John Holmes may refer to:

Arts and entertainment[link]

• John Holmes (pornographic actor) (1944–1988), pornographic film star
• John Holmes (composer) (died 1629), English cathedral musician and Renaissance composer
• John Holmes (poet) (1904–1962), poet whose work appears in the Faber Book of Modern American Verse
• John Clellon Holmes (1926–1988), poet, novelist and essayist of the Beat Generation
• John Eric Holmes (1930–2010), author and promoter of fantasy role-playing games
• Jon Holmes (born 1973), British comedy writer and broadcaster

Athletes[link]

• John B. Holmes (born 1982), American golfer better known as J.B. Holmes
• John Holmes (rugby league) (1952–2009), English former rugby league footballer
• John Holmes (cricketer) (1924–1980), English cricketer

Diplomats[link]

• John Holmes (British diplomat) (born 1951), British diplomat
• John Wendell Holmes (1910–1988), Canadian diplomat and academic
• John T. Holmes, Canadian ambassador to Indonesia and East Timor

Educators[link]

• John Holmes (professor), University of Queensland professor
• John Holmes (schoolmaster) (1703–1760), Master of Gresham's School in Norfolk, England
• John Clough Holmes (1809–1887), merchant and progenitor of the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan

Politicians[link]

• John Holmes (MP for Ripon), MP for Ripon
• John Holmes (Nova Scotia politician) (1789–1876), Canadian Senator
• John Holmes (Ontario politician) (1828–1879), Canadian MP
• John Holmes (Maine) (1773–1843), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine
• John Edwin Holmes (1809–1863), first Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
• John Robert Holmes (1927–2011), Canadian MP
• John Holmes (New Zealand politician) (1831–1910), New Zealand Member of Parliament

Other uses[link]

• John Holmes (Royal Navy officer) (1640?–1683), English naval officer
• John Holmes (mercenary), 19th century Anglo-Indian mercenary
• John Holmes (bishop) (died 1904), Anglican colonial bishop
• John Haynes Holmes (1879–1964), American churchman and pacifist
• John Holmes (driver) or Jackie Holmes (1920–1995), American racecar driver
• John Holmes (British Army officer) (born 1949), British general
• John Hamish Adler Holmes, fictional character

See also[link]

• John Holm, Canadian politician
• John Cecil Holm (1904–1981), American dramatist
• Jonathan Holmes, journalist and broadcaster
• Jonathan Holmes (theatre director) (born 1975), UK theatre director and writer

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2009)

Ginger Lynn
Born	Ginger Lynn Allen (1962-12-14) December 14, 1962 (age 49) Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Other names	Ginger Lynn, Ginger Allen
Ethnicity	Caucasian
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight	110 lb (50 kg)
No. of adult films	266 as actress, 1 as director (per IAFD)
Website
http://www.gingerlynn.com/

Ginger Lynn (born Ginger Lynn Allen; December 14, 1962) is an American pornographic model, prominent in 1980s videos. She also had occasional roles in low-budget B-movies. AVN has ranked her at #7 in a list of the 50 greatest porn stars of all time.^[1] After ending her adult-entertainment career she began using her full name of Ginger Lynn Allen and found work in a variety of B-movies. She had a late career comeback to the adult industry and made a brief series of movies. During this two-year period she toured the country doing interviews for radio shows and appearances at adult-entertainment stores.

Adult film career[link]

Ginger Lynn Allen moved to California in 1982 after hearing about her grandfather's heart attack. Following her grandfather's death, a male friend came to live with her and became her "first nice boyfriend". Allen was the major financial supporter in the relationship and needed to find a higher-paying job.^{[citation needed]} When she answered an advertisement from the World Modeling Agency in September 1983, she was immediately hired and did a spread for Penthouse. This made her visible to the adult film industry.

Allen did some nude modeling work and then began performing in sex movies as Ginger Lynn in December 1983. Her first role was in Surrender in Paradise, where she starred with Jerry Butler and celebrated her 21st birthday in Hawaii. Allen quickly rose in popularity and eventually became one of the biggest stars in adult-entertainment history, making 69 hardcore movies. She had her own line of videos through Vivid Entertainment with director Bruce Seven. Allen received the Best New Starlet award in 1985 and is an inductee to the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) and Adult Video News (AVN) Halls of Fame. Career highlights include her performance as the neighbor who introduces Tom Byron to sex in Kinky Business (1984) and her work in Slumber Party with Eric Edwards.

