Quotes by Paul Thomas Anderson

“A good actor is like watching a great musician, but having a bad actor terrifies me, because it means Ive got to find something to say or something to do. And thats really frustrating, because you want to be concentrating on everything, and instead you find yourself bogged down with helping someone know their lines or not bump into the furniture, and thats when you want to strangle them.”

“No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.”

“Ill rebel against powers and principalities, all the time. Always, I will.”

“I dont get a sense of American pride. I just get a sense that everyone is here, battling the same thing - that around the world everybodys after the same thing, just some minor piece of happiness each day.”

“Clinton used to like to get out of the White House a lot. He would take night trips to McDonalds, and stuff like that. I think he wanted to get out of the house.”

“Im loving this kind of critical polarity. Its the first time its happened to me and Im actually getting off on it a little bit.”

“I try and balance it out. I mean, I dont want to be blabbermouth-young-white-director-guy, but I gotta help. You just dont want to get a disgusting sheen on yourself.”

“Ive been in other relationships since Paul. Hes been a big part of my life, and hes a very good friend now. But the songs are informed by all my relationships. There are certain lines that are directly about one person or situation, so directly that Im sure those people recognize it. And that may be why I do this, to get my point across — though not in a mean way.”

“I think my movie is a hopeful one,”

“Its a gift, I guess, is the best way to say it. Hes put up with my presence, and I just like being around him.”

I dont get a sense of American pride. I just get a sense that everyone is here, battling the same thing - that around the world everybodys after the same thing, just some minor piece of happiness each day.

I have a feeling, one of those gut feelings, that Ill make pretty good movies the rest of my life.