Paul Thomas Anderson has won his long-awaited best director Oscar for “One Battle After Another.” Widely recognized as one of the most celebrated and influential filmmakers of his generation, Anderson has been nominated for this prize three times previously. His first nomination for best director came in 2008 for “There Will Be Blood,” with subsequent nominations for “Phantom Thread” and “Licorice Pizza.” He received his first ever Oscar nomination for his second film, an original screenplay nod for his breakout drama “Boogie Nights” in 1998. His first Oscar victory came earlier tonight when he won for best adapted screenplay.
“You make a guy work hard for one of these,” Anderson said while accepting his award.
“One Battle After Another” finds Anderson loosely adapting Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland” to tell a modern story about a paranoid former revolutionary, Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is shaken out of his stoned stupor when his daughter (Chase Infiniti) is pursued by the villainous Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). Anderson previously adapted Pynchon’s “Inherent Vice” (2014).
Anderson won most major precursor awards for his work on “One Battle,” including the Golden Globe, the BAFTA and the Directors Guild of America prize. At the Oscars, he triumphed over a field that also included Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme,” Chloé Zhao for “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value.”
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