Allen's work was also distinguished by explicit and inventive "dirty talking" during her performances. She was the first Vivid Entertainment Vivid Girl, beating out the then-underaged Traci Lords. She was later called to testify on Lords' behalf against porn producers; she refused, and according to her, was then targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for falsification of a tax return. Allen had at least six scenes with porn legend John Holmes early in her career.

In February 1986 Allen decided to stop making adult films and to establish a career in mainstream films using her full name. She appeared in several non-adult films, television shows and even interactive movie segments of the Wing Commander computer games.^[2] She started her career in mainstream features with a small part in the western Young Guns II, which co-starred her former boyfriend Charlie Sheen's brother, Emilio Estevez.^[3]

Allen returned to the adult-film industry in 1999 for three movies: Torn (1999), White Lightning (2000) and New Wave Hookers 6 (2000). In December 2005 she appeared in American Pie: Band Camp (2005) playing the supporting role of Nurse Sanders. In March 2006 she became a host of Playboy Radio's Sirius Satellite Radio show, Night Calls Radio, with former adult film actress Christy Canyon. In June 2007 Allen performed for two of Kink.com's hardcore websites, Ultimate Surrender and Sex and Submission.^[4] In 2008, Allen appeared in the films Dirty Rotten Mother Fuckers with James Deen (24 years younger than her) and Seasoned Players 4 with Tom Byron, then performed in more than a dozen hardcore releases in each of the next two years.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Lynn had a long-term relationship with Los Angeles radio personality Ralph Garman.^[6]

She had a two-year relationship with Charlie Sheen from 1990 to 1992, including accompanying him through drug rehabilitation.^[7] Lynn met Sheen in early 1990 on the set of Young Guns II, after she had left adult movies five years previously.^[8] In 1991 Lynn was convicted in a federal tax-evasion case and ended up serving 4½ months in prison.^[3] Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen wrote letters to the court in support of Allen during her trial.^{[9][dead link]} She also spent time in a rehabilitation center during this period because of cocaine abuse.^[10][11] Lynn and Sheen's relationship continued until Sheen was called upon to testify in the Heidi Fleiss trial. Although their relationship was not monogamous, the revelation that he had been with prostitutes was the start of the end of their relationship.^[8]

In a 2003 interview she described herself as the "single mother of a five-year-old son."^[12]

Despite the well-known allegations that Sheen is physically violent towards women, Lynn said she never saw the actor become abusive in the slightest, "Not one time did he raise his voice. No violence," she said.^[13]

Health[link]

Allen was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2000. She underwent a total hysterectomy and some chemotherapy, and is regarded as cancer-free.^[14]

Partial filmography[link]

Adult[link]

• Taken (2001) – AVN Awards 2002 Best Actress - Film
• Beverly Hills Cox (1986)
• Ten Little Maidens (1985) - AVN Awards 1986 Best Couples Sex Scene
• Project: Ginger (1985) - AVN Awards 1986 Best Actress - Video
• New Wave Hookers (1985)
• Kinky Business (1985) - AVN Awards 1985 Best Couple in a Sex Scene (with Tom Byron)
• Electric Blue 28 (1985)
• Slumber Party (1984) - AVN Awards 1986 Best Couple in a Sex Scene (with Eric Edwards)
• The Pink Lagoon (1984)
• Surrender in Paradise (1984)
• Taboo 4 (1985) the younger generation

Mainstream media[link]

Film[link]

• National Lampoon's Van Wilder The Rise Of Taj (2007)
• Kisses and Caroms (aka American Pool) (2006)
• American Pie Presents Band Camp (2005)
• The Devil's Rejects (2005)
• Save Virgil (2004)
• Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain (2003)
• The Independent (2000)
• The Last Late Night (1999)
• God's Lonely Man (1996)
• The Stranger (1995)
• Ultimate Taboo (1995)
• Trouble Bound (1993)
• Mind, Body & Soul (1992)
• Leather Jackets (1992)
• Bound & Gagged: A Love Story (1992)
• Vice Academy Part 3 (1991)
• Whore (1991)
• Young Guns II (1990)
• Buried Alive (1990)
• Vice Academy Part 2 (1990)
• Hollywood Boulevard II (1989)
• Cleo/Leo (1989)
• Satan's Storybook (1989)
• Vice Academy (1989)
• Dr. Alien (1989)
• Wild Man (1989)

TV[link]

