a cy Ki d: W hat are you talking ab out ? Lind a Pa r tr id ge : W ho t he f u c k a re you? Who t he fuck d o yo u t h i n k yo u a re? I come in here. You d on' t kn ow m e . Yo u d on' t k n ow who I am, what my life is. You have t h e b a l l s, t he ind ecency to as k me a ques t ion ab out my life? O l d Ph a r m a c i s t : P l e a s e, lady, why d on' t you calm d ow n? Lind a Pa r tr i dg e : Fu c k you , to o. Don' t call me "lady ". I come i n h e re , I g i ve t h e s e t hi n g s to you. You check, you ma ke yo u r p hon e c a l l s, l o ok s u s p icious, as k q ues t ions. I' m s i c k . I h ave s i c k nes s all around me and you fu ck i n g a sk m e a b ou t my l i f e? "What 's w rong ? " Have yo u see n d e at h i n yo u r b e d ? In your hous e? Where's your fu ck i n g d e c e n cy ? A n d t h e n I ' m as ked fucking q uest i o n s. W hat 's. . . w rong ? You s uck my dick . T h at 's what 's w ron g. A n d yo u, you fucking call me " la dy " ? Sh a m e on you . S ha m e o n you. Shame on b ot h of you.
dreams after he gets braces. He hatches a plan to get back at his boss by breaking in and stealing the money he needs for his braces. Like Jimmy, the show's former producer, Earl Partridge, is dying of cancer. Earl's trophy wife, Linda, collects his prescriptions for morphine while he is cared for by a nurse, Phil Parma. Earl asks Phil to find his estranged son, Frank Mackey, a narcissistic sexist who is peddling a pick-up artist self-help course to men. Frank is in the midst of an interview with a female journalist who reveals that she has information demonstrating his official biography is a lie; rather than being an intelligent free-spirited youth who learned the truth about sexual relationships, Frank as a teen-aged boy had been forced to take care of his dying mother when Earl abandoned them. An angry Frank storms out of the interview when Phil finally gets through to him. Linda goes to see Earl's lawyer, begging him to change Earl's will. She admits she married Earl for his money, but now loves him and doesn't want it. The lawyer suggests she renounce the will and refuse the money, which would then go to Frank. Linda rejects his advice and leaves in a rage. When she gets home Linda berates Phil for seeking out Frank, but later apologizes. She then drives to a vacant parking lot and washes down handfuls of prescription medicine with alcohol. Dixon finds Linda in her car, near death, and calls an ambulance after taking money from her purse. Before his date with Claudia, Jim takes fire during a pursuit and loses his gun. When he meets Claudia they promise to be honest with each other, so he confesses his ineptitude as a cop and admits he has not been on a date since he was divorced 3 years earlier. Claudia says he will hate her because of her problems, but Jim assures her they don't matter. They kiss, but she runs off. Jimmy Gator goes home to his wife Rose and confesses that he has cheated on her. She asks why Claudia does not talk to him, and Jimmy admits that Claudia believes he molested her. But when he says he cannot remember whether or not he did, Rose tells Jimmy he deserves to die alone, and she walks out on him. Jimmy decides to kill himself. Meanwhile, Donnie takes the money from the Solomon & Solomon safe. As he drives away, he realizes his mistake in stealing and decides to return the money. However, he cannot get back in as his key had broken off in the lock earlier. As he tries to climb a utility pole to get on the roof, he is seen by a passing Jim. Suddenly, frogs begin to fall from the sky. As Jimmy is about to shoot himself, frogs fall through his skylight, causing him to shoot the TV
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instead. Rose crashes her car in front of Claudia's apartment but makes it inside safely. Earl dies as Frank watches. Linda's ambulance crashes in front of the emergency room. Donnie is knocked from the pole and smashes his teeth. The next morning, Jim counsels Donnie and helps him return the money; his gun falls from the sky. February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
Frank goes to the hospital to be with Linda, who will recover from her attempted suicide. Stanley, on his way to bed, tells his father that he needs to be nicer to him, though his father does not respond as Stanley had hoped, telling him to go to bed. Jim goes to see Claudia, telling her he wants to make things work between them; she smiles in reply. F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Jeremy Blackman › Stanley Spector
John C. Reilly › Jim Kurring
Michael Bowen › Rick Spector
Jason Robards › Earl Partridge
Tom Cruise › Frank T J Mackey
Melora Walters › Claudia Wilson
Melinda Dillon › Rose Gator
Pat Healy › Young Pharmacy Kid
Henry Gibson › Thurston Howell
Pat Healy › Sir Edmund William Godfrey
April Grace › Gwenovier Philip Baker Hall › Jimmy Gator Philip Seymour Hoffman › Phil Parma
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William H. Macy › Donnie Smith
Rod McLachlan › Daniel Hill
Julianne Moore › Linda Partridge
Allan Graf › Firefighter
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Patton Oswalt › Delmer Darion Raymond A. Gonzales › Reno Security Guard
Miguel Perez › Avi Solomon
Brad Hunt › Craig Hansen
Alfred Molina › Solomon Solomon
Jim Meskimen › Forensic Scientist
David Masuda › Coroner Man
Christopher R. O'Hara › Sydney Barringer
Neil Pepe › Officer #1
Clement E. Blake › Arthur Barringer Frank Elmore › 1958 Detective John Kraft Seitz › 1958 Policeman Cory Buck › Young Boy Tim Sorenen › Infomercial Guy Jim Ortlieb › Middle Aged Guy Thomas Jane › Young Jimmy Gator Holly Houston › Jimmy's Showgirl Benjamin Niedens › Little Donnie Smith Veronica Hart › Dentist Nurse #1 Melissa Spell › Dentist Nurse #2 James Kiriyama›Lem › Doctor Lee Jake Cross › Pedestrian #1 Charlie Scott › Pedestrian #2 Juan Medrano › Nurse Juan John Patrick Pritchett › Police Captain
Lionel Mark Smith › Detective Annette Helde › Coroner Woman Emmanuel I. Johnson › Dixon Lynne Lerner › Librarian Felicity Huffman › Cynthia Scott Burkett › WDKK Page #1 Bobby Brewer › Richard's Dad Julie Brewer › Richard's Mom Nancy Marston › Julia's Mom Maurey Marston › Julia's Dad Danny Wells › Dick Jennings Amy Brown › WDKK Page #2 Eileen Ryan › Mary Meagen Fay › Dr Diane Patricia Forte › Mim Luis Guzman › Luis Patrick Warren › Todd Geronimo Orlando Jones › Worm
Cleo King › Marcie
Virginia Pereira › Pink Dot Girl
Don McManus › Dr Landon
Craig Kvinsland › Brad › The Bartender
Michael Shamus Wiles › Captain Muffy
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Kevin Breznahan › Geoff/Seminar Guy
Patricia Scanlon › Cocktail Waitress
Jason Andrews › Doc
Natalie Elizabeth Marston › Julia
John S. Davies › Cameraman
Bobby Brewer › Richard
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Clark Gregg › WDKK Floor Director
Mike Massa › Paramedic #2
Ricky Jay › Burt Ramsey
Dale Gibson › Paramedic #3
Art Frankel › Old Pharmacist
Scott Alan Smith › ER Doctor
Matt Gerald › Officer #2
Jamala Gaither Brown › WDKK Production Assistant
Guillermo Melgarejo › Pink Dot Guy Paul F. Tompkins › Chad Mary Lynn Rajskub › Janet Jim Beaver › Smiling Peanut Patron #1 Ezra Buzzington › Smiling Peanut Patron #2 Denise Woolfork › Smiling Peanut Patron #3 Michael Murphy › Alan Klingma › Attorney New World Harmonica Trio › Harmonica Player Robert Downey Sr. › WDKK Show Director
Julianne Moore › Linda Partridge Tom Cruise › Frank "T.J." Mackey Philip Seymour Hoffman › Phil Parma John C. Reilly › Officer Jim Kurring Jeremy Blackman › Stanley Spector Michael Bowen › Rick Spector William H. Macy › Donnie Smith Philip Baker Hall › Jimmy Gator Lillian Adams › Donnie's Older Neighbor Luis Guzman › Luis Guzman
William Mapother › WDKK Director's Assistant Larry Ballard › WDKK Medic Brett Higgins › Mackey Disciple Twin
Ricky Jay › Burt Ramsey Felicity Huffman › Cynthia April Grace › Gwenovier Patton Oswalt › Scuba diver
Michael Phillips › Mackey Disciple in Middle Lillian Adams › Donnie's Old Neighbor
Henry Gibson › Thurston Howell Mary Lynn Rajskub › Janet (Frank's Assistant) Pat Healy
Steven Bush › Paramedic #1
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Alfred Molina › Solomon Solomon
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P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › JoAnne Sellar Executive Producer › Michael de Luca Executive Producer › Lynn Harris Co-Producer › Daniel Lupi Associate Producer › Dylan Tichenor Unit Production Manager › Daniel Lupi Production Supervisor › Craig Markey Assistant Unit Supervisor › Jonathan Krueger
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RE V IE W BY
R O G ER EB ERT
"Magnolia" is a film of sadness and loss, of lifelong bitterness, of children harmed and adults destroying themselves. As the narrator tells us near the end, "We may be through with the past, but the past is never through with us." In this wreckage of lifetimes, there are two figures, a policeman and a nurse, who do what they can to offer help, hope and love. That may not be the "Magnolia" you recall. It was not quite the film I recalled, either, and now that I have seen it again, my admiration has only deepened. On its release in 1999, our focus was perhaps distracted by the theme of coincidence, the intersecting storylines, and above all the astonishing coup with which Paul Thomas Anderson ended his film. Nor was the film a melancholy dirge; it was entertaining, even funny, always fascinating. The central theme is cruelty to children, and its lasting effect. This is closely linked to a loathing or fear of behaving as we are told, or think, that we should. There are many major characters, but in the film's 180-minute running time, there is time to develop them all and obtain performances that seem to center on moments of deep self-revelation. Let's begin with two smart kids. One is now an adult, still calling himself "Quiz Kid Donnie Smith" (William H. Macy). He was briefly famous as a child on a TV show and still expects people to remember him. Now he works in a furniture store, is a drunk, desperately needs money to get braces on his teeth in the forlorn hope that they will attract the bartender he has a crush on — who also wears braces. He has an outburst about his childhood, but his most touching moment is when he cries out that he knows he has love, he knows he can love, he knows he is worth loving. The other smart kid, still about 9 or 10, is Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), star genius on the TV show "What Do Kids Know?" He has all the answers. But on one crucial segment, he refuses to perform because, refused a trip to the toilet, he has wet his pants and refuses to stand up. His father brow beats him. The show's emcee is Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who has learned he has two months to live. He hasn't seen Claudia (Melora Walters), his daughter from his second marriage, for 10 years. She believes he molested her. He doesn't remember. Now she is a hopeless cocaine addict. The policeman (John C. Reilly) who appears at her door doesn't notice her nervous tics and asks her out on a date, which ends by them both confessing F L AW E D \
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deep shame. And later the same cop his father is dying of the same disease, observes Quiz Kid Donnie Smith try- attended by Phil the nurse (Philip ing to scale a pole to break into the Seymour Hoffman). His second wife furniture store, hears his confession, (Julianne Moore), who married him forgives him, helps him make amends. for money, now finds she loves him and regrets that she cheated on him. The show is produced by "Big Earl" The old man mumbles in pain to his Partridge (Jason Robards). His lonnurse that he truly loved his first wife gestranged son is the motivational and hates himself for cheating on her. huckster Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), who fills hotel conference rooms But a plot description could take up with lectures on how to conquer all my space, and more. I have given women. When he was a child, his enough to suggest the way the sins father abandoned the boy and his of the parents are visited on the chilmother, and Frank had to nurse dren, how so many people lead lives her through death by cancer. Now of desperation, how a few try to help. F L AW E D \
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The astonishing thing about this film, written and directed by Anderson when he was only 28 (and had made "Boogie Nights" two years earlier and "Hard Eight" three) is that it is so wise and sympathetic. He sees that we all have our reasons. As an act of film making, it draws us in and doesn't let go. It begins deceptively, with a little documentary about amazing coincidences (including the scuba diver scooped by a fire-fighting plane and dumped on a forest fire). This is narrated by magician and spellbinder Ricky Jay, whose book Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women can be seen open before the studious little Stanley. Jay's voice appears again at the end, to remind us that coincidences and strange events do happen, and they are as real as everything else. If you could stand back far enough, in fact, everything would be revealed as a coincidence. What we call "coincidences" are limited to the ones we happen to notice. Is the film therefore defending itself against the way its lives are intertwined? Not at all. I think it is arguing that we must mind our behavior, because it has an effect far beyond our ability to witness. A small boy, abandoned by his father, left to care for his dying mother, grows up into a complete fraud who gets rich by teaching men how to mistreat women. Why does he hate women instead of men? Tom Cruise has a scene at the deathbed of his father (deliberately framed to evoke Brando at his dead wife's body in "Last Tango in Paris"), and his hands are so tightly clenched the fingers seem bloodless. His hatred is for this man, but how has it been transferred to women? His breakdown during a lecture is mirrored by little Stanley and Jimmy Gator, who both find themselves unable to perform on the TV show. And the second wife of Jason Robards (Julianne Moore) confesses to his nurse but cannot confess to the old man and seeks another way out.
We may be th rough with the past, E DsFtI LaMi F V Ar Lo u. CgOhM w i t h u s . b u t t hF LeA W pa nE’ St TtI h
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And Claudia cannot behave as she should on a date. And earlier that night, the cop has shamed himself by losing his gun and being unable to make an arrest. And Quiz Kid Donnie cannot tell another man that he loves him. One beautiful sequence, Anderson cuts between most of the major characters all simultaneously singing Aimee Mann's "It's Not Going to Stop." A directorial flourish? You know what? I think it's a coincidence. Unlike many other "hypertext movies" with interlinking plots, "Magnolia" seems to be using the device in a deeper, more philosophical way. Anderson sees these people joined at a level below any possible knowledge, down where fate and destiny lie. They have been joined by their actions and their choices. And all leads to the remarkable, famous, sequence near the film's end when it rains frogs. Yes. Countless frogs, still alive, all over Los Angeles, falling from the sky. That this device has sometimes been joked about puzzles me. I find it a way to elevate the whole story into a larger realm of inexplicable but real behavior. We need something beyond the human to add another dimension. Frogs have rained from the sky eight times this century, but never mind the facts. Attend instead to Exodus 8:2, which is cited on a placard in the film: "And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs." Let who go? In this case, I believe, it refers not to people, but to fears, shames, sins. "Magnolia" is one of those rare films that works in two entirely different ways. In one sense, it tells absorbing stories, filled with detail, told with precision and not a little humor. On another sense, it is a parable. The message of the parable, as with all good parables, is expressed not in words but in emotions. After we have felt the pain of these people, and felt the love of the policeman and the nurse, we have been taught something intangible, but necessary to know. That Paul Thomas Anderson thinks and creates in this way is proven again in his latest film, "There Will Be Blood" (2007). It is another film with an enigmatic ending, one that "Magnolia" teaches me I will have to think more carefully about.
