Paul Thomas Anderson Discusses ‘The Master’ During Hour-Long Q&A

Paul Thomas Anderson isn't the kind of guy to do Q&As for his films, but recently the director attended a screening of his latest work, 'The Master,' in Australia and treated audience members to a rare hour-long Q&A.

'The Master' premiered a few months ago and since then the unnerving film has created quite a divide in the critical community, but then again, some of the most important films often do. The film, which follows a drifter as he joins up with a visionary who's started his own religion, was loosely based on Scientology and its creator, L. Ron Hubbard. Most folks who disliked the film seemed to be disappointed with how the film failed to have anything to say about Scientology, but that's not really the point of the story -- the themes of master and servant, man as animal, and whether or not such primitively-driven humans can be trained or un-trained are compelling, and far more interesting than a scathing look at a religion whose membership includes Tom Cruise.

Anyway! We really enjoyed this hour-long Q&A with Paul Thomas Anderson, in which he addresses the decision to shoot the film in 70mm -- Anderson says that the decision was about his vision, and less about cost or difficulty, and we agree that his choice really transports you back to the era in which the film is set.

You can check out the Q&A below. Thanks to CinemaBlend for bringing it to our attention.