• Skin (2003)
• Silk Stalkings (1994)
• NYPD Blue (1993)
• Super Force (1991)
• The Dog Whisperer (2010)
• Metallica (video) - Turn the Page (1998)

Other[link]

• Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, Wing Commander: Prophecy (computer games) as Chief Technician Rachel Coriolis
• Night Calls on Playboy Radio with Christy Canyon on Sirius Satellite Radio
• She has appeared in pictorials for Playboy, Cinema Blue, Chéri, High Society, Club International, and Celebrity Sleuth
• The Ginger Lynn Show on KSEX Radio in Los Angeles
• In the music video for Metallica's cover of "Turn the Page", she portrayed a stripper/prostitute traveling with her child.
• She provided a voice for the song "Ginger Snaps/Monkey Business" for Danger Danger's second album, Screw It!

Awards[link]

• 1984 XRCO Starlet of the Year^{[citation needed]}
• 1984 XRCO Video Vixen^[15]
• 1984 XRCO Female Performer of the Year^[15]
• 1985 AVN Best New Starlet^[16]
• 1985 AVN Best Couples Sex Scene – Film for Kinky Business (with Tom Byron)^[16]
• 1986 AVN Best Actress – Video for Project: Ginger^[16]
• 1986 AVN Best Couples Sex Scene – Video for Slumber Party (with Eric Edwards)^[16]
• 1992 F.O.X.E All-Time Fan Favorite^{[citation needed]}
• 2000 XRCO Best Girl-Girl Scene for Torn (with Chloe)^[17]
• 2002 AVN Best Actress – Film for Taken^[16]
• AVN Hall of Fame^[18]
• Legends of Erotica Hall of Fame^[19]
• XRCO Hall of Fame^[20]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ginger Lynn

• Official website
• Ginger Lynn at the Internet Adult Film Database
• Ginger Lynn at the Adult Film Database
• Ginger Lynn Allen at the Internet Movie Database
• Night Calls Radio Playboy Radio, hosted by Christy Canyon and Ginger Lynn
• August 1999 interview at RogReviews.com
• Biography at LukeIsBack.com
• 2009 Podcast Interview

Harry Reems
Born	Herbert Streicher (1947-08-27) August 27, 1947 (age 64) Bronx, New York, U.S.
Other names	Harry Reams, Harry Reemes, Bruce Gilchrist, Charles Lamont, Tim Long, Ned Reems, Herb Streecher, Herbert Streicher, Herb Streicher, Herb Stryker, Bob Walters

Harry Reems (born Herbert Streicher, August 27, 1947) is the stage name of one of the most active and popular pornographic actors of the 1970s and star of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat.

Early life and career[link]

Reems was born Herbert Streicher.^[1] Reems served briefly in the United States Marine Corps before electing to pursue an acting career, principally in off-Broadway theater.

Looking for ways to support himself, Streicher began to appear in dozens of short, silent stag films, often referred to as "loops," during the early 1970s. He eventually went on to appear in approximately 140 feature-length sexploitation and hardcore films between 1971 and 1989, with Deep Throat (1972) and The Devil in Miss Jones (1973) being the best known, as well as roughies like Forced Entry (1973) and Sex Wish (1976). In the former, he plays a sadistic Vietnam veteran hellbent on rape and murder; while the latter has him as a husband turned vigilante to seek revenge over the rape and murder of his wife. In 1975, he published a memoir, Here Comes Harry Reems, in which he details the early years of his experience as an adult film actor. He had sex (in hardcore pornographic film) with the underage Traci Lords.^{[citation needed]}

For the production of Deep Throat in Miami, Florida in January 1972, Streicher was hired to be part of the lighting crew, but the director was unable to cast one of the roles and asked him. He was paid $250 for the one day of acting work. Streicher was unaware that the director had given him the name "Harry Reems" until he saw the movie.^[2]

Reems's appearance in Deep Throat led to his arrest by FBI agents in New York City in July 1974,^[3] and indictment in Memphis, Tennessee in June 1975 on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute obscenity across state lines.^[4] He was convicted in April 1976 with 11 other individuals and four corporations.^[5] His conviction was overturned on appeal in April 1977, because his activities in making the film occurred before a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on obscenity in 1973 (Miller v. California), and Reems was granted a new trial.^[6] The charges against Reems were dropped in August.^[3] Reems's defense claimed that he was the first American actor to be prosecuted by the federal government merely for appearing in a film, and he received considerable support from established Hollywood and New York celebrities during his trial.^[7] His successful appeal was handled by attorney Alan Dershowitz.