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
W IN
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Golden Bear › 2000 Berlin International Film Festival
Best Original Song › Aimee Mann › 1999 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture › Tom Cruise › 1999 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Ensemble Acting › 1999 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 1999 National Board of Review
Best Picture › 1999 National Board of Review Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role › Julianne Moore › 1999 Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by a Cast › 1999 Screen Actors Guild
Best Supporting Actress › Julianne Moore › 1999 National Board of Review
Best Supporting Actor › Tom Cruise › 1999 Screen Actors Guild
Best Supporting Actor (Runner-up) › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 1999 National Society of Film Critics
Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1999 Writers Guild of America
Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) › Julianne Moore › 1999 National Society of Film Critics
Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1999 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Supporting Actor › Tom Cruise › 1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1999 Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture › 1999 Toronto Film Critics Association
Best Original Song › Aimee Mann › 1999 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor › Tom Cruise › 1999 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 1999 Toronto Film Critics Association
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PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE Release date / May 19, 2002 Rated R
90 minutes
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time, I thin k I ca n get enough m ileage to go with you wherever you have to go if you have to travel for your work . Because I don’ t ever wa nt to be a ny where without you . So cou ld you just let me redeem the mileage? a
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S Y NOP SIS Barry Egan (Adam Sandler), a single man who owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who ridicule and emotionally abuse him regularly and leads a lonely life punctuated by fits of rage and anguish. In the span of one morning, he witnesses an random car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and meets Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a coworker of his sister's, Lena having orchestrated this meeting after seeing him in a family picture belonging to his sister Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Coping with his loneliness, Barry calls a phone-sex line, but the operator attempts to extort money and sends her four henchmen, who are brothers, to collect. This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion and amass a million frequent flyer miles by buying large quantities February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
of pudding. After Lena leaves for Hawaii on a business trip, Barry decides to follow her. He arrives and calls one of his manipulative sisters to learn where Lena is staying. When his sister starts abusing him again, Barry snaps and demands she give him the information, which she does. Lena is overjoyed to see him, and they later have sex. At first, Barry explains that he is in Hawaii on a business trip by coincidence, but he soon admits that he came only for her. The romance develops further, and Barry finally feels some relief from the emotional isolation he has endured. After they return home, the four brothers ram their car into Barry's, leaving Lena mildly injured. With his new-found freedom from loneliness in jeopardy, a surprisingly aggressive and poised Barry adeptly fights off all four of the goons in a matter of seconds. Suspecting that Lena will leave him if she finds out about the phone-sex fiasco, Barry leaves Lena at the hospital and tries F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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Ba r r y : I ' m l ook i n g at yo u r advert is ement for t he a i r l i n e p romot ion and g iveaway. O pe rato r C a r te r : A h, t his is our freq uent flyer p lan. B a r r y : Ye a h, i t 's h a rd to und ers tand , b ecaus e i t s ays "i n a d d i t i on to", b ut I can' t act ually u n d e r s ta n d i n a d d i t i o n to what b ecaus e t here's a c t u a lly not hing to ad d it to. O pe rato r C a r te r : I t h ink t hat 's a ty p o, t hen. Bar r y : Okay, s o j u s t to clarify, I ' m s orry, ten purc hases o f a ny of yo u r He a l t hy C hoice p rod uct s eq uals 50 0 m i l es and w it h t he coup on,
to end the harassment by calling the phone-sex line back and speaking to the "supervisor", who turns out to be Dean Trumbell (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who is also the owner of a mattress store. Barry travels to the mattress store in Provo, Utah, to confront Dean face to face. Dean, at first trying to intimidate Barry, finds Barry much more intimidating and Barry compels Dean to leave him alone. Barry decides to tell Lena about his phone sex episode and begs her for forgiveness, pledging his loyalty and to use his frequent-flier miles to accompany her on all future business trips. She readily agrees, and they embrace happily. Lena approaches Barry in his office while he plays the harmonium. She puts her arms around him and says, "So, here we go."
t h e s a m e p u rc h a s e s would value 1 0 0 0 miles. O pe rator Carte r: T hat 's it . Ba r ry : We l l , d o yo u re alize t hat t he monetary va l u e o f t hi s p ro m ot i o n a n d t he p rize is p otent ially wor t h m ore t han t he p urchas es? [p aus e] O pe rator Carte r: I d on' t know.
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Adam Sandler › Barry Egan
Mia Weinberg › Gilda
Philip Seymour Hoffman › Dean Trumbell
David Stevens › David
Emily Watson › Lena Leonard Mary Lynn Rajskub › Elizabeth Luis Guzman › Lance Ashley Clark › Phone Sex Sister Julie Hermelin › Kathleen Lisa Spector › Susan Hazel Mailloux › Rhonda Nicole Gelbard › Nicole F L AW E D \
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Jimmy Stevens › Jim Nathan Stevens › Nate Mike D. Stevens › Mike D Robert Smigel › Walter the Dentist Jason Andrews › Operator Carter (Voice›Over) Don McManus › Plastic's Voice (Voice›Over) David Schrempf › Customer #1
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Seann Conway › Customer #2 Rico Bueno › Rico Karen Kilgariff › Anna's Voice on Phone Salvador Curiel › Sal Jorge Barahona › Jorge Ernesto Quintero › Ernesto Julius Steuer › Mechanic Larry Ring › Steve › Brother-In-Law Kerry Gelbard › Richard › Brother-In-Law Alan Perry › After Eden Band John E. Beck › After Eden Band Eddie Wayne Howell › After Eden Band Taylor J. Thomas › After Eden Band Bobby Bluehouse › After Eden Sound Man Carol Mirelez › Phone Sex Girl #1 Utah
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June Sepulveda › Phone Sex Girl #2 Utah Andrew Higgs › Restaurant Manager Rogerlyn Kanealii Wakinekona › Lena's Apartment Receptionist Catherine L. Cooley › Flight Attendant Michael Immel › Man On Plane Ross Tanoai › Cab Driver Jonathan Loughran › Wrong Number Kaila Yu › Ladies K Band Ku'ulei Higashi › Ladies K Band Sissy Lake › Hula Dancer Marie Irwin › Lena's Nurse Esther Imade Balogun › Receptionist Nurse Tom Bornt › Dean's Employee Mary Kilmartin › D & D Mattress Customer Karen Hermelin › Anna
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P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › JoAnne Sellar Producer › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › Daniel Lupi Associate Producer › Dan Collins Unit Production Manager › Daniel Lupi Production Supervisor › Eileen Malyszko Assistant Director › Adam Druxman Assistant Director › James Moran
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RE V IE W BY
R O G ER EB ERT
There is a new Adam Sandler on view in "Punch-Drunk Love"—angry, sad, desperate. In voice and mannerisms he is the same childlike, love-starved Adam Sandler we've seen in a series of dim comedies, but this film, by seeing him in a new light, encourages us to look again at those films. Given a director and a screenplay that sees through the Sandler persona, that understands it as the disguise of a suffering outsider, Sandler reveals depths and tones we may have suspected but couldn't bring into focus. The way to criticize a movie, Godard famously said, is to make another movie. In that sense "Punch-Drunk Love" is film criticism. Paul Thomas Anderson says he loves Sandler's comedies—they cheer him up on lonely Saturday nights—but as the director of "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia" he must have been able to sense something missing in them, some unexpressed need. The Sandler characters are almost oppressively nice, like needy puppies, and yet they conceal a masked hostility to society, a passive-aggressive need to go against the flow, a gift for offending others while in the very process of being ingratiating. In "Punch-Drunk Love," Sandler plays Barry Egan, an executive in a company with a product line of novelty toiletries. Barry has seven sisters, who are all on his case at every moment, and he desperately wishes they would stop invading his privacy, ordering him around and putting him down. He tries at a family gathering to be congenial and friendly, but we can see the tension in his smiling lips and darting eyes, and suddenly he explodes, kicking out the glass patio doors. This is a pattern. He presents to the world a face of cheerful blandness, and then erupts in terrifying displays of frustrated violence. He does not even begin to understand himself. He seems always on guard, unsure, obscurely threatened. His outbursts here help to explain the curiously violent passages in his previous film, "Mr. Deeds," which was a remake of a benign Frank Capra comedy. It's as if Sandler is Hannibal Lecter in a Jerry Lewis body. Most of Sandler's plots are based on predictable, production-line formulas, and after "Punch-Drunk Love" I may begin seeing them as traps containing a resentful captive. The quirky behavior may be a way of calling out for help. In "Big Daddy," for example, the broad outlines are familiar, but not the creepy way his character trains his adopted 5-year-old to be hostile. At one point, ho, ho, they toss tree branches into the path of middle-aged in-line skaters, causing some nasty falls. The hostility veiled as humor in the typical F L AW E D \
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sledgeha m mer a nd sq ueeze it. You’re so prett y. — B a r r y
Sandler comedy is revealed in "Punch-Drunk Love" as—hostility. The film is exhilarating to watch because Sandler, liberated from the constraints of formula, reveals unexpected depths as an actor. Watching this film, you can imagine him in Dennis Hopper roles. He has darkness, obsession and power. His world is hedged around with mystery F L AW E D \
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and challenge. Consider an opening scene, when he is at work hours before the others have arrived, and sees a harmonium dumped in the street in front of his office. It is at once the most innocent and ominous of objects; he runs from it and then peeks around a corner to see if it is still there. In the Paul Thomas Anderson universe, people meet
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through serendipity and need, not because they are fulfilling their plot assignments. Barry meets Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a sweet executive with intently focused eyes, who asks him to look after her broken-down car and later goes out on a dinner date with him. They like each other right away. During the dinner he gets up from his table, goes to the men's room and in a blind rage breaks everything he can. "Your hand is bleeding," she gently observes, and after they are thrown out of the restaurant, she carries on as if the evening is still normal. Barry is meanwhile enraged by an ongoing battle he is having with a Utah phone-sex company. He called the number and was billed for the call, but he was unable to talk easily with the woman at the other end, or even quite conceive of what she wanted him to do. Then she pulled a scam using his credit card number, and this leads to mutual threats and obscenities over the phone, and to a visit from the porn company's "four blond brothers," who want to intimidate him and extract cash. Barry is frightened. He knows Lena is going on a business trip to Hawaii. They definitely have chemistry. This would be an ideal time to get off the mainland. He has discovered a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion that will allow him to earn countless American Airlines frequent flier miles at very little cost. (This part of the story is based on fact.) It is typical of an Anderson film that Barry, having hit on his mileage scheme, cannot use his miles so quickly, and so simply buys a ticket to Honolulu and meets Lena for a picture-postcard rendezvous on Waikiki Beach. Here and elsewhere, Anderson bathes the screen in romantic colors and fills the soundtrack with lush orchestrations.
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I feel liberated in films where I have absolutely no idea what will happen next. Lena and Barry are odd enough that anything could happen in their relationship. A face-to-face meeting with the Utah porn king (Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman) and another meeting with the four blond brothers are equally unpredictable. And always there is Barry's quick, terrifying anger, a time bomb ticking away beneath every scene. "Punch-Drunk Love" is above all a portrait of a personality type. Barry Egan has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair, by what he sees as the depredations of his domineering sisters. It drives him crazy when people nose into his business. He cannot stand to be trifled with. His world is entered by alarming omens and situations that baffle him. The character is vividly seen and the film sympathizes with him in his extremity. Paul Thomas Anderson has referred to "Punch-Drunk Love" as "an art house Adam Sandler film." It may be the key to all of the Adam Sandler films, and may liberate Sandler for a new direction in his work. He can't go on making those moronic comedies forever, can he? Who would have guessed he had such uncharted depths?
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
W IN Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2002 Cannes Film Festival Best Cinematography (Runner-up) › Robert Elswit › 2002 National Society of Film Critics Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2002 Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture [Runner-up] › 2002 Toronto Film Critics Association Best Screenplay [Runner-up] › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2002 Toronto Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress › Emily Watson › 2002 Toronto Film Critics Association
N O MIN ATIO N Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture › Musical or Comedy › Adam Sandler › 2002 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
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B a r r y : W hat 's yo u r name, Sir? Answer me! De a n Tr u m be l l : W h at 's your name, as s hole? !
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THERE WILL BE BLOOD Release date / September 27, 2007 Rated R
158 minutes
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There's a whole ocea n of oil under our feet! No one can get at it except for me! — D a n i e l
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B l o o d ’
S Y NOP SIS In 1898, Daniel Plainview, a prospector in New Mexico, mines a potentially precious ore vein from a pit mine hole. In the process of dynamiting the lode, he falls from a broken rung of the tunnel ladder and breaks his leg. He saves an ore sample, climbs out of the mine, and drags himself to the nearest assay office to record his claim. In 1902, he discovers oil near Los Angeles, California and establishes a small drilling company. Following the death of a worker in an accident, Daniel adopts the man's orphaned son. The boy, named H. W., becomes his nominal "business partner", allowing Daniel to paint himself to potential investors as "a family man".
is made and Daniel goes on to acquire all the available land in the area, except for one holdout: William Bandy. Oil production begins, but an on-site accident kills a worker and a gas blowout robs H. W. of his hearing. Eli blames the disasters on the well not being properly blessed. When he demands his family's as yet unpaid $5,000, Daniel beats and humiliates him. Eli berates and attacks his father at the dinner table for trusting Daniel, as well as blaming his brother Paul for the family's plight.
