85 Quotes by Paul Thomas Anderson

I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film's abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y'know, that's great. But I hope it involves an audience.

I remember being taught in school that you would underline things that you liked. I remember just underlining everything as a kid, thinking, 'This has all gotta be important!' I would just underline the whole thing!

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

It's a gamble you take, the risk of alienating an audience. But there's a theory - sometimes it's better to confuse them for five minutes than let them get ahead of you for 10 seconds.

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.

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.

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