Reems was cast in the musical film Grease as Coach Calhoun, the Rydell High track coach (before making pornographic films, he had done legitimate theater). However, for fear that his notoriety would cause the film's box office in the South to be jeopardized,^[8] Sid Caesar was cast for the role instead.^[9]

Later years[link]

After years of drug abuse, Reems began his recovery in 1989. He married and converted to Christianity. "Being the low-bottom drunk that I was, I started going around to churches," said Reems. "I called myself a church gypsy." Reems credits his conversion to Reverend Mark Heiss, a former pastor with Park City Community Church in Park City, Utah. Heiss was abruptly replaced at the church by someone else, for reasons Reems says were never explained; Reems left the congregation because he believed church attendance was "about putting money in the coffers." Today, outside organized religion, he continues to meditate, pray and offer gratitude to God. "If I didn't put God in my life, I'd be dead now," he said. "I am not religious. I'm spiritual, 100 percent." ^[10] He continues to identify himself as "Harry Reems."

Reems was interviewed in the 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat.

In popular culture[link]

• Harry Reems and his legal battle are featured in episode 105 of the series Swingtown.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Long interview and retrospective (The Observer)
• Bullz-Eye Harry Reems Interview 2005
• Harry Reems on Inside Deep Throat, an interview with Channel 4
• Interview with SexHerald.com
• Harry Reems at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry Reems at the Adult Film Database

Paul Thomas Anderson
(2007)
Born	Paul Thomas Anderson (1970-06-26) June 26, 1970 (age 42) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	P.T. Anderson
Occupation	Film director, script writer, producer
Years active	1988–present
Notable work(s)	Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood
Influenced by	John Huston, Samuel Fuller, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jonathan Demme, Orson Welles, Max Ophüls, Robert Downey, Sr., David Mamet, Jacques Tati, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Howard Hawks.
Influenced	Miranda July[1]
Partner	Maya Rudolph

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed feature films: Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), and The Master (2012). He has been nominated for five Academy Awards — There Will Be Blood for Best Achievement in Directing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, and Best Adapted Screenplay; Magnolia for Best Original Screenplay; and Boogie Nights for Best Original Screenplay.

Anderson has been hailed as being "one of the most exciting talents to come along in years"^[2] and "among the supreme talents of today."^[3] After the release of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, Anderson was praised as a wunderkind.^[4] In 2004, Anderson was ranked twenty-first on The Guardian's list of the forty best directors.^[5] In 2007, Total Film named him the twentieth greatest director of all time, while the American Film Institute regards him as "one of American film's modern masters."^[6][7] In 2011, Entertainment Weekly named him the tenth-greatest working director calling him "one of the most dynamic directors to emerge in the last twenty years."^[8]

Early life[link]

Paul Thomas Anderson was born on June 26, 1970, in Studio City, California, to Edwina (née Gough) and Ernie Anderson, who was an actor, the voice of ABC, and a Cleveland television late-night horror movie host known as "Ghoulardi" (for which Anderson later named his production company).^[9][10] Anderson grew up in the San Fernando Valley^[11] and had a troubled relationship with his mother but was close with his father who encouraged him to become a writer or director.^[12] He attended a number of schools, including Buckley in Sherman Oaks, John Thomas Dye School, Campbell Hall School, Cushing Academy and Montclair Prep.^[13]

Anderson was involved in filmmaking at a young age^[14][15] and never really had a backup plan to directing films.^[16] He started making movies on a Betamax video camera which his dad bought in 1982 when he was twelve-years-old.^[15] He later started using 8 mm film but realized that video was easier.^[14] He began writing as a teenager and at the age of seventeen he began experimenting with a Bolex 16 mm camera.^[14][17] After years of experimenting with "standard fare", he wrote and filmed his first real production as a senior in high school at Montclair Prep using money he earned cleaning cages at a pet store.^[15] The film was a thirty-minute mockumentary shot on video called The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), about a well-endowed male porn star (inspired by John Holmes, who also served as a major inspiration for Boogie Nights).^{[13][14][17][12]}

Career[link]

Early Career[link]

After two semesters as an English major at Emerson College and only two days at New York University so he could "garner ammunition" on what he called a "bad situation," Anderson began his career as a production assistant on television movies, music videos and game shows in Los Angeles and New York.^[13][18][19] With some money he won gambling, his girlfriend's credit card, and $10,000 his father set aside for college, Anderson decided to make a twenty minute film that would be his "college."^[18]