A stranger seeking work arrives on Daniel's doorstep, claiming to be his half-brother, Henry. Daniel hires Henry to work for him, and the two In 1911, Daniel is approached by Paul grow closer. H. W. sets fire to their Sunday, who tells him of an oil house, intending for it to kill Henry. deposit under his family's property Angered at his son's behavior, in Little Boston, California. Daniel Daniel sends him away to a school attempts to buy the farm at a bargain for the deaf in San Francisco, price but Paul's twin brother Eli, wise California. A representative from to Daniel's plan, holds out for $5,000 Standard Oil offers to buy out and states that it is for a local church Daniel's local interests, but Daniel of which he is the pastor. An agreement elects to strike a deal with Union February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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Oil and construct a pipeline to the California coast, though the Bandy ranch remains an impediment. While reminiscing about their childhood, Daniel becomes suspicious of Henry and one night holds him at gunpoint. Henry confesses that he was actually a friend of the real Henry, who died from tuberculosis. In a fit of rage, Daniel murders the impostor and buries his body. The next morning, Daniel is awakened by Mr. Bandy, who knows of the previous night's events and wants Daniel to repent by joining Eli's church. Eli humiliates Daniel there, coercing him into acknowledging that he is a bad father as part of his baptism. When the ordeal is over, Daniel feels that it was worth the embarrassment. Some time later, as the pipeline is well under way, H. W. returns and reunites with Daniel, while Eli leaves town to perform missionary work. In 1927, a much older H. W. marries Mary Sunday, his childhood sweetheart and the sister of Eli and Paul. Daniel, now extremely wealthy but a raging alcoholic, lives as a recluse in a large mansion. Through an interpreter, H. W. asks Daniel to dissolve their partnership so that he can establish his own oil company in Mexico. An offended Daniel mocks H. W.'s deafness and reveals his true origins as an orphan. H. W. leaves, but not before telling Daniel, "I thank God I have none of you in me." Soon after, Eli pays a visit, finding a drunken Daniel passed out in the mansion's bowling alley. Eli has made a living as a radio preacher and announces that Mr. Bandy has died, then offers to broker a deal on his land. Daniel agrees, but only on the condition that Eli loudly and repeatedly admits that he is a false prophet and that God is a superstition. Eli does so reluctantly, and Daniel reveals that the property is now worthless because he has already drained its oil through surrounding wells. Shaken and desperate, Eli confesses to be in dire financial straits, and Daniel taunts him by mentioning his brother Paul, who has his own oil company and is comparatively more successful. Daniel chases Eli down and then kills him by smashing his head in with a bowling pin. When Daniel's butler comes down to check on him, Daniel says casually, "I'm finished."
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I do my ow n drilling, a nd the men that work for me work for me. a nd they're men I k now. I m a ke it my busi ness to be there a nd to see their work . I don't lose my tools in the hole and spend months fishing for them; I don't botch the cementing off a nd let water in the hole a nd r uin the whole lease. I'm a family man. I run a family business. This is my son and my partner, F L A W E D F I L M F E S T I V A L H ..W. COM Plainview.
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Daniel Day-Lewis › Daniel Plainview
Bob Bell › Geologist
Mary Elizabeth Barrett › Fannie Clark
David Williams › Ben Blaut
Paul Dano › Eli Sunday › Paul Sunday Dillon Freasier › HW Plainview Christine Olejniczak › Mother Sunday
Louise Gregg › Eli Follower Amber Roberts › Eli Follower John W. Watts › Oil Worker Robert Caroline › Oil Worker
Kevin O'Connor › Henry
Barry Bruce › Oil Worker
Kevin Breznahan › Signal Hill Man
Irene G. Hunter › Mrs. Hunter
Vince Froio › Plainview Servant
John Chitwood › Little Boston Doctor
Russell Harvard › Adult HW
David Warshofsky › H.M. Tilford
Hans Howes › Bandy
Tom Doyle › J.J. Carter
Jim Meskimen › Signal Hill Married Man
Colton Woodward › William Bandy
Hope Elizabeth Reeves › Elizabeth Paul F. Tompkins › Prescott Martin Stringer › Silver Assay Worker
John Burton › L.P. Clair Robert Barger › Bartender Ronald Krut › Standard Oil Man Huey Rhudy › Standard Oil Man Steven Barr › Standard Oil Man
Joseph Mussey › Silver Assay Worker
Robert Hills › HW's Interpreter
Barry Del Sherman › H.B. Ailman
Colleen Foy › Adult Mary Sunday
Harrison Taylor › Baby HW
Reverend Bob Bock › Priest
Stockton Taylor › Baby HW
Phil Shelly › Plainview Servant
Erica Sullivan › Signal Hill Woman
Ciaran Hinds › Fletcher
Randall Carver › Mr. Bankside
Daniel Day›Lewis › Daniel Plainview
Coco Leigh › Mrs. Bankside
Paul Dano › Eli Sunday
David Willis › Abel Sunday
Kevin J. O'Connor › Henry
Kellie Hill › Ruth Sunday
Ciarán Hinds › Fletcher
James Downey › Al Rose
David Warshofsky › H.M. Tilford
Dan Swallow › Gene Blaize Robert Arber › Charlie Wrightsman F L AW E D \
Joy Rawls › Eli Follower
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P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Source Material › Upton Sinclair Producer › JoAnne Sellar Producer › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › Daniel Lupi Executive Producer › Scott Rudin Executive Producer › Eric Schlosser Executive Producer › David Williams Unit Production Manager › Daniel Lupi
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RE V IE W BY
MAN OHLA DARGIS
“There Will Be Blood,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic American nightmare, arrives belching fire and brimstone and damnation to Hell. Set against the backdrop of the Southern California oil boom of the late-19th and early 20th centuries, it tells a story of greed and envy of biblical proportions — reverberating with Old Testament sound and fury and New Testament evangelicalism — w hich Mr. Anderson has mined from Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel “Oil!” There is no God but money in this oil-rich desert and his messenger is Daniel Plainview, a petroleum speculator played by a monstrous and shattering Daniel Day-Lewis. Plainview is an American primitive. He’s more articulate and civilized than the crude, brutal title character in Frank Norris’s 1899 novel “McTeague,” and Erich von Stroheim’s masterly version of the same, “Greed.” But the two characters are brothers under the hide, coarse and animalistic, sentimental in matters of love and ruthless in matters of avarice. Mr. Anderson opens his story in 1898, closer to Norris’s novel than Sinclair’s, which begins in the years leading up to World War I. And the film’s opener is a stunner — spooky and strange, blanketed in shadows and nearly wordless. Inside a deep, dark hole, a man pickaxes the hard-packed soil like a bug gnawing through dirt. This is the earth mover, the ground shaker: Plainview. Over the next two and a half mesmerizing hours Plainview will strike oil, then strike it rich and transform a bootstrapper’s dream into a terrifying prophecy about the coming American century. It’s a century he plunges into slicked in oil, dabbed with blood and accompanied by H. W. (eventually played by the newcomer Dillon Freasier), the child who enters his life in 1902 after he makes his first strike and seems to have burbled from the ground like the liquid itself. The brief scenes of Plainview’s first tender, awkward moments with H. W. will haunt the story. In one of the most quietly lovely images in a film of boisterous beauty, he gazes at the tiny, pale toddler, chucking him under the chin as they sit on a train very much alone. “There Will Be Blood” involves a tangle of relationships, mainly intersecting sets of fathers and sons and pairs of brothers. (Like most of the finest American directors working now, Mr. Anderson makes little on-screen time for women.) But it is Plainview’s intense, needful bond with H. W. that raises the stakes and gives enormous emotional force to this expansively imagined period story with its pictorial and historical sweep, its raging fires, geysers of oil and inevitable blood. (Rarely has a film’s title seemed so ominous.) By the time H. W. is about 10, he has become a kind of partner F L AW E D \
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Tilf o r d : W h e re you g oi n g to p u t it all? Where? Build a pipel i n e, m a ke a d e a l w i t h Un i on O il, b e my g ues t . But if yo u ca n’ t p u l l i t o ff, yo u' ve g ot an ocean of oil und er your feet with no w h e r e t o g o . W h y n o t t u r n i t o v e r t o u s ? W e ' l l m a k e y o u r i c h . Yo u s p e n d t i m e w i t h y o u r b o y. I t ' s a g r e a t d i s c o v e r y . . . N o w l e t u s help you. [LONG PAU SE ] Pl a i nv i ew : D i d you j us t tell me how to run my family ? Til f o r d : It m i g ht b e m ore i m p ortant now t hat you' ve p rove n t h e field and we' re offering to b uy you out . [PAU SE ] Plai nv iew : O n e n i g ht , I ' m g on n a come to you, ins id e of you r h ous e, wherever you' re s l e e p i n g, a n d I ' m g oing to cut your t hroat . Ti l f o r d : W hat ? W hat a re you taking ab out ? Have you g one crazy Daniel? Pl a i nv i ew : D i d you hear what I s aid ? Til f o r d : I h e a rd wh at you s a id , why d id you s ay it ? P l a i nv i ew : You d on' t tell me ab out my s on. Tilf o r d : W hy a re you a c t i n g i n s ane and t hreatening to cut my t hroat ? ! P l a i nv i ew : You d on' t tell me ab out my s on. Tilfo r d : I'm n ot te l l i n g yo u a nyt hing ! I ' m as king you to b e re a s o nab le, if I ' ve offend ed you I ap olog ize. Pl a i nv i ew : Yo u' ll s ee what I can d o.
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to his father, at once a child and a sober little man with a jacket and neatly combed hair who dutifully stands by Plainview’s side as quiet as his conscience. A large swath of the story takes place in 1911, by which point Plainview has become a successful oilman with his own fast-growing company. Flanked by the watchful H. W., he storms through California, sniffing out prospects and trying to persuade frenzied men and women to lease their land for drilling. (H. W. gives Plainview his human mask:
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“I’m a family man,” he proclaims to prospective leasers.) One day a gangling, unsmiling young man, Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), arrives with news that oil is seeping out of the ground at his family’s ranch. The stranger sells this information to Plainview, who promptly sets off with H. W. to a stretch of California desert where oil puddles the ground among the cactus, scrub and human misery. Not long afterward oil is gushing out of that desert. The eruption rattles both the earth and the local
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population, whom Plainview soothes with promises. Poor, isolated, thirsting for water (they don’t have enough even to grow wheat), the dazed inhabitants gaze at the oilman like hungry baby birds. (Their barren town is oddly named Little Boston.) He promises schools, roads and water, delivering his sermon with a carefully enunciated, sepulchral voice that Mr. Day-Lewis seems to have largely borrowed from the director John Huston. Plainview is preaching a new gospel, though one soon challenged by another salesman, Paul Sunday’s Holy Roller brother, Eli (also Mr. Dano). A charismatic preacher looking to build a new church, Eli slithers into the story, one more snake in the desert. Mr. Anderson has always worn his influences openly, cribbing from Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman among others (he helped the ailing Altman with his final film, “A Prairie Home Companion”), but rarely has his movie love been as organically integrated into his work as it is here. Movie history weighs on every filmmaker, informs every cut, camera angle and movement. “There Will Be Blood” is very much a personal endeavor for Mr. Anderson; it feels like an act of possession. Yet it is also directly engaged with our cinematically constructed history, specifically with films — “Greed” and “Chinatown,” but also “Citizen Kane” — that have dismantled the mythologies of American success and, in doing so, replaced one utopian ideal for another, namely that of the movies themselves. This is Mr. Anderson’s fifth feature and it proves a breakthrough for him as a filmmaker. Although there are more differences than similarities between it and the Sinclair book, the novel has provided him with something he has lacked in the past, a great theme. It may also help explain the new film’s narrative coherence. His first feature, “Sydney” (also known as “Hard
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Eight”), showed Mr. Anderson to be an intuitively gifted filmmaker, someone who was born to make images with a camera. His subsequent features — “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “Punch-Drunk Love”— h ave ambition and flair, though to increasingly diminished ends. Elliptical, self-conscious, at times multithreaded, they contain passages of clarity and brilliance. But in their escalating stylization you feel the burdens of virtuosity, originality, and independence. “There Will Be Blood” exhibits much the same qualities as Mr. Anderson’s previous work — every shot seems exactly right — but its narrative form is more classical and less weighted down by the pressures of self-aware auteurism. It flows smoothly, linearly, building momentum and unbearable tension. Mr. Day-Lewis’s outsize performance, with its footnote references to Huston and strange, contorted Kabuki-like grimaces, occasionally breaks the skin of the film’s surface like a dangerous undertow. The actor seems to have invaded Plainview’s every atom, filling an otherwise empty vessel with so much rage and purpose you wait for him to blow. It’s a thrilling performance, among the greatest I’ve seen, purposefully alienating and brilliantly located at the juncture between cinematic realism and theatrical spectacle. This tension between realism and spectacle runs like a fissure through the film and invests it with tremendous unease. You are constantly being pulled away from and toward the charismatic Plainview, whose pursuit of oil reads
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like a chapter from this nation’s grand narrative of discovery and conquest. His 1911 strike puts the contradictions of this story into graphic, visual terms. Mr. Anderson initially thrusts you close to the awesome power of the geyser, which soon bursts into flames, then pulls back for a longer view, his sensuously fluid camera keeping pace with Plainview and his men as they race about trying to contain what they’ve unleashed. But the monster has been uncorked. The black billowing smoke pours into the sky, and there it will stay. F L AW E D \
With a story of and for our times, “There Will Be Blood” can certainly be viewed through the smeary window that looks onto the larger world. It’s timeless and topical, general and specific, abstract and as plain as the name of its fiery oilman. It’s an origin story of sorts. The opening images of desert hills and a droning electronic chord allude the beginning of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” whose murderous apes are part of a Darwinian continuum with Daniel Plainview. But the film is above all a consummate work of art, one that transcends
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the historically fraught context of its making, and its pleasures are unapologetically aesthetic. It reveals, excites, disturbs, provokes, but the window it opens is to human consciousness itself and much more.
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If you have a mil ksha ke, a nd I have a mil ksha ke. A nd I have a straw. This is a straw, see it? And my straw reaches across the room. February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
F IeL!M[FS E lSu T rI V AL I d r i n k y o u r m iFlLkAsWhE aD k p] . I . CdOr M in k it up!.
