Paul Thomas Anderson Quotes & Sayings

“Screenwriting is like ironing. You move forward a little bit and go back and smooth things out.”

“Acting is the hardest job in the entire world. By far. Harder than ditch digging.”

“How do I respond to criticism? Critically. I listen to all criticism critically.”

“I am always looking for that nuance, that moment of truth, and you can't really do that fast.”

“You have to be a brat in order to carve out your parameters, and you have to be a monster to anyone who gets in your way. But sometimes it's difficult to know when that's necessary and when you're just being a baby, throwing your rattle from the cage.”

“I've never been a fan of whimsical or confusing storytelling.”

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

“No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.”

“I didn't have any desire I might have had 10 years ago to shoot every single word that I wrote.”

“I don't miss scenes at all the way that I used to miss them when I was younger making a film. It's actually quite fun to get rid of them now.”