The film he made was Cigarettes and Coffee (1993), a short film made for $20,000 connecting multiple story lines with a twenty-dollar bill.^[13][17][20] The film was screened at the 1993 Sundance Festival Shorts Program and he decided to expand the film into a feature length film and was subsequently invited to the 1994 Sundance filmmakers' lab.^[13][17][20] At Sundance filmmakers' lab, Michael Caton-Jones served as his mentor and saw Anderson as someone with "talent and a fully formed creative voice but not much hands-on experience" and gave Anderson some hard and practical lessons.^[15]

[edit] 1990s: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Magnolia

While at the Sundance filmmakers' lab, Anderson already had a deal with Rysher Entertainment to direct his first feature.^[15] In 1996, Anderson made his first full-length feature, Sydney, which was retitled Hard Eight (1996).^[12] Upon completion of the film, Rysher re-edited it.^[15] Anderson, who still had the workprint of his original cut, submitted of the film^[17] which was accepted and screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.^[21][22] Anderson was able to get his version released but only after he retitled the film and came up with the $200,000 necessary to finish it which was contributed by himself, Gwyneth Paltrow, and John C. Reilly.^[15][17] The version that was released was Anderson's and even though Rysher did nothing to promote it,^[17] the acclaim from the film launched his career.^[13]

Anderson began working on the script for his next feature film during his troubles with Hard Eight^[15] completing the script in the summer 1995.^[17] The result was Anderson's breakout film^[23][24][25] Boogie Nights (1997), a full-length major motion based on his short The Dirk Diggler Story.^[13][17][26] The script was noticed by New Line Cinemas president, Michael De Luca, who felt "totally gaga" reading it.^[15] It was released on October 10, 1997 and was a critical and commercial success.^[12] The film revived the career of Burt Reynolds^[27][28] and provided breakout roles for Mark Wahlberg^[29] and Julianne Moore.^[30][31] The film received three Academy Award nominations, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Burt Reynolds), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Julianne Moore), and Best Original Screenplay.^[32]

After the success of Boogie Nights, Anderson was told by New Line he could do whatever he wanted for his next film and granted Anderson creative control without hearing an idea for the film.^[12] Initially wanting to make a film that was "intimate and small-scale" as he started writing, the script "kept blossoming" and the resulting film was the ensemble piece Magnolia (1999), which tells the story of the peculiar interaction among the lives of several individuals in the San Fernando Valley, California.^[33][34] Anderson used the music of Aimee Mann as a basis and inspiration for the film^[35] commissioning her to write eight new songs.^[36] Magnolia received three Academy Award nominations, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Cruise), Best Original Song for "Save Me" by Aimee Mann and Best Original Screenplay.^[37] In an interview after the film's release Anderson was quoted as saying "... what I really feel is that Magnolia is, for better or worse, the best movie I'll ever make."^[38]

[edit] 2000s: Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood

Adam Sandler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman at Cannes in 2002

After the release of Magnolia, Anderson stated that he would like to work with Adam Sandler in the future and that he was determined to make his next film 90 minutes long.^[25][33] His next feature was the comedy/romance film Punch-Drunk Love (2002), partly based on David Phillips (also called The Pudding Guy), starring Adam Sandler with Emily Watson as his love interest.^[39] The story centers around a beleaguered small-business owner (Sandler) with anger issues and seven emasculating sisters.^[39] Sandler received critical praise for his role in his first major departure from the mainstream comedies which made him a star.^[27][40] Roger Ebert wrote that "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."^[41] At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, the film won best director and was nominated for the Golden Palm.^[42]

Anderson's most recent film, There Will Be Blood (2007), was loosely based on the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!.^[43] The budget of the film was $25 million, and it gained $76.1 million worldwide.^[44] Anderson had previously stated that he wanted to work with Daniel Day-Lewis^[25][33] who starred in and won an Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his role.^[45] Paul Dano received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[46] Anderson was nominated for Best Director from the Directors Guild of America.^[47] The film also received eight Academy Award nominations, tying with No Country For Old Men for the most nominations.^[48] Anderson received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, losing all three to the Coen Brothers for No Country For Old Men.^[45] There Will Be Blood was largely regarded as one of the greatest films of the decade, and some parties further declaring it one of the greatest American films ever made. ^[49]

Future[link]