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
W IN Best Picture › 2007 American Film Institute Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture › Drama › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 National Society of Film Critics Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 National Society of Film Critics
Best Art Direction in a Period Film › Jack Fisk › 2007 Art Directors Guild Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Austin Film Critics Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 Austin Film Critics Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Austin Film Critics Best Original Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 Austin Film Critics Best Picture › 2007 Austin Film Critics Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association
Best Picture › 2007 National Society of Film Critics
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Florida Film Critics
Best Cinematographer › Robert Elswit › 2007 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Kansas City Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Screen Actors Guild
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Kansas City Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
F L AW E D \
Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 American Society of Cinematographers
Best Picture › 2007 Kansas City Film Critics Association
Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Las Vegas Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 Las Vegas Film Critics Association
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Best Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 Las Vegas Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Ohio Film Critics
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 San Diego Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Phoenix Film Critics Association
Best Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 San Diego Film Critics Association
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 San Diego Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Southeastern Film Critics Association
Best Picture › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Production Design › Jack Fisk › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Utah Film Critics F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 New York Film Critics Online Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 New York Film Critics Online Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 New York Film Critics Online Best Music Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 New York Film Critics Online Best Picture › 2007 New York Film Critics Online
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N O MIN ATIO N Film Presented › 2008 Berlin International Film Festival Best Adapted Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2 007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
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Best Music › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture › Joanne Sellar › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture › Daniel Lupi › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
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Best Production Design › Jim Erickson › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Supporting Actor › Paul Dano › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Production Design › Jack Fisk › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association
Best Sound › John Patrick [sn] Pritchett › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Composer › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association
Best Sound › Tom [sn] Johnson › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Sound › Matthew [sos/act] Wood › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
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Best Picture › 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Directors Guild of America
Best Sound › Michael Semanick › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Picture › Drama › 2007 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Best Sound › Christopher Scarabosio › 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Best Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 National Society of Film Critics
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Best Picture › 2007 Producers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction › Jim Erickson › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction › Jack Fisk › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Directing › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing › Dylan Tichenor › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Adapted Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association
Best Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association
Best Adapted Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Ohio Film Critics
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Original Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture › 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture › 2007 Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Actor › Daniel Day-Lewis › 2007 Detroit Film Critics Society
Best Picture › Joanne Sellar › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Detroit Film Critics Society
Best Picture › Daniel Lupi › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Best Picture › 2007 Detroit Film Critics Society
Best Picture › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Editing › Matthew [sos/act] Wood › 2007 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture › 2007 African American Film Critics
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Best Supporting Actor › Paul Dano › 2007 Detroit Film Critics Society Best Cinematography › Robert Elswit › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Music › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2007 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
A S T RU G G L E F O R AC C E P TA N C E I N T H E F I L M S O F P.T. A N D E R S O N
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Ohio Film Critics Best Picture › 2007 Ohio Film Critics Best Picture › 2007 Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2007 Utah Film Critics Best Picture › 2007 Utah Film Critics
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THE MASTER Release date / September 1, 2012 Rated R
144 minutes
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i f w e m ee t ag a i n i n t h e n e x t l i f e , y o u w i l l be my s w o r n
e n e m y .
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S Y NOP SIS Freddie Quell is a sex-obsessed alcoholic World War II veteran from Lynn, Massachusetts struggling to adjust to a post-war society. He becomes a portrait photographer at a department store but is soon fired for getting into a drunken fight with a customer. Freddie then finds work at a Salinas, California cabbage farm, but his moonshine poisons one of the elderly Filipino migrant workers and he is chased off.
questions at conquering Freddie's past traumas. Freddie reveals that his father is dead, his mother is institutionalized, he had an incestuous relationship with his aunt, and he abandoned the love of his life, a young girl named Doris, who wrote to him while he was at war. Freddie is enthralled by Dodd, who doesn't flinch from his abject revelations, and Dodd sees something in Freddie. Freddie travels with Dodd's family as they spread the teachings of "The One night, intoxicated, Freddie finds Cause" along the East Coast. Dodd himself in San Francisco and stows and his family, with Freddie tagging away on the yacht of a follower of along, stay as guests in the homes Lancaster Dodd, the leader of a of various women drawn to "The Cause." philosophical movement known as But when at a dinner party in New "The Cause." When he is discovered, York, a man questions Dodd's methDodd describes Freddie as "aberrated" ods and statements, and Freddie and invites him to stay and attend the pursues him to his apartment and marriage of Dodd's daughter, Elizabeth, assaults him that night. as long as he will make more of his mysterious brew (made with paint thin- Other members of "The Cause" begin ner), which Dodd has developed a to worry about Freddie's behavior, taste for. Dodd begins an exercise despite Dodd's attachment to him. with Freddie called Processing, a While they are guests of an acolyte flurry of disturbing psychological in Philadelphia, Dodd's wife Peggy February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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Fred d i e Qu e l l : I d o n' t k n ow what I told you b ut if you h ave wor k f or me to d o I can d o it . L a n c a s te r D o dd: You seem s o familiar to me. Fr e ddi e Q u e l l : Yeah. What d o you d o? Lan ca ste r D o d d : I a m a w r i te r, a d octor, a nuclear p hys ic ist a n d a t h eoret i c a l p h i l o s o p h e r. But ab ove all, I am a m a n , a h o p e l e s s ly i n q u i s i tive man, j us t like you.
tells Freddie that he must quit drinking if he wishes to stay, to which he agrees. However, he has no true intention of keeping his promise. Freddie criticizes Dodd's son Val for disregarding his father's teachings, but Val tells Freddie that Dodd is making things up as he goes along. Dodd is arrested for practicing medicine without proper qualifications, after one of his former hostesses has a change of heart; Freddie is also arrested for assaulting the police officers. In the jail cell adjacent to Dodd, Freddie smashes the toilet and batters himself against the bars and his bunk, while Dodd tries to calm him. Freddie erupts in a tirade, questioning everything that Dodd has taught him and accuses him of being a fake. The two men trade insults until Dodd turns his back. They reconcile upon their release, but members of "The Cause" have become more suspicious and fearful of Freddie, believing him to be deranged or an undercover agent. Freddie submits to additional exercises with "The Cause" but becomes increasingly angry and frustrated with the repetition of the exercises and his lack of results. Eventually he passes the tests, and they travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for the release of Dodd's latest book. But when Dodd's publisher criticizes the quality of the book and its teachings Freddie assaults him. Helen Sullivan, their Philadelphia hostess, confronts Dodd in the lecture hall for suggesting that members should now "imagine" rather than "recall" the experiences of "other lives" in his new book, and he also loses his temper. During another exercise, in which Freddie is supposed to ride a motorcycle at high speed through the desert towards an object in the distance and then return, he instead abandons the group, riding the motorcycle out of the desert, and leaving Dodd and "The Cause" behind. He goes home to rekindle his relationship with Doris but learns from her mother that she has married and started a family in Alabama in the seven years since he last saw her.
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Freddie leaves disappointed, but he seems pleased that Doris has made a happy life for herself. While sleeping in a movie theater, Freddie receives a phone call from Dodd who is now residing in England, and Dodd asks Freddie to travel to England and join him. Freddie then travels across the Atlantic to reunite with Dodd. When Freddie arrives, he February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
discovers Val is still in his father's employ and that Elizabeth has been expelled from the movement. Dodd seems happy to see him but Peggy tells him that Freddie has no intention of improving his life and that he should no longer be involved in "The Cause." Dodd finally realizes that his wife is correct and he gives Freddie an ultimatum: stay with "The Cause" and devote himself to
it for the rest of his life or leave and never return. Dodd then serenades Freddie with the song Slow Boat to China. Freddie leaves and picks up a woman at a local pub, then repeats questions from his first Processing session with Dodd as he is having sex with her. Finally, he appears to curl up on a beach next to the crude sand sculpture of a woman the sailors built during the war. F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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AC T ING CRE DI T S
Joaquin Phoenix › Freddie Quell
Kevin Hudnell › Portrait Customer
Philip Seymour Hoffman › Lancaster Dodd
Amy Ferguson›Ota › Martha The Salesgirl
Amy Adams › Peggy Dodd
W. Earl Brown › Fighting Businessman
Laura Dern › Helen Sullivan Ambyr Childers › Elizabeth Dodd Rami Malek › Clark Jesse Plemons › Val Dodd Kevin O'Connor › Bill William
Dr. Frank Bettag › Frank Ariel Felix › Filipino Worker Vladimir Velasco › Filipino Worker Katie Boland › Young Woman Martin D. Dew › Norman Conrad
Christopher Evan Welch › John More
Josh Close › Wayne Gregory
Madisen Beaty › Doris Solstad
Jillian Bell › Susan Gregory
Lena Endre › Mrs. Solstad
Kevin J. Walsh › Cliff Boyd
Price Carson › V.A. Doctor
Patty McCormack › Mildred Drummond
Mike Howard › Rorschach Doctor
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Barbara Brownell › Margaret O'Brien Brady Rubin › Michelle Mortimer Jill Andre › Beatrice Campbell Charley Morgan › New York Lawyer Barlow Jacobs › James Sullivan Fiona Dourif › Dancer Ally Johnson › Dancer Brittany Kilcoyne McGregor › Dancer Kim Jindra › Processing Patient David Warshofsky › Philadelphia Police Thomas Knickerbocker › Judge Phoenix
Melora Walters › Band › Voice
Price Carson › V.A. Doctor
Eban Schletter › Band › Piano
Brian Fong › Filipino Worker
Emily Jordan › British Receptionist
Katie Boland › Young Woman
Napolean Ryan › Pub Customer
Joshua Close › Wayne Gregory
Joaquin Phoenix › Freddie Quell
Lena Endre › Mrs. Solstad
Joaquin Phoenix › Freddie Sutton
Kevin J. O'Connor › Bill William
Philip Seymour Hoffman › Lancaster Dodd
Patty McCormack › Mildred Drummond
Amy Adams › Peggy Dodd
Barbara Brownell › Margaret O'Brien
Laura Dern › Helen Sullivan Jesse Plemons › Val Dodd David Warshofsky › Philadelphia Policeman David Warshofsky
Jill Andre › Beatrice Campbell Barlow Jacobs › James Sullivan Eban Schletter › Band Member › Piano
Rami Malek › Clark
P RODUC T ION CRE DI T S
Director › Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › JoAnne Sellar Producer › Daniel Lupi Producer › Paul Thomas Anderson Producer › Megan Ellison Executive Producer › Adam Somner Executive Producer › Ted Schipper Co-Producer › Albert Chi Co-Producer › Will Weiske
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RE V IE W BY
A . O . S C O TT
“The Master,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s imposing, confounding and altogether amazing new film, is partly concerned with the life and work of one Lancaster Dodd, leader of a therapeutic, quasi-religious cult known as the Cause. Dodd’s “process,” a stew of Freud, hypnosis and carnival sideshow mumbo-jumbo, is based on a kind of mental time travel. The subject is led, by a series of pointed, painful questions, on a search for past trauma — earlier in life, before birth, in a previous existence — that can be identified as the source of negative emotion and destructive behavior in the present. At a certain point Dodd modifies his theory, suggesting that instead of “remembering” our prenatal past, our minds “imagine” it. This shift leads to some consternation among his followers (notably a wealthy benefactor played by Laura Dern), and it may also fuel the audience’s skepticism about this charismatic mountebank, brought to life by Philip Seymour Hoffman with the flair and precision of a great concert pianist. More showman than shaman — h e holds his followers in thrall with jokes, dinner-table toasts and bawdy songs — D odd is so adept at the performance of sincerity that he may long ago have fooled himself into believing the bizarre doctrines he seems to pull out of thin air. “The Master,” meanwhile, is rigorously agnostic about his methods and intentions, refusing the temptations of satire and gazing fondly at Dodd’s follies even as it notes the brutal way he and his acolytes deal with doubters and heretics. This semi-sympathetic stance makes sense, since the film, a glorious and haunting symphony of color, emotion and sound, is very much its own Cause. Our minds sometimes play tricks on us, substituting invention for memory. Movies turn this lapse into a principle, manufacturing collective fantasies that are often more vivid, more real, than what actually happened. “The Master,” unfolding in the anxious, movie-saturated years just after World War II, is not a work of history in the literal or even the conventionally literary sense. The strange and complicated story it has to tell exists beyond the reach of doubt or verification. The cumulative artifice on display is beautiful — camera movements that elicit an involuntary gasp, passages in Jonny Greenwood’s score that raise the hair on the back of your neck, feats of acting that defy comprehension —but all of it has been marshaled in the pursuit of a new kind of cinematic truth. This is a movie that defies understanding even as it compels reverent, astonished belief. Lancaster Dodd bears a clear resemblance to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, and there are strong echoes of Hubbard’s Dianetics in the F L AW E D \
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L a n c a s te r D o dd: W hy aren' t you w it h her? Fr e d d ie Q u e l l : I ' m an id iot . La nc a s ter D o dd: W hy a re n' t you w it h t he lovely g irl? Fr e ddi e Q u e l l : I g ot no reas on. I ' m a fool. L a n c a s te r D od d : Do you love Doris? Fre d d ie Q u e l l : Yes. L a n c a s te r D o dd: Is s h e t he love of your life? Fre d d ie Q ue l l : Yes, s ir. L a nc a s te r D o dd: T he n why aren' t you w it h her? Fr e dd ie Q ue l l : I d on' t know. La nc a s ter D o dd: Ye s yo u d o. Tell me why you are not w i t h he r i f you love her s o much. Freddi e Qu el l : I to l d he r I 'd c o m e b ack and I never went b a c k a n d n ow I j u s t . . . I g otta g et b ack to her. L a n c a s te r D o dd: Why d on' t you g o b ack? Fr e dd ie Q ue l l : I d on' t know. Lanc a s ter Do dd: C l os e yo u r eye s. Start ing now, you are n ot to b l i n k . I f yo u b l i n k we g o b ack to t he s tart .
