Paul Thomas Anderson won the BAFTA Film Award for best director for his sprawling and politically-charged satire “One Battle After Another,” which has long been an awards season favorite. As he accepted the award, Anderson quipped, “I feel like the prettiest girl in the room right now,” prompting laughter from the crowd.
But Anderson’s tone soon turned serious as he dedicated the award to the late producer, assistant director and Brit Adam Somner. “You may think that your greatest export is Alfred Hitchcock or Charlie Chaplin, but it wasn’t,” Anderson said. “To me, it was Adam Somner, who was my assistant director and producer for about 20 years. He came over to America and the line was out the door of people who wanted to work with him because he made us all better.”
Anderson continued: “About three weeks into our film, he found out he was sick, and he made it through production. If you’ve ever gone to work before with someone who’s very ill, there’s something miraculous that makes you pay attention and reminds you the privilege of the work that we do. So thank you for sending him to me.”
One of contemporary cinema’s most acclaimed directors, the BAFTA win is Anderson’s first for best director, having previously been nominated in the same category for “We Will Be Blood” and “Licorice Pizza.”
Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” “One Battle After Another” — PTA’s most epic and ambitious film to date — follows a rabble of ex-revolutionaries reuniting to rescue a comrade’s daughter after an old enemy resurfaces. The ensemble cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and breakout Chase Infiniti.
Anderson, also behind films such as “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “The Master,” can now add another director award to an array of honors that already includes best director at the Cannes Film Festival, the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and the Silver and Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
“One Battle After Another” went into the BAFTA Awards leading the pack with 14 nominations, just two short of the record set by “Gandhi.” For the upcoming Academy Awards, the film has 13 nominations, with hopes that Anderson will finally add a long-awaited Oscar to his collection.
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From Variety US