In December 2009 Variety reported that Anderson was working on a new script tentatively titled The Master, about a "charismatic intellectual" who starts a new religion in the 1950s.^[50] Though the film makes no reference to the movement, it has "long been widely assumed to be based on Scientology."^[51] Frequent Anderson collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman was reported to be attached as the lead.^[50] Reese Witherspoon^[52] and Jeremy Renner^[53] were rumored to star opposite Hoffman but the roles officially went to Joaquin Phoenix^[54] and Amy Adams.^[55] The Master is scheduled for release on October 12, 2012.^[56]

It has been reported by several sources that Anderson is now working on an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel Inherent Vice, with rumors of Robert Downey Jr in the lead.^[57] In February 2011 it was reported that Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, would possibly finance both The Master and Inherent Vice.^[58]

Other work[link]

In addition to films, Anderson has directed several music videos, including several for musician Fiona Apple.^[59][60] Anderson was a standby director for Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion for insurance purposes, as Altman was 80 years old at the time.^[61] Anderson was not formally credited in the film, but receives a "Special thanks to ..." toward the end of the closing credits.^[61] In 2008, Anderson co-wrote and directed a 70 minute play at the Largo Theatre.^[62] The play consisted or a series of vignettes staring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen with a live musical score by Jon Brion.^[62]

Influences and style[link]

Influences[link]

Anderson is a member of the first generation of "self taught filmmakers," much like directors Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith, David O. Russell, The Wachowski Brothers, Wes Anderson, and Spike Jonze who learned the craft by viewing thousands of movies on video.^[11][16] Anderson learned about filmmaking by watching films by the filmmakers he liked, reading books and magazines about the "technical stuff", and watching films accompanied by director's audio commentary.^[17] He believes that film school is a "complete con" because "the information is there if you want it."^[17] He cites Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, and Max Ophuls as his main influences as a filmmaker.^[14][24][63]

Themes and style[link]

Anderson is known for films set in the San Fernando Valley with realistically flawed and desperate characters.^[16][64] Among the themes dealt with in Anderson's films are dysfunctional familial relationships,^[24][63][65] alienation,^[63] surrogate families,^[66] regret,^[63] loneliness,^[24] destiny,^[13] and ghosts of the past.^[24] Anderson's films are known for their bold visual style^[64] which includes stylistic trademarks such as constantly moving camera,^[38][64] steadicam-based long takes,^[23][24][67] memorable use of music,^[23][38][64] and multilayered audiovisual imagery.^[23][67]

Within his first three films, Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia, Anderson explored themes of dysfunctional families, alienation, and loneliness.^[24][63] Boogie Nights and Magnolia were noted for their large ensemble casts.^[25][64] In Punch-Drunk Love, Anderson explored similar themes but expressed a different visual style, shedding the influences and references of his earlier films, being more surreal and having a heightened sense of reality.^[63][67] It was also short, compared to his previous two films, at 90 minutes.^[25] There Will Be Blood stood apart form his first four films but shared similar themes and style such as flawed characters, moving camera, memorable music, and a lengthy running time.^[64] The film was more overtly engaged with politics than his previous films,^[25] examining capitalism and themes such as savagery, optimism, and obsession.^[7]

Frequent collaborators[link]

Anderson frequently collaborates with many actors and crew carrying them over from film to film.^[68] Anderson has referred to his regular actors as "my little rep company" which includes John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, and Melora Walters.^[69] Luis Guzmán is also considered an Anderson regular.^[70] Hoffman acted in Anderson's first four films^[71] as well asThe Master.^[72] With the exception of Paul F. Tompkins, who had an equally minor role in Magnolia,^[73] There Will Be Blood had an entirely new cast. Additionally, Robert Elswit has been cinematographer for Anderson's first five features.^[74] Jon Brion has served as composer for three of his films (Hard Eight, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love)^[75] and Johnny Greenwood has served as composer on two (There Will Be Blood and The Master).^[76] Anderson also regularly works with producing partners JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi^[74] as well as casting director Cassandra Kulukundis.^[72]

Personal life[link]

Anderson's partner is former Saturday Night Live cast member Maya Rudolph.^[77] They have three children together: two daughters, Pearl Minnie,^[78][79] born October 15, 2005,^[80] and Lucille, born November 6, 2009,^[81] and one son, Jack, born July 3, 2011.^[82] Anderson currently resides in the San Fernando Valley with Rudolph and their three children.^[72]