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theory and practice of the Cause, but and Douglas Sirk hover just outside viewers of “The Master” hoping for the frame, along with the ghosts of insight into the prehistory of Tom the spiritual seekers, sexual advenCruise’s love life will be disappointed. turers and shellshocked veterans Hubbard’s rise is the kernel of this who dotted the American landscape film much in the way that the career at the dawn of the atomic age. of the early-20th-century California Which brings us to Freddie Quell, oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny was an alcoholic wreck played with sly, the seed from which Mr. Anderson manic ferocity by Joaquin Phoenix. (assisted by Upton Sinclair’s muck“The Master” is really more Freddie’s raking novel “Oil!”) coaxed the lurid story than Dodd’s, and some of the blossom that was “There Will Be film’s drama resides in the struggle Blood.” The stiff, theatrical pseudo between the two characters — and realism of period drama is the last perhaps the two actors —for supremthing on this director’s mind. acy. “You’ll be my protégé and my In “The Master” the production guinea pig,” Dodd says to Freddie designers Jack Fisk and David Crank shortly after their first meeting. have produced a sensuous, richly There turns out to be a lot more to it detailed and absolutely plausible than that. They are father and son, vision of 1950, and the cinematograguru and disciple, passionate friends pher, Mihai Malaimare Jr., takes and bitter competitors locked in advantage of the density and sheen a relationship whose sexual under of the 70-millimeter format to currents are as palpable and mysapproximate the lush visual grandeur terious as the motion of water of mid-50s melodrama. The specters under the surface of the ocean. of Eisenhower-era auteurs like George Stevens, Max Ophuls, Nicholas Ray
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I am a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist and a theoretica l philosopher. But a bove a ll, I a m a ma n , a h o p e l e s s l y i n q u i s i t i v e m a n , j u s t l i k e y o 1u1 7. — L a n c a s t e r
After serving with the Navy in the Pacific war, Freddie, a native of Lynn, Mass., washes up in California like a bit of human flotsam. Psychiatric interviews before his discharge confirm what a few wartime scenes have already suggested, namely that this guy is a mess. Shown a series of Rorschach inkblots, he sees only genitalia. Asked to account for his February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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strange behavior, he mumbles and but the film does not supply an answer. equivocates. Though Freddie finds Freddie’s menacing oddness may work at a department store and, later, result from those potions, from the in the cabbage fields of Salinas, his war or from some other buried troureal vocation is inventing and consum- ble that has left him, as Dodd puts it, ing cocktails made of paint thinner, “aberrated.” There is certainly pain darkroom chemicals, household in Freddie’s past, including a lost love cleaning supplies and whatever else (Madisen Beaty) summoned to the is at hand.Dodd offers treatment screen during a therapeutic session (and samples Freddie’s concoctions), with Dodd. But no single cause could F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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account for the tangle of tics and urges that make up Freddie’s personality. Mr. Phoenix, his shoulders hunched, his speech barely intelligible, his face twisted, pushes his performance beyond the psychological gestures of the Method (which was very much in vogue in the early days of Dianetics) into a zone of pure, feral, improvisatory being. Mr. Hoffman, in contrast, presents an integrated, highly nuanced, supremely Methodical self to the camera. The two actors work in a counterpoint that expresses not only the diverging temperaments of the
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men they are playing, but also some of the contradictions of their era. Dodd (whose name is rarely uttered aloud in the film) is, to himself and his followers, the very incarnation of success, with the discipline of a scientist and the passion of an entrepreneur. Freddie’s creased and haggard face is a road map of failure. But the Master is also a charlatan and a tyrant, driven by vanity and paranoia as much as by any rational ambition. And Freddie, however damaged he may be, is at the same time a person of unquestionable
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sincerity. Neither he nor Dodd is a stable, singular entity. Each is, in turn, hero and villain, master and disciple, con man and patsy. The third voice — the one that binds the film together — belongs to Peggy Dodd (Amy Adams), the latest of the Master’s several wives and the hidden hand that directs his empire. Peggy, who is either pregnant or holding a child in almost all of her scenes, embodies a familiar feminine ideal, and Ms. Adams does nothing to subvert the image of a perfect mother and helpmeet. What she does is show, plainly and gracefully, how
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La nc a s ter D o dd: [ L a n c a s te r and Fred d ie have b een impri so n ed i n two s e p a rate c e l l s, s haring a w a l l ] Yo u r f e a r o f c a p t u r e a n d i m p r i s o n m e n t is an imp l ant fro m m i l l i o ns o f ye a r s a g o. T h i s b att le has b een w it h yo u f rom b e fore you know. T his is not you. Fr e ddi e Q u e l l : SHU T T HE FU CK U P! L a n c a s te r Dod d : It 's not you. Fr e ddi e Q u e l l : SHU T. T HE FU CK. U P! Lanc a s ter Do dd: It 's n ot yo u . Yo u are as leep. Your s p irit wa s fre e . Moving from b ody, to the n ext bo dy. Fre e . Fre e f or a m oment . T hen it was captured by a n i nva d e r forc e , b e nt o n t u r n i n g y o u t o t h e d a r k e s t w a y , y o u ' v e b e e n i mp lanted w it h a p us hpu ll mech a n i s m t h at ke e p s yo u f earful of aut hority and d est r u ct i ve . We a re i n t he m i d d le of a b att le t hat 's a trillion yea r s i n t h e m a k i n g a n d i t's b ig g er t han t he b ot h of us ! Freddie Qu el l : Yo u' re m a k i n g t h i s s hit up ! You make t his sh i t u p! You d on' t k n ow what you' re talking ab out !
the pursuit of such perfection can be monstrous. At times “The Master” seems entirely populated by monsters, though occasionally someone — i n particular Dodd’s cynical son Val (Jesse Plemons) — will sound a note of common sense. But common sense does not much interest Mr. Anderson, who glimpses the reflection of his own ambition in the aspirations of his characters, and who rewrites the rules of filmmaking at will. He has never made a western — “ Punch-Drunk Love,” a tale of righteous revenge starring Adam Sandler, probably comes closest — b ut all of Mr. Anderson’s six feature films to date are at least partially meditations on the American West. “Hard Eight” takes place in Reno; “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “Punch-Drunk Love” in the San Fernando Valley; and “There Will be Blood” in the oil fields of Southern California. “The Master” travels east — t o New York, Philadelphia and England — b ut its geographic touch stones are the Pacific Ocean and the Arizona desert. In all of those places, and at every point in history, Mr. Anderson discovers the perpetual promise of new beginnings and a poisonous backwash of anomie, violence and greed. In his world fortunes are constantly being made and squandered. New religions are springing to life. Gamblers, pornographers, hustlers and drunks are plumbing the mysteries of existence. Fathers are at war with their biological and symbolic sons. Husbands are at war with wives. Men are at war with the universe, perversely convinced that they have a chance of winning. All of this striving — absurd, tragic, grotesque and beautiful — can feel like too much. “The Master” is wild and enormous, its scale almost commensurate with Lancaster Dodd’s hubris and its soul nearly as restless as Freddie Quell’s. It is a movie about the lure and folly of greatness that comes as close as anything I’ve seen recently to being a great movie. There will be skeptics, but the cult is already forming. Count me in.
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A W ARDS / NOMINA T IONS
Best Cinematography › Mihai Jr. Malaimare › 2012 Boston Society of Film Critics
Best Music Score (Runner-up) › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Actor › Joaquin Phoenix › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Picture (Runner-up) › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Cinematography (Runner-up) › Mihai Jr. Malaimare › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Production Design › Jack Fisk › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
W IN
Best Director › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association F L AW E D \
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Best Supporting Actress › Amy [act] Adams › 2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Supporting Actress › Amy [act] Adams › 2012 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Best Score › Jonny [m] Greenwood › 2012 Washington D.C. Film Critics Association
Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 Screen Actors Guild
Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 Washington D.C. Film Critics Association
Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2012 Writers Guild of America
N O MIN ATIO N Film Presented › 2012 Toronto International Film Festival Best Actor › Joaquin Phoenix › 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Original Screenplay › Paul Thomas Anderson › 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actress › Amy [act] Adams › 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture › Drama › Joaquin Phoenix › 2012 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Best Actor › Joaquin Phoenix › 2012 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress › Amy [act] Adams › 2012 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor › Joaquin Phoenix › 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actress › Amy [act] Adams › 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Best Picture › 2012 New York Film Critics Online
Best Supporting Actor › Philip Seymour Hoffman › 2012 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
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B R O K E N O B S E S S I O N The Master
There Will Be Blood
Punch-Drunk Love Magnolia Boogie Nights Hard Eight
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My dad was this sort of avant-garde guy who did all kinds of weird things.
He was a true original and anybody who met him never forgot him. —
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LUENCE
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Ernest Earle Anderson, aka Ghoulardi November 12, 1923 _ February 6, 1997
LOCATION INFL Lynn, Massachusetts
AN INSP IRA T ION F ROM HIS IR R E V E R E N T DAD
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DAVID KONOW
"If I have it in me, you have it in you." Fans of Paul Thomas Anderson will know that line from the director's There Will Be Blood, and family has often been a theme in PTA's work. The line also seems like it might have been uttered by Paul's father, Ernie Anderson, who himself seems like he could have been a character in one of his son's greatest movies. The location of the festival plays homage to Paul Thomas Anderson's father, Ernie Anderson, and will be held in Cleveland Ohio, the location of where his Dad previously worked as the voice for Ghoulardi before moving to Studio City, California. This area holds huge significance due his strong admiration for his father and the influence he had towards his film career. The date of the festival is also dedicated to the day of his father’s passing and to the inspiration his father has given him throughout his career. Ernie was a local legend in Ohio, where he performed as Ghoulardi, a wildly popular horror-show host. In the '70s, he left for Studio City, California, where Paul was born in 1970, and became the successful voice of ABC. Ernie's wonderful vocal talent can be remembered on commercials for "The Looooovvvveee Boat," as well as America's Funniest Home Videos ("That's right, Bob!").
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In the early '60s, Ernie was working as a voiceover announcer and comedian in Ohio when he was approached by WJW, a local station, about becoming a horror-show host. A number of schlocky B-movies were sold to stations across the country as part of the "Shock Theater" package, ushering in the era of hosts like Vampira and Zacherley. Yet Ghoulardi was like no spook-show host before or since. He wore a fright wig and a pointy, black, glued-on goatee, as well as a white lab coat, which made it easy to superimpose him into the movies he made fun of. As Ghoulardi, Anderson often spoke in a heavy accent; he also hated having to memorize scripts, so he would freely improvise comedic riffs about films such as The Brain From Planet Arous and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. (Sample line: "This movie is so bad, if you look real close, you can see the strings that this spaceship flies on.") But silly B-movies weren't Ghoulardi's only target. Ernie made fun of local Ohio personalities, like talk-show host Mike Douglas, WJW's weatherman Howard Hoffmann, and Dorothy Fuldheim, who was considered the grand dame of television in Ohio. Anderson would have Fuldheim's photo on the Ghoulardi set, and he'd scream, "DOOOR-OTHY!" in horror at the sight of her. On another episode, a fart was blasted off-screen and Anderson told viewers, "Howard Hoffmann isn't well..." Ernie once lamented that he could have been another Howard Stern but he didn't have the cojones to go all the way with his humor. Yet Tom Feran, a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and author of Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride, tells Esquire.com that "there are definitely parallels" between Anderson and Stern. "Ernie taunted his station bosses, made fun of some fans, and goofed on local celebrities," he says. "He
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delighted in doing things he was told not to do. I don't think he was as shrewd or calculating about his show and career as Howard was, but for his time, given prevailing standards, Ernie could be comparable to Stern." Ernie's irreverence and anti-authority streak had an indelible influence on Paul, who would go on to make movies about antiheroes who don't fit into the mainstream, from the porn hustlers of Boogie Nights to Joaquin Phoenix's drunk vagrant in The Master. But he would also do a good February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
bit more. Ernie inspired one of the best scenes in Boogie Nights, the firecracker segment at the climax of the film. Ghoulardi was famous for doing skits with fireworks, which he called "boom booms," and he would often blow up toy cars, action figures, and model airplanes that fans would send in. Fans would also mail in their own firecrackers for Ernie to light up, but he finally had to stop when one viewer sent in a powerful explosive that shook the building and burned up the set. Ghoulardi's on-air shenanigans drove F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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Anderson's bosses crazy, but they also drove WJW's ratings through the roof. Ghoulardi reached a wide demographic in Ohio, and at one point he was even scoring higher ratings locally than Johnny Carson. "Teenagers thought he was cool, and adults who didn't deplore him loved the way he said things that weren't normally said on TV," says Feran. When Ghoulardi made his first public appearance, he was swarmed by fans like a rock star. Kids dressed up like Ghoulardi for Halloween, and soon there was merchandise like bumper stickers, sweatshirts, and Ghoulardi milkshakes and apple cider at a local carhop restaurant. It was all too incredible to believe, and as a kid, Paul didn't believe it at first either. As PTA recalled to the Cleveland Sun, he would roll his eyes when his dad talked about his Ghoulardi days and he'd say, "You're my dad. You're just a knucklehead. You were never any big deal." But when Paul went to Ohio with his father, he was amazed that people kept recognizing him on the street. As Paul marveled to Feran, "I said, 'Wow, he's not full of shit. He was this huge thing.'" When Ernie died in early 1997, it was front-page news in Ohio, and his memorial service had a quintessential Ernie touch. As Feran reported in his Ghoualrdi book, there's a recording of Ernie outtakes, dubbed "Mr. Wonderful," which played at his memorial. You can almost see it becoming a scene in a PTA movie some day: An event that's supposed to be somber broken up by a well known, disembodied voice spewing angry obscenities out of nowhere, making his loved ones laugh and momentarily forget their sadness. While Ernie Anderson didn't live long enough to see his son become phenomenally successful, all of PTA's movies, including his latest Inherent Vice, have been released under the moniker the Ghoulardi Film Company, in his father's
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memory. (Right before the release of Boogie Nights, PTA was also considering making his next picture about his father's Ghoulardi years, but he wrote and directed Magnolia instead.) What's unfortunate about Ghoulardi's legacy is how little there is to enjoy today. Only 18 minutes that were captured on kinescope have survived, so February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
if you're expecting any episodes as a DVD or Blu-ray bonus feature, forget it. But for many who grew up with Ghoulardi, the memories still burn strong today, which is remarkable for a show and a character that are more than 50 years old and still virtually unknown outside of Ohio. "The show was like a supernova that made an indelible impression," Feran says. "It
lasted long enough to be remembered, but not long enough to wear out its welcome." As PTA himself told the Cleveland Sun, "He made me, you know. He had a massive influence on me. He was very cutting edge in a lot of the stuff that he did. He was a one-of-a-kind man. I mean, really one of a kind."
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PLACES TO ST HO T E LS
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Whether you’re into the thread count of your linens or just a place to crash for the night, we’ve got a hotel room for you. Cleveland's famous for a style that's a mix of grit and sophistication. And, there's no greater place to witness this unmistakably Cleveland vibe. You should know that downtown Cleveland is incredibly walkable. You won't find an attraction that's more than a 20-minute walk away. All of Cleveland's downtown hotels make stellar spots to stay for the film festivities. Whether you've already got a coveted ticket to the Flawed film festival or you'll want to catch some Z's near the action there are plenty of activities and things to do.
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COMF OR T INN DO W N T O W N
W Y NDHAM CLE V E LAND A T P LA Y HOUSE SQUA R E
COMFORTI NN. COM
WYNDHAM.COM
0. 1 M I LE FROM THEA TER 1 800 EUCLI D AVEN U E, CLEV EL A N D , O H
1 2 6 0 E U C L I D A VE N U E , C L E V E L A N D , O H 0.2 MILE FROM THEATER
With a stay at Comfort Inn Downtown - Cleveland, you'll be centrally located in Cleveland, steps from Wolstein Center and minutes from PlayhouseSquare Centre. This family-friendly hotel is within close proximity of Allen Theatre and Cleveland State University. Make yourself at home in one of the 130 air-conditioned guest rooms. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms have complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and complimentary weekday newspapers, as well as phones with free local calls.
