Customer Reviews

Magnolia: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Luckily for me, Paul Thomas Anderson dropped by my favorite bookstore to sign copies of this publication a few days ago. I got a chance to shake the man's hand and tell him what an incredible influence he was on me wanting to write and direct my own films. "Magnolia : The Illustrated Screenplay" has to be the BEST published screenplay EVER. Not only do you get the actual shooting script (as opposed to those cheesy transcriptions of finished movies) but you also get a lengthy, fascinating interview with Anderson as well as a bunch of full color photographs taken behind the scenes of the shoot. But, of course, the best part of the book is the actual writing itself. This screenplay reads more like a complex and quite brilliant novel. As you read, you will undoubtedly be struck with genuine awe at just how Anderson managed to jump back and forth so many times between so many different, multi-layered storylines while still preserving a coherent narrative under the umbrella of a singular underlying theme: redemption. Although he'd be the first to deny it, the man's quite simply a genius.

Paul Thomas Anderson shows us, yet again, how he can bring together many different characters, involved us in their different circling stories, and not let us lose touch with any one of them.

The shooting script is brilliantly written -- Anderson has developed a wonderful way of describing things and writing dialogue, which can, at times, sound shockingly realistic.

It's a delight for fans of the film, like myself, to read scenes that were deleted from the film, most notably, Stanley Spector meeting the mysterious character "Worm". After reading this part, you understand how it fits into this film.

This is a really well-crafted work of a story, which complements Paul Thomas Anderson's creative talent, and showcases everyday problems like regret, love, fear, and loneliness and shows how touching they can really be.

The pictures at the end of the book are very colorful and gorgeous to look at it, because the capture the feeling of the movie so well.

But, I'm a little dissappointed with the interview with Anderson, which comes after the screenplay. It's interesting to hear him talk about the inspiration for the story and characters. But, it doesn't feel very satisfying, because it feels severely edited, leaving you wanting to know more.

But, that's okay. The screenplay explains it all, giving you a wonderful, heartfelt story about real people struggling with the problems and unusual circumstances in their lives.

If you enjoyed the movie, this book will only make you love it more.

Ok, I apologize that this is refraining from the topic at hand, but never have I been this outraged at the academy awards. For credibility, I am an aspiring filmmaker/screenwriter and I study a lot of films and screenplay. I really enjoyed American Beauty, and then I read the screenplay. I was disappointed and saw this film (American Beauty) was saved from being simply awful from a great director, cinematographer, and cast/crew. It was a very flawed script that had moments of terrible dialogue and little character development. Don't believe me? Think about how there is not a single likable moment for Annette Benning. Even Freddy Kruegger had a few moments of likability.

And then there was Magnolia...

