Licorice Pizza director Paul Thomas Anderson defends superhero films and believes Spider-Man: No Way Home will bring audiences back to theaters.
director Paul Thomas Anderson Defends Superhero Movies, Telling Spider-Man: No Way Home Will Bring Audiences Back To Theaters. After receiving critical acclaim in 1997 for his coming-of-age drama Boogie Nights, Anderson now enjoys a reputation as one of today’s most acclaimed filmmakers. The incomparable author is behind several Oscar-recognized films such as Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master and Inherent Vice. One of Anderson’s most recent films, 2017 Phantom Thread, was Daniel Day-Lewis’s final performance before shockingly retiring from acting that year.
Now Anderson is doing the rounds to promote his new movie Licorice Pizza, which debuted in select theaters on November 26th and is preparing for its wide release on Christmas Day. The film returns to a common location for the director’s work, the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, where child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) grows up and develops his first love, the much older photography assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim). Licorice Pizza has just received four Golden Globe nominations, including a nod for its two leading actors and one for best musical or comedy.
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In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Anderson was asked how he fared making medium-budget adult films in a landscape dominated by big-budget blockbusters. Anderson says he feels “happier than ever” that he is able to find his own niche while defending superhero films against some of the recent criticisms they have received, and says everyone should be happy on Spider -Man This Week: No going home will lead the audience back to the cinemas. Read what he had to say below:
Obviously, with streaming and the overabundance of superhero films, things have gotten even more complicated. I don’t take most things that seriously. I mean, it seems like you get into superhero movies a bit. I like her. It seems like something popular these days is wondering if they ruined movies and all that stuff. I just don’t feel like that. I mean, you see, we’re all nervous about people coming back to theaters, but do you know what’s going to get them back to theaters? Spider Man. So let’s be happy about it.
Anderson is just the newest high-profile director to share his opinion on superhero blockbusters that dominate the box office landscape and cinematic validity of Marvel and DC films, though his comments are in stark contrast to others who have spoken out. Martin Scorsese famously compared Marvel films to theme parks, while Dune director Denis Villeneuve recently criticized them as “cut and paste” and Ridley Scott criticized them as “boring as shit”. Instead, Anderson personally enjoys superhero films and seems upbeat about what they add to the industry.
Paul Thomas AndersonThe prediction that Spider-Man: No Way Home will bring audiences back to theaters is likely to come true when it releases on December 17th. The film’s advance ticket sales were the highest since Avengers: Endgame. Marvel’s Black Widow and Shang-Chi have done well given the circumstances, but the industry is still long waiting for a blockbuster to see numbers comparable to pre-pandemic numbers.
Source: The New Yorker
About the author
Adam Bentz
(769 published articles)
Adam Bentz is a film and television news writer for Screen Rant. From a young age Adam became interested in a variety of films and television, but it was talented writers like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Aaron Sorkin who ultimately piqued his interest in the craft. Motivated by his love of the canvas, Adam studied creative writing with a major in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University. Upon graduation, Adam did an internship as a writer with The Borgen Project, a nonprofit that works to end extreme poverty. In addition to writing for Screen Rant, Adam also reviews films on his website adambentz.wordpress.com
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