Wyndham Cleveland at PlayhouseSquare is located center stage of downtown Cleveland’s theater and business district. All Non-Smoking guest rooms with Luxurious BeWell® bedding, duvet blanket and feather pillows. SMART™ lounge chair and workstation with built-in power source, 50 MB WIFI, 32” Flat Screen TV’s, cable & pay-per view, oversized desk with Herman Miller chair, ADA rooms, coffee maker, hairdryer, ironing board, Bath & Body Works Spa line, and ampm clock with mp3-ipod adapter
AMENI TI ES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Bar/Lounge Complimentary breakfast Express check out Fitness center Internet (surcharge) Laundry facilities Laundry service Meeting/Banquet facilities Parking (surcharge) F L AW E D \
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AMENITIES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Bar/Lounge Business center Cribs available Express check out Fitness center Hot tub Free Internet Indoor pool Laundry service Meeting/Banquet facilities Pets not allowed
No smoking Parking (surcharge) Restaurant Room service Sauna Storage available Free WiFi
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ME T ROP OLI T AN A T T HE 9 AU T OGR AP H COLLE C T ION
R ADISSON HO T E L CLE V E LAND-GA T E W A Y
MARRI OT T. COM
RADISSON.COM
2017 EAST 9TH STREET, CLEV EL A N D , O H 0. 4 M I LE FROM TH EATER
6 5 1 H U R O N R O A D , C L E VE L A N D , O H 0.5 MILE FROM THEATER
This iconic hotel features 156 beautifully designed hotel rooms that engage your entire experience absorbed in the excitement of downtown Cleveland. The Metropolitan at The 9 is the only hotel that features an indoor dog park known as Bark. Enjoy fine dining at Adega the Metropolitan's Mediterranean in house restaurant, or unwind with a cocktail at Azure Sun Lounge (opening May 2015) while enjoying views of Lake Erie and local city scape. Be transported back to the 20's in the Speakeasy at The 9 enjoy a pre-prohibition cocktail and a lively atmosphere. Visit The Alex Theater at The 9 to enjoy and engage in live performances or a movie featuring Cleveland's finest local entertainment and artists. Designed from the original bank vaults the Vaults at The 9 is the perfect private setting to host an event and will create an urban historic feel to give your guests a variety of experiences.
Radisson President's Award winning hotel located in Historic Gateway across from Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena. Within close walking distance to Tower City Mall, House of Blues and many restaurants. Easy access to CSU Convocation Center, Rock Hall of Fame, Playhouse Square Theatres and more!
AMENI TI ES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Bar/Lounge Business center Concierge service Cribs available February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
Express check out Fitness center Gift shop Internet Etc.
Complimentary coffee daily, 142 Stylish Guestrooms featuring complimentary High Speed Wireless Internet Access, Gateway Bar and Grille Restaurant with Room Service -Fitness Center -Valet Parking -Computer and Printer in Lobby -10 Meeting Rooms and more.
AMENITIES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Bar/Lounge Business center Cribs available Express check out Fitness center Free Internet Laundry service Meeting/Banquet facilities No smoking
Parking Pets allowed on request. Charges may apply. Restaurant Room service Safe Free WiFi
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R E SIDE NCE INN B Y MAR R IO T T CLE V E LA N D DO W N T O W N
HOLIDA Y INN E X P R E SS CLE V E LA N D DO W N T O W N
MARRI OT T. COM
HIEXPRESS.COM
527 PROSPECT AV EN UE EAST, CLEV EL A N D , O H 0. 5 M I LE FROM THEA TER
6 2 9 E U C L I D A VE N U E , C L E V E L A N D , O H 0.5 MILE FROM THEATER
Experience the comforts of home in the Historic Gateway District at the Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown located in the heart of downtown Cleveland surrounded by exclusive dining and shopping. From short weekend getaways to long business trips, our extended stay hotel suites provide a fully equipped kitchen, pullout sofa bed and work area with complimentary high speed internet. Treat clients or your significant other to an exceptional stay and explore nearby attractions, including East 4th Street dining and entertainment, Horseshoe Cleveland Casino, Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field. Ideal for executive meetings, our boardroom comfortably accommodates 12 guests, while our largest meeting room provides ideal space to train a group of 50! Stay and discover the perfect balance of home and downtown Cleveland.
Take a step back in time as you enter this 19th century historic Guardian Bank Building, built in 1894, now one of Cleveland?s most contemporary hotels. The newly renovated Holiday Inn Express Cleveland Downtown is located in Cleveland's financial district between E. 9th St and E. 6th St on Euclid Ave. We are within walking distance of many attractions including: Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers; Cleveland Browns Stadium, and Cleveland Indians? Progressive Field, Horseshoe Casino, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Warehouse District, Tower City Center, Playhouse Square and CSU Wolstein Center. The newly renovated Holiday Inn Express Cleveland Downtown is within 4-miles of Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital and University Circle. With a variety of room types, the Holiday Inn Express Cleveland-Downtown has a room for every need. We feature the largest standard guest rooms in Cleveland, Jacuzzi Suites, Two Room Suites, free wireless high speed Internet, hot breakfast and a 24 hour fitness center.
A MENI TI ES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Business center Complimentary breakfast Fitness center Free Internet Laundry facilities Laundry service F L AW E D \
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AMENITIES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Business center
Complimentary breakfast Fitness center Laundry service Etc.
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H Y A T T R E GE NC Y CLE V E LAND A T T HE ARCADE
HAMP T ON INN CLE V E LA N D
C LEVELAND. HYATT.C O M
HAMPTONINN.COM
420 SUPERI OR AVE N UE, C L EV ELAN D, OH 0. 6 M I LE FROM THEA TER
1 46 0 E . N I N T H S T R E E T , C L E VE L A N D , O H 1.1 MILE FROM THEATER
Located in the Historic Gateway Neighborhood, at East 4th Street between Euclid and Superior Avenues, Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade provides convenient proximity to all major attractions in Cleveland. The hotel is within walking distance from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Progressive Field, the Horseshoe Casino, the Theater District, and the Cleveland Convention Center and Global Center for Health Innovation.
The epicenter of entertainment, sports and dining... welcome to the Hampton Inn Cleveland-Downtown. The Hampton Inn® hotel in Cleveland-Downtown occupies the heart of downtown. When you stay at our hotel in Cleveland, you'll be in walking distance to Cleveland's best sports, entertainment and dining. We're mere minutes from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Great Lakes Science Center, Goodtime III Cruise Ship, the Cleveland Convention Center, Playhouse Square Theatre District and Cleveland State University. Our Cleveland hotel is close to Browns Stadium (home of the Cleveland Browns), Progressive Field (home of the Cleveland Indians) and Quicken Loans Arena (home of the Cleveland Cavaliers). Our downtown Cleveland hotel location also allows you to shop at Tower City & Galleria Malls or stroll to the Hard Rock Café, House of Blues and Lola Bistro home of Iron Chef Michael Symon. Our Cleveland hotel is also near University Circle, home to Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, CASE, Cleveland Orchestra, and Cleveland Museum of Art and so much more.
A MENI TI ES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned ATM on-site Bar/Lounge Business center Coffee shop Concierge service Express check out Fitness center Internet Laundry service Meeting/Banquet facilities No smoking Parking Pets allowed on request. Charges may apply February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
Wheelchair accessible Restaurant Room service Safe Beauty salon Spa Storage available Wedding services Free WiFi
AMENITIES 24 hour front desk Air-conditioned Business center
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PLACES TO VIS RE S T AURAN T S, BARS AND BRE W E RIE S
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During the Flawed film festival, more than 25 participating downtown Cleveland restaurants and bars will offer family style dinners. The festival lets residents and visitors experience downtown Cleveland's dining destination in a unique way. That means, you can drink and eat at places like Winks Bar and Grill, District, or the Tap; and considering the frosty temps here in Cleveland during February, you'll be happy to know that our restaurants are cooking with your coziness in mind. Our theme, Cleveland's comfort food, encourages chefs to create dishes that remind them of home, no matter where that might be from. Flawed film festival are working with several downtown parking locations to secure discounted parking. Follow Flawed film festival on twitter for updates or by visiting flawedfilmfestival.com/restaurants.
February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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RESTAURANTS
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E A T UP AMERICAN
AL’ S DE LI
BAR LOUIE
A L S -D ELI.C O M
BARLOUIEAMERICA.COM
Within walking distance from the new Cleveland Convention Center, serving hot breakfast, homemade soups, deli sandwiches, wraps, refreshing salads and favorite Middle Eastern dishes.
Awarded“Concept of Tomorrow”by Restaurant Hospitality magazine. We’re a casual, cool neighborhood restaurant/bar specializing in oversized sandwiches and artfully concocted cocktails.
216.589.92 2 3
2 1 6 . 45 2 . 5 5 0 0
55 ER IEV IE W P L A Z A C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
1352 W. 6TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
SP O T HORSE SHOE CASI NO
B R I C K S T O N E C L E VE L A N D . C O M
SPO TB U R G E R S . C O M Gourmet burgers, brats, beer and bourbon are the B’shere! Craft draft and bottled beer, and bad a** milkshakes
216.297.4 8 3 8
BR ICKS T ONE Located steps from Playhouse Square,Progressive Field and Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University. Stone oven features,fresh from scratch twist on American cuisine. Family friendly.
216.861.8000 10 0 PUBLIC S Q U A R E C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 3
February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
2217 E. 9TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 5
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T HE CHOCOLA T E BAR C HOCOLATEBARCLEV ELAN D.COM Great food, world-class desserts and one of the nation’s top martini menus. Perfect for lunch,dinner, before and after events or any special occasion.
216. 622. 2626
GR E A T AME R ICAN GR ILL AND HAR V E Y ’ S BAR STAYHGICL E VE L A N D D O W N T O W N . C O M When you are in the mood for good times and great cuisine, come on by!
216.658.64 0 0
347 EUCLI D AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 114
CLE V E LA N D CHOP
H IL TO N G A R D E N I N N C L EV ELAN D D O W N T O W N 110 0 C A R N E G I E A VE . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 5
C LEVELANDCHOP. COM Offering signature steaks, handcrafted burgers, seafood specialties, neopolitan pizzas. Locally crafted beers, creative cocktails,extensive wine list.
216. 696. 2467 824 W. ST. CLAI R C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
DA V ID ’ S R E S T AUR AN T C LEVELANDM ARRIOTTDOW N TOW N .COM Featuring fresh seafood,chops, and Black Angus steaks. Accommodates groups of30 people in a semi-private atmosphere.
HAR D ROCK CAF E H A R D R O C K . C O M / C L E VE L A N D Situated in downtown Cleveland’s Tower City Center at the doorstep of the Gateway complex, convenient to all Cleveland venues and attractions. Connected to Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field making this home town favorite the perfect place to visit before or after that special concert, game,or event.
Perfect for conversation inspired by the watch-worthy crowds below, enjoy this intimate nook tucked above the hotel lobby. Signature craft classic cocktails, wine from around the world, local artisan beer and a small bites menu are available.
216.239.1200 2017 E. 9TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 5
LIQUID L I Q U I D C L E VE L A N D . C O M Enjoy cuisine varying from pastas, salads, steaks, burgers, tacos, pizza more! Sit back with our extensive bar selection of brews, cocktails and wines.
2 1 6 . 47 9 . 7 7 1 7 1212 W. 6TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
216.830.76 2 5
LOLA BIS T RO
TH E AV EN U E A T T O W E R C I T Y 230 W . HU R O N R D . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 3
LOLABISTRO.COM
216. 696. 9200
HO T SP O T CAF E
C LEVELAND M ARRIOTT DOW N TOW N AT KEY CENTER 127 PU B L IC S Q U A R E C LEVELAND, OH 44 114
H O TS POTCA F E C L E VE L A N D . C O M Come enjoy our full-service menu, including gluten free and vegan options, and free WiFi every day.
216.239.11 41 13 3 2 C A R N E G I E A V E . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 5
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A S T RU G G L E F O R AC C E P TA N C E I N T H E F I L M S O F P.T. A N D E R S O N
Nationally recognized chef Michael Symon’s reincarnation of Lola Bistro. An American bistro with Midwestern twists and turns using only locally grown and raised organic meats and produce.
216.621.5652 2 0 5 1 E . 4T H S T . C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
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NAU T ICA QUE E N NAUT I CAQUEEN. CO M Luxury cruise/dining ship featuring lunch/dinner cruises. Cruising April through New Year’s Eve. Elaborate buffet dining and on-board entertainment during a river/ lake front cruise.
3 S T ADIUM 3 BAR GR ILLE
T ABLE 9 R E S T AUR AN T
D O U B L ETRE E C L E VE L A N D . C O M
Restaurant and lounge featuring local foods and specializing in new American/Mediterranean cuisine.
An upscale, yet casual, environment in which you can indulge in your favorite American-style cuisine and favorite drinks.
216.24 1.5 1 0 0 | 8 0 0 . 2 2 2 . T R E E
216. 696. 8888 | 8 00.837.0604 NAUT I CA, FLATS W EST BAN K 1 153 M AI N AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
D O U B L ETRE E B Y H IL TO N C L E VE L A N D D O W N T O W N 1111 L A K ES I D E A VE . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
P O T BE LLY SAND W ICH SHOP
SUS Y ’ S SOUP DE LI
POTBELLY. COM offers great food, eclectic decor and live, local music. Stop in for toasty sandwiches, made-to-order salads, soups, cookies baked fresh daily and hand-dipped shakes.
216. 325. 0161 515 EUCLI D AVE. , C LEVELAND, OH 44 114
R ASCA L HOUSE P IZZA
1801 E. 9TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 4
ZOUP ! SOUP, SALAD, SA N D W ICH E S ZOUP.COM
Family-friendly eating specializing in hearty soups, chowders, bisques, chili, deli sandwiches, wraps, fresh salads and fresh fruit smoothies.
216.771.77 9 2
2 1 6 . 3 44. 3 0 5 0
TH E AV EN U E A T T O W E R C I T Y 230 W . HU R O N R D . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 3
2 3 6 E U C L I D A VE . , C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3 BUFFET
S W E E T W A T E R ’ S CA F E SAUSA LI T O C A FESAUSA L I T O . C O M
Located just a few steps away from Wolstein Center, Playhouse Square and Progressive Field. Visit our dining room or enjoy prompt delivery to your hotel or conference venue, day or night.
Cooking from the heart; fine regional coastal cuisine, served in an eclectic atmosphere. Independently owned and operated.
216. 781. 6784
TH E GALLE R I A 13 0 1 E. 9T H S T . , C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
2 1 6 . 2 7 3 . 7 48 0
Features 12 always rotating daily soups, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and low-calorie options. The restaurant also serves made-toorder salads and sandwiches.
SUSYSOUP. C O M
MYRASCALHOUSE.COM
1 836 EUCLI D AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 115
TABLE9CLEVELAND.COM
216.696.22 3 3
T HE SP R E AD BUF F E T H O R S E S H O E C L E VE L A N D . C O M Whether you’re craving Italian, Asian or prime rib, we have it all in seven delectable food stations. Voted Northeast Ohio’s best bu et, our dessert bar has the city’s only gelato wheel, featuring a dozen different flavors of gelato alongside an array of delicious pastries.
