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Burt Reynolds Saw Right Through This Rip-off Artist

posted 9 years ago by pretentiousanderson
16 replies | jump to latest

Burt Reynolds on Anderson:

“Personality-wise, we didn’t fit … I think mostly because he was young and full of himself. Every shot we did, it was like the first time [that shot had ever been done]. I remember the first shot we did in ‘Boogie Nights,’ where I drive the car to Grauman’s Theater. After he said, ‘Isn’t that amazing?’ And I named five pictures that had the same kind of shot. It wasn’t original. But if you have to steal, steal from the best.”

http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/burt-reynolds-didnt-love-acting-for-pt-anderson.html

(Cue the part where the PTA fantards dismiss Burt Reynolds as a hack for pointing out the obvious, then go on to dismiss me as a 'troll' for doing the same.)

[–] johndworkin65 9 years ago

I'm sorry you didn't become what you wanted.

"What doesn't kill you, defines you."

[–] goatboy969 9 years ago

Kudos johndworkin65, you nailed it.

[–] johndworkin65 9 years ago

Thanks goatboy969 (Giles?). Considering that member's handle, combined with a brief scan through their posting history, it's plain to see that a love of film in general is not their main reason for being here. It's transparently something else. Something deeply personal and quite negative. He/She might say I'm simply some kind of "fanboy" (what a stupid term...). But it's obvious from reading his/her posts who the thoughtless, myopic, self-absorbed button-pusher is. It's one thing to not enjoy/like Anderson's films. Nobody should have a problem with that. But making it your main purpose on this board to mindlessly insult one director and the people who love his films is something only a deeply dissatisfied person would do. Whether or not he/she gets enjoyment from these posts is relatively unimportant. It's just sad either way. Barry would likely tell him/her, "I would say 'That's that.'"

"What doesn't kill you, defines you."

[–] theunopeneddoor-697-442391 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] QOK (1504) 5 years ago

This is an awesome post

[–] Christopher_Smilax 9 years ago



I think it's funny how PTA used to be a cocky little sh_it, and now he's a very humble guy

Howard Huges was Italian?

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Youth. Arrogance is a common flaw of the young. And PTA is a talented fellow.

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

Youth. Arrogance is a common flaw of the young. And PTA is a talented fellow.

--

And in cutthroat Hollywood -- whether indie level or studio -- if you aren't arrogant, you don't make it.

I mean, you have to believe that the movie you made is worth everybody else paying money to see it....

[–] Washingtonnative (2613) 4 years ago

People change as time goes on.

[–] thomaskellar21 9 years ago

PT Anderson is a fantastic filmmaker. I list Magnolia as one of the greatest screenplays ever written. It's so complex and crazy how he kept all of those stories straight and connected them all. But the great thing about art is that everyone has their own opinion.

[–] timgc 9 years ago

Yes, Reynolds was right, the first shot of Boogie Nights wasn't the first long, complex tracking shot. But Anderson was also right, it is an amazing shot nonetheless. I don't care if he was cocky, he had the talent to back it up. Look at how many cast members constantly returned for his films.

Also, "rip off artist"? Please name me one filmmaker who never borrowed anything from a prior film.

[–] Protozoid 9 years ago

Reynolds may have been right about Boogie Nights-era PTA. I honestly didn't care for his early work, but his last three pictures were outstanding. Anderson comes across much more modestly in recent interviews, but I wouldn't be surprised if the guy who made Boogie Nights was a bit full of himself.water mark of his career, to date. That or The Master.

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

In one of his several autobiographies -- the first, I think, written long before he made Boogie Nights and closer to when he was a Number One superstar, Burt Reynolds went out of his way to say two things:

ONE: He loved "old-time workhorse directors" -- none more than heavyset Robert Aldrich(not Altman) with whom Reynolds made the hit "The Longest Yard" and the non-hit Hustle. Aldrich had made pop classics(and hits) like Vera Cruz, Baby Jane, and The Dirty Dozen. Reynolds wrote that since Aldrich died "I miss him every day."

TWO: He HATED "film school brats with goatees." It was evidently pathological. Reynolds had started out as a high school and college player, he was a macho man whose best pal was stuntman Hal Needham, and he liked the men of that "rough trade." Consequently, Reynolds -- known for an explosive temper -- blew up at younger New Hollywood directors.

It just carried forward to PTA.

Interesting: Reynolds wrote that, despite their arguments(and evidently one physical fight) PTA offered him a role in Magnolia. (Which one, I wonder?) Reynolds said no, writing "I've made my Paul Thomas Anderson movie." (At least he knew his own temper.) This tracked with a story where Reynolds was out with Sinatra one night for a poker game that turned into quite an incident. Reynolds started to leave and Sinatra said "Where are you going?" and Reynolds said "Home. I've got my Sinatra story."

Or so he said.