2 1 6 . 2 9 7 . 47 7 7 100 PUBLIC SQUARE C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 4
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CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN
GE NE V A-ON-T HE-LAK E
1890 A T T HE ARCADE
E NCOR E AND BLUE BAR
THELODGEAT GENEVA .C O M
C L EV ELAN D . H Y A T T . C O M
WYNDHAM.COM/ENCOREBLUEBAR
Horizons Restaurant Visit our glass enclosed lakefront restaurant with Sunday Brunch, patio seating, weekend entertainment and suggested wine pairings. Offering all the makings for a tasteful getaway.
Located in the Hyatt Regency Cleveland. The grand hotel breathes life back into this elegant National Historic Landmark. Named for the year the “Old Arcade” opened.
American Fusion cuisine. Upscale, casual restaurant in the Theater District.
440. 466. 7100 | 8 00.801.9982 4888 N. BROADWA Y C LEVELAND, OH 44 0 4 1
MOX IE
216.776.4 5 7 6 H YA TT R EG E N C Y C L E V E L A N D A T TH E AR C A D E 4 2 0 S U PER I O R A VE . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
MOXI ETHERESTAURAN T.COM
4T H S T R E E T BAR GR ILL
With a focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients, let our dining options tempt your palate with inspired appetizers and entrées. There’s always something for every appetite.
4 TH S TR EET B A R A N D G R I L L . C O M
216. 831. 5599 3355 RI CHMOND R D. B EACHWOOD, OH 4 4 12 2
Stylish restaurant located at The Corner Alley. Offering lunch, dinner and late-night dining. 4th Street Bar Grill is a 100-seat Contemporary Americana restaurant.
216.298.4 0 7 0
R I V E R CI T Y GR ILLE
4 0 2 EUCLI D A V E . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
C LEVELANDM ARRIOTTEA S T.C O M Casual, yet classy, restaurant and bar. Warm themed decor celebrates images from life on or in river cities in an atmosphere of comfort and class.
216. 378. 9191 C LEVELAND M ARRIOTT EA S T 26300 HARVARD RD. WARRENSVI LLE HTS ., O H 4 4 12 2
WYNDHAM CLEVELAND AT PLAYHOUSE SQUARE 1260 EUCLID AVE. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 5
GA T E W A Y BAR GR ILL RADISSON.COM/ C L E VE L A N D O H _G A T E W A Y Across from the Q, this new restaurant features a hip, urban vibe and eclectic menu with local flair. Daily happy hour and extensive beer selection on tap.
216.377.9000 631 HURON RD. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 5
M USE RITZCARLTON.COM
CLE V E LA N D P ICK LE C L EV ELAN D P I C K L E . C O M Nu-skool sandwich shop. Big, creative sandwiches using fine ingredients not seen on your typical sandwich. Retail line of delicious pickles!
216.575.11 1 1 850 EU C L ID A V E . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
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216.615.3307
A S T RU G G L E F O R AC C E P TA N C E I N T H E F I L M S O F P.T. A N D E R S O N
A casually chic dining experience featuring passionate chefs, original local art and contemporary American cuisines inspired by the freshest seasonal farm-to-table ingredients. Discover your MUSE and be inspired.
216.902.5255 T H E R I T Z - C A R L T O N C L E VE L A N D 1515 W. 3RD ST., C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
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P UR A V IDA B Y BR AND T
W ONDE R BAR
PURAVI DABYBRANDT.COM
W O N D ERBA R C L E V E L A N D . C O M
Live life to the fullest. Farm fresh, creative & funky cuisine. Craft brews, cocktails, wine. Introducing urban picnic to Cleveland with the best view on Public Square.
In the heart of East 4th, offering Cleveland’s finest craft beer, handcrafted cocktails, house flavored spirits, great food and free live trivia every Wednesday night.
216. 987. 0100
216.298.4 0 5 0
1 70 EUCLI D AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
204 4 E. 4 T H S T . , C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 5
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DY NOMI T E BURGE RS D YNOM I T ECLEVELAN D.COM Chef Zack Bruell’s latest restaurant is his take on fast casual. This new gourmet burger stand, located in Playhouse Square, offers fresh made to order favorites. From burgers to shakes, beers, guests can always expect “Good Times” from Zack’s latest venture.
206. 298. 4077
F LANNE RY ’ S P UB FL A N N ERYS . C O M A Cleveland landmark since 1997. Renowned for our perfect pint, great comfort food and the friendliest pub in Cleveland, Flannery’s is called home by all who visit!
216.781.77 8 2 323 E. PRO S P E C T A VE . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 5
1 302 EUCLI D AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 114
I TA L I A N
GALLE R IA A T E R IE V IE W
C H IN A TO C L E V E L A N D . C O M
G ALLERI AAT ERI EVIEW .COM Hungry for a large helping of variety? Located off E. 9th St. St. Clair, the Galleria hosts more than 11 eateries, Mon.-Fri., 7am-5pm.
216. 861. 4343 1 301 E. 9TH ST. , C LEVELAND, OH 44 114
IR ISH BAR LE Y HOUSE B ARLEYHOUSECLEV EL A N D .C O M 20+ craft beers on tap. Sidewalk cafe, beautiful cabanas, private patio, open main dining area, 50" flat screen TVs. A perfect setting for any occasion.
216. 623. 1700 1 261 W. 6T H ST. C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
CHINA T O Award-winning chef Zack Bruell designed Chinato’s menu to highlight the simplicity of Italian cooking. Guests can expect to enjoy great food, wine and service - all in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere. Located on E. 4th St., in the heart of Cleveland’s premier dining and entertainment district.
216.298.90 8 0 2079 E. 4 T H S T . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 3
JOH N N Y ’ S DO W N T O W N J O H N N YS C L E V E L A N D . C O M Hemisphere’s magazine says Johnny’s Downtown is “the first family of cocktails and Italian cuisine.” Piano music nightly in the bar. Private rooms available.
216.623.00 5 5 14 06 W . 6T H S T . C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 3
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LAGO E AS T BANK LAGOEASTBANK.COM Located in the revived Flats East Bank, featuring progressive Italian fare, unique wine list, all available by the glass, European draft beers and lively entertaining atmosphere.
216.862.8065 1091 W. 10TH ST. C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
LUCA L U C A C L E VE L A N D . C O M Extraordinary modern Italian food served in a spectacular setting. Visit Chef Luca Sema and his sommelier wife Lola for a dinner experience remembered for days afterward.
216.862.2761 2100 SUPERIOR VIADUCT C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
OS T E R IA DI V ALE R IO AND AL O S T E R I A C L E VE L A N D . C O M Small New York style restaurant. The authentic flavors of Northern Italy are woven into sophisticated contemporary dishes.
2 1 6 . 6 8 5 . 9 49 0 40 8 W . S T . C L A I R A VE . C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
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STEAK HOUSE
H Y DE P AR K P R IME S T E AK HOUSE H YDEPARK RESTAUR A N TS .C O M Featuring fine aged steaks, chops, fresh grilled fish and seafood. Voted Best Steak in the City for more than 20 years. Rated Among America’s Best Steakhouses by Zagat, recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
R E D, T HE S T E AK HOUSE
H Y DE P AR K P R IME
R EDTHES TE A K H O U S E . C O M
HYDEPARKRESTAURANTS.COM
The recipient of kudos from Esquire, Food & Wine, USA Today and Cleveland Magazine. Open in downtown for lunch, dinner, private meetings and parties.
Steakhouse Award-winning New York-style prime steakhouse offering fine aged steaks, chops, fresh grilled fish & seafood. Unparallel service in a sophisticated atmosphere.
216.664 .0 9 41 4 17 PROSPE C T A V E . , C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 5
216. 344. 2444 1 23 PROSPECT AVE. C LEVELAND, OH 44 115
KEN STEWART’S E AS T BANK KENSTEWART S. CO M Featuring the top steaks in the world, Waygu from Australia and Japan and fresh seafood in an intriguing space in the newly renovated Flats.
216. 696. 8400 1 121 W. 10T H ST. , C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
MOR T ON ’ S T HE S T E AK HOUSE MORTONS. COM Internationally acclaimed steak house offering the finest steaks, fresh seafood and shellfish.
216. 621. 6200 THE AVENUE AT TOW ER C ITY 1 600 W. 2ND ST. , C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
UR BAN F AR ME R CLE V E LA N D
2 1 6 . 46 4. 0 6 8 8 2 6 3 0 0 C H A G R I N B L VD . B E A C H W O O D , O H 441 2 2
R E D, T HE S T E AK HOUSE
URBAN FARM E R C L E VE L A N D . C O M
REDTHESTEAKHOUSE.COM
Placing an emphasis on local, organic sourcing and simple, straight forward preparations. The menu pairs the flavors of the season to showcase the very best from our Ohio ranchers and farmers. The ambiance is at once a tribute to the quaintness of a restored farmhouse and the aesthetic audacity of mid20th century modernism.
Providing a steakhouse experience guests are not likely to find anywhere else. Exceptional food and service in a sleek, yet intimate, setting. Everything fresh, everything from scratch.
216.831.2252 3355 RICHMOND RD. B E A C H W O O D , O H 441 2 2
216.771.77 0 0 7 7 7 S T. C L A I R A VE . , C L EV ELAN D , O H 441 1 4
C.K .’ S S T E AK HOUSE QUAILHOLL O W R E S O R T . C O M Featuring certified angus beef steaks, fresh seasonal fish, tasty appetizers, creative house specialties and decadent desserts in a rustic and charming atmosphere.
4 4 0.350.3 5 1 9 | 8 0 0 . 7 9 2 . 0 2 5 8 110 8 0 C O N C O R D - H A M B D E N R D . C O N C O R D , O H 440 7 7
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BUTCHERS AND BREWERS
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DRINK UP In Cleveland, meat is the main dish, and it comes in a variety of cuts and is prepared to perfection like no where else. To help wash it down, Cleveland craft brewers have stepped up their game and created a vast selection of independent ales sure to quench your thirst. Iron Chef Michael Symon was the catalyst, setting the building blocks for Cleveland’s food comeback. The James Beard Foundation Award winner opened his first “meat-centric” restaurant 15 years ago and now has a small collection around Greater Cleveland. Symon’s restaurant openings are synonymous with a Cleveland neighborhood’s revitalization. If he builds it, they will come, because the food is that good. And because Cleveland is succeeding in its efforts to reverse urban sprawl, pockets of trendy dining and nightlife are emerging within downtown and around its perimeter. The greatest February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
thing Symon did for Cleveland was put it on the foodie map. He paved the way for other immensely talented homegrown chefs, and now Jonathan Sawyer, Zack Bruell, Dante Boccuzzi, Eric Williams, Rocco Whalen and others have launched Cleveland to the top of the dining destination discussion. Sawyer, himself a 2014 James Beard Award finalist, also built a protein packed menu at Greenhouse Tavern, recently named among Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants. Greenhouse was one of the front runners in Cleveland’s farm-to-table movement and garnered national attention when Bizzare Foods’ Zimmern ordered the whole pig’s head. The next hot spot putting its own spin on sustainability is Urban Farmer, a farm to table steakhouse that sources primo ingredients from local farms. Urban Farmer’s Cleveland location is similar to the Portland location but with a decidedly Midwestern bent. F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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Williams’ Momocho Mod Mex — a modern twist on guacamole, carnitas and taquitos and home to flights of nine different margaritas — helped define Ohio City as a dining destination. Now Ohio City’s W 25th Street has sprouted into a stretch of back-to-back knockout restaurants, all anchored by the 100-year-old West Side Market. The market is a stunning indoor public grocery haven that resembles a train station but is littered with local butchers and bakers serving their finest work. Just west of Ohio City, diners will find themselves in Gordon Square, highlighted by Happy Dog — serving 50 different hot-dog toppings. Under the Happy Dog is The Underdog, which resembles your grandmother’s basement outfitted with shuffleboard, darts and a black and white TV/ VCR combo. Gordon Square is also home to arguably Cleveland’s best patio, behind Reddstone, where massive trees shade the natural rock floor making a great hideout for late Saturday night dinner or late Sunday morning Bloody Marys. Perhaps the best thing about dining in Cleveland is that for every great burger there is a homespun beer to wash it down. New breweries are budding within the different neighborhoods, each of which is helping redefine Cleveland. Ohio City is home to Great Lakes Brewing Co. — Cleveland’s flagship — but newcomers Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew are giving the speakeasy-style traditionalist a run for its money. Downtown’s East 4th St. also recently welcomed Butcher and the Brewer, a communal brewpub serving farmhouse fare and embracing local artisan producers, heirloom ingredients and heritage meats. If the evening calls for a bit more class than a pint of ale can offer, guests at the Velvet Tango Room enjoy classic and modern handcrafted cocktails. The only downfall to Cleveland’s promising gastronomy scene is that visitors likely won’t get to all the gems in one trip, but a sampling of Cleveland’s staples will certainly give guests something to write about.
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BE E R E NGINE
CLE V E LA N D BR E W BUS
B UCK EYEBEERENG IN E.COM
C L E VE L A N D B R E W B U S . C O M
1 5315 M ADI SON AV E L AK EWOOD, OH 44 10 7
S E R VI C I N G T H E G R E A T E R C L E VE L A N D A R E A C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 4
Northeast Ohio's premier draft beer bar. In addition to an incredible beer list, we offer 20+ gourmet burgers and many vegetarian offerings.
Cleveland's original and best craft brewery tours and tastings. Sample and learn about the finest local beer with our expert guides.
BIE R MAR K T
F A T HE AD ' S BR E W E RY SALOON
B I ER- MARK T. COM
FATHEADS.COM
1 948 W. 25T H ST C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
2 45 8 1 L O R A I N R D N O R T H O L M S T E D , O H 440 7 0
Ohio's only Belgian bier bar serves over 100 Belgian and American craft beers and over 30 rotating drafts in the heart of Ohio City.
Serves fresh, award winning beer, smokehouse wings, freshly made headwiches, burgers and stone oven pizza. Chill out man, have a beer!
BU T CHE R A ND T HE BR E W E R
GR ANI T E CI T Y F OOD BR E W E RY
B UTCHERANDT HEBREW ER.COM
GCFB.NET
2043 EAST 4TH ST C LEVELAND, OH 44 115
2 45 1 9 C E D A R R D L Y N D H U R S T , O H 441 2 4
A communal brewpub with a modern approach to classic brewing techniques and rustic farmhouse fare. We embrace local flavors, and artisan producers.
Handcrafted signature brews & great food, everything on our menu is prepared on site each day from scratch. Chef-driven concept with on-site brewery.
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GR E A T LAK E S BR E W ING COMP AN Y
P OR T SIDE DIS T ILLE RY
G REATLAK ESBREW IN G .C O M
PORTSIDEDISTILLERY.COM
2516 MARK ET AVE C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
983 FRONT AVE C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
As Ohio’s first brewpub, Great Lakes is a principle-centered, environmentally respectful and socially conscious company committed to crafting fresh and flavorful.
Cleveland’s first distillery since prohibition. We are a full service gastro-pub offering great food, craft beer and distilled spirits.
MAR K E T GAR DE N BR E W E RY
T R E MON T T AP HOUSE
MARK ETGARDENBR EW ER Y.C O M
TREMONTTAPHOUSE.COM
1 947 W. 25T H C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
2572 SCRANTON RD C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 3
Enjoy local, handcrafted food and craft beer steps away from the West Side Market. Dine inside or in Cleveland's first American Beer Garden.
Gastro-pub boasting a meticulous and extensive selection of handcrafted American and European beer paired with high quality modern American.
NANO BR E W
W ONDE R BAR
NANOBREWCLEVEL A N D .C O M
W O N D E R B A R C L E VE L A N D . C O M
1 859 W. 25T H ST C LEVELAND, OH 44 113
2 0 44 E A S T 4T H S T R E E T C L E VE L A N D , O H 441 1 5
This bicycle friendly brewpub offers fun local food and freshly brewed beer from its 1-barrel brew house. Dine inside or enjoy yourself on the lively patio.
In the heart of East 4th, offering Cleveland’s finest craft beer, handcrafted cocktails, house flavored spirits and great food! Happy hour is Tuesday-Friday 5-7pm.
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My dad was this sort of avant-garde guy who did all kinds of weird things. He was a true original and anybody wh o m e t h i m n e v e r forgot him. —
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SCHEDULE
Connor Palace
1615 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH
Day #1
OP E NING NIGH T FEB 6
L O C A T I O N Esquire Theatre Connor Palace 1615 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 6:0 0 P M
OP E NING R E CE P T ION Food & Drinks
7:30 P M
CON V E RSA T ION P.T. Anderson Interview
9:15 P M
T R AILE R P R E V IE W S Hard Eight Boogie Nights Magnolia Punch-Drunk Love There Will Be Blood The Master
9:30 P M
LI V E P E R F OR MANCE Michael Penn / Try
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Day #2
P R E MIE R DA Y
1:0 0 P M
FEB 7
2:4 5 P M
BREAK
3:0 0 P M
BOOGIE NIGH T S
HAR D E IGH T Rated R / Runtime 102 mins
Rated R / Runtime 155 mins 5:4 5 P M
BREAK
6:4 5 P M
MAGNOLIA Rated R / Runtime 188 mins
10:0 0 P M
BREAK
10:30 P M
LI V E P E R F OR MANCE Fiona Apple / Fast as You Can Aimee Mann / Save Me Fiona Apple / Across the Universe
11:0 0 P M
ME E T AND GR E E T Meet Cast and Crew
Day #3
CLOSING DA Y
1:0 0 P M
FEB 8
2:30 P M
BREAK
2:4 5 P M
T HE R E W ILL BE BLOOD
P UNCH-DRUNK LO V E Rated R / Runtime 90 mins
Rated R / Runtime 158 mins 5:30 P M
BREAK
6:30 P M
M AS T E R Rated R / Runtime 144 mins
9:0 0 P M
BREAK
9:30 P M
CLOSING P E R F OR MANCE Fiona Apple / Limp Jon Brion / Here We Go Fiona Apple / Paper Bag Fiona Apple / Hot Knife
10:15 P M
CLOSI N G R E CE P T ION Meet Cast and Crew
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SCREENING SCHEDULE Hard Eight
Boogie Nights Magnolia
Punch-Drunk Love There Will Be Blood The Master
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HAR D E IGH T
BOOGIE NIGH T S
SCREENI NG DAT E / FEBRUARY 07 R ATED R / 102 M IN UTES
SCREENING DATE / FEBRUARY 07 RATED R / 155 MINUTES
Sydney (Philip Baker Hall), a gambler in his 60s, finds a young man, John (John C. Reilly), sitting forlornly outside a diner and offers to take him under his wing. A story about admiration, family and dysfunction.
In 1977, Eddie Adams is a high school dropout who lives with his father and alcoholic mother in Torrance, California. After agreeing to enter the world of pornography, he would do anything to win admiration of the director who has brought him into the addictive world of porn.
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MAGNOLIA
P UNCH-DRUNK LO V E
SCREENI NG DAT E / FEBRUARY 07 R ATED R / 188 M IN UTES
SCREENING DATE / FEBRUARY 08 RATED R / 90 MINUTES
With a narrator telling us three separate stories based on the theme of coincidence. From there, we meet 9 characters whose lives are all connected in one way or another. An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Barry Egan is a small business owner with seven sisters whose abuse has kept him alone and unable to fall in love. When a harmonium and a mysterious woman enter his life, his romantic journey begins.
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T HE R E W ILL BE BLOOD
T H E M AS T E R
SCREENI NG DAT E / FEBRUARY 08 R ATED R / 158 M IN UTES
SCREENING DATE / FEBRUARY 08 R A T E D R / 1 44 M I N U T E S
A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
A 1950s-set drama centered on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as "the Master" whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man.
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CONCERT Michael Penn Fiona Apple
Aimee Mann Jon Brion
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LIS T E N UP Based on the damage and isolation in the songs directed by P.T. Anderson, a concert will be held to show off the dysfunction from the songs directed.
a similar sequence in Magnolia). His video for Fiona Apple’s cover of “Across the Universe” employs a similar concept, this time placing the singer in the middle of a literal riot and featuring a breathtaking roll simAnderson’s inventive filmmaker ilar to the car crash in Punch-Drunk mostly takes the standard lip-synchingLove. (Each video also includes a at-the-camera approach, several cameo from an Anderson regular: of the videos are exciting stylistic Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Try” and experiments that later paid off in John C. Reilly in “Universe.”) The his films. blue-and-red palette of his videos from His first video, for example, for 2000 (“Paper Bag,” “Limp”) reached Michael Penn’s “Try,” is one continits ultimate expression in Punch-Drunk. uous shot tracking the singer down He hasn’t released any videos since, a long and hectic hallway (there’s but Apple says he directed one for “Hot Knife.” Don’t be surprised if elements of that video eventually show up in his next feature.
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MICHAE L P E NN Born August 1, 1958 Greenwich Village, New York City, NY
"Try" is the opening song from the 1997 Michael Penn album Resigned. A music video for the song was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and was shot with the crew (and certain members of the cast) of Boogie Nights while the movie was in its editing process. The entire music video is filmed start to finish for over three minutes without any cuts whatsoever (a trademark of Anderson's which he employs in scenes for nearly all of his films). The video features Penn walking briskly down a narrow but long hallway with dozens of doors. The video was filmed in downtown Los Angeles in the longest hallway in North America (the hallway is just over a quarter of a mile long). Philip Seymour Hoffman makes two appearances in the video, the first time handing Penn a microphone and a guitar, the second time holding a boom mic in front of him. He is wearing a Planet of the Apes T-shirt and a jacket with the words Angels Live in My Town printed on it (a reference to Boogie Nights). Thomas Jane and Melora Walters are also among the various cast members from Boogie Nights that have small parts in the music video. The music video can be found on the New Line Platinum DVD edition of Boogie Nights.
F IONA AP P LE Born September 13, 1977 New York City, NY
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Ryder (in my mind), she about to release the extraordinary When the Pawn…, he putting the final touches on the bizarrely great Magnolia. They worked on three music videos together, including “Fast as You Can” and “Limp,” and according to a must-read piece from Grantland, Anderson would “steal her lines” while writing Magnolia. (Anderson February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
also met Adam Sandler, who we’d later make Punch Drunk Love with, while Apple was a guest on SNL.)
than Anderson’s The Master, albeit without any sand mermaid humping.
Obviously things didn’t work out for those crazy kids, but they’re apparently still friends, because he directed her split-screen “Hot Knife” music video, from last year’s riveting The Idler Wheel. Although nothing happens, it’s still more plot-driven F L AW E D F I L M F E S T I VA L
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AIME E MANN Born September 8, 1960 Richmond, Virginia
Save Me is a song written and performed by Aimee Mann for use in the film Magnolia. It appears on the Magnolia soundtrack, which was released on December 7, 1999. In 1999 "Save Me" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, which it lost to "You'll Be in My Heart" from the Disney movie Tarzan. By way of introduction to a live performance, Mann has referred to "Save Me" as "the song that lost an Oscar to Phil Collins and his cartoon monkey love song." Furthermore, Mann has occasionally dedicated her song to Collins in several different venues, albeit in jest. The music video, shot during the filming of Magnolia, was directed by the film's director, Paul Thomas Anderson, and uses many of the film's actors, including Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, and John C. Reilly. The video inserts Mann into various scenes from
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the film as she performs the song. Unlike many such music videos, the "Save Me" video used no digital manipulation involved; the scenes were shot at the end of filming days with Mann and actors who were asked to stay in place.
JON BR ION Born December 11, 1963 Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Brion is an accomplished film composer, having started scoring by frequently working with director P.T. Anderson, with whom he has a preferential working relationship. In addition to scoring many of his films, Brion contributed music to Boogie Nights and had a cameo in the film as a mustached guitar player. Particularly in his film soundtracks, Brion is noted for his use of early analog sampling instruments, particularly the Chamberlin and Optigan, to create near realistic emulations of certain instruments. He has earned Best Score Soundtrack Album Grammy nominations for his work on 1999's Magnolia and 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Brion was hired at the last minute to write the incidental music for The Break-Up. He has also scored the films and provided original music for I Huckabees, Punch-Drunk Love, Step Brothers (with help of fellow musician Chris Thile), Paranorman, The Future, and Synecdoche, New York. He also did live composition for a musical commentary on the Step Brothers DVD. He also did the soundtrack to Disney Pixar's latest short film, The Blue Umbrella, working alongside Sarah Jaffe.
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MICHAE L P E NN
F IONA AP P LE
"T RY" (1997)
" A C R O S S T H E U N I VE R S E " ( 1 9 9 8 )
Shot in one of the longest hallways in North America, "Try" includes "Boogie Nights" talent (Hoffman, Walters, Jane). Look for an homage to Pollack's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". PTA trickery: Michael Penn weaving in and out of the hallway (into a door, and ending up behind the camera, as it continues to pull back.)
From the soundtrack of "Pleasantville."' Filmed in 5 long continuous shots, consisting of Fiona Apple oblivious to the chaos of many men destroying a soda shop. Many impressive moments, including the camera passing across a mirror & its reflection is not shown. Shot in black & white featuring a prominent cameo by John C. Reilly.
F IONA AP P LE
F IONA AP P LE
"LI MP" (2000)
"PAPER BAG" (2000)
This video seems to be done to the morning after the song's lyrics take place. With Fiona Apple waking in her clothes from the day previous, with signature shots such as Fiona yelling into the ear of her contented image on television. The last moments of the video are cut to the fast beat of the song, a very tricky and time consuming editing technique.
A homage to old-time musical sequences, Fiona Apple moves gracefully along through the song with 20 choreographed 10-13 year old children. Paul Thomas Anderson executes the video using the usual long, sweeping shots with fast dolly/zoom shots to the timing to M. Rooney's dance sequencing. The songs old time feel and dreamy/dark lyrics come to life here in the latest PTA offering.
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F IONA AP P LE
AIME E MANN
"FAST AS YOU CAN " ( 19 9 9 )
" S A VE M E " ( 1 9 9 9 )
The video was shot with many of the new camera tricks & techniques PTA was experimenting with in Magnolia. The opening of the video is shot with the 1920's Lumiere camera Paul used for the Greenberry Hill sequence, as well as a new effect; having the camera operators dropping different lenses into the camera while filming, creating the circular/flip cuts in the train station.
PTA says its "The most expensive music video ever shot", as Aimee is inserted into a re-created crucial scene of each of the 9 characters. Cut much like a singa-long with many new stunt shots that were created for the video, including one with a moving piano, tables & a spinning couch with Hall & Aimee all moving at once throughout the frame.
JON BR ION
F IONA AP P LE
"HERE WE GO" (20 0 2 )
"HOT KNIFE" (2013)
The music video for the original track "Here We Go" was edited by Paul, and created from alternate takes & unused sequences from Punch-Drunk Love. The video was initially released within a 13 minute sizzle reel montage on an extremely limited/rare DVD release titled "Blossoms & Blood."
During the promotional tour for her latest album "The Idler Wheel...", Fiona Apple mentioned Paul and her had begun developing a video for Hot Knife prior to filming "The Master." The video finally dropped late in the principal photography phase of "Inherent Vice."
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CREDITS DIRE C T OR
BOOGIE NIGH T S
BIOGR AP H Y
PAUL THOMAS AND ERSON FULL BIOGRAPH Y nytimes.com
cigsandredvines.blogspot.com imdb.com rogerebert.com
AN ACTOR WHOSE TALENTS ARE THE SUM OF HIS PARTS
PERSONAL LI FE biography.com
nytimes.com
THE SECRET HI ST O R Y O F PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON esquire.com
F ILMOGRAP H Y
MAGNOLIA cigsandredvines.blogspot.com imdb.com rogerebert.com
IN T RODUC T ION
E N T A N G L E D L I VE S O N T H E C U S P O F THE MILLENNIUM
RANKI NG + DI SSEC TED : PAUL THOMA S A N D ERSON
nytimes.com
consequenceofsound.net
HAR D E IGH T cigsandredvines.blogspot.com imdb.com rogerebert.com
SUSPENSE- FI LLED PU Z Z L E DRAPED IN A DARK MO O D nytimes.com F L AW E D \
A S T RU G G L E F O R AC C E P TA N C E I N T H E F I L M S O F P.T. A N D E R S O N
P UNCH-DRUNK LO V E cigsandredvines.blogspot.com imdb.com rogerebert.com
LOVE AND THE SINGLE MISFIT IN A T O P S Y - T U R VY W O R L D nytimes.com
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T HE R E W ILL BE BLOOD
P LA CE S T O V ISI T
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AN AM ERI CAN PRI M ITIV E, FORGED IN A CRUCI BLE OF BLOO D A N D O IL
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T H E M AS T E R cigsandredvines.blogspot.com imdb.com rogerebert.com
THERE WI LL BE MEGALOMA N IA nytimes.com
LOCA T ION
LOCA T ION I NF LUE NCE HOW PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON WAS INFLUENCED BY HIS IRREVERENT DAD esquire.com slate.com wikipedia.com February 6 — 8 , 2 0 1 5
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COLOP HON Hugo Ugaz hugougaz@gmail.com
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Feature films Inhe Master (2012) • There • Punch-Drunk Love • Boogie Nights (199 Short films C ouc Special (1998) • Cigar The Dirk Diggler videos " Hot Knife" • "H ere We Go" by Jon Bag" by Fiona App Fiona Apple (2000) • Mann (1999) • "Fast as Apple (1999) • "Across Fiona Apple (1998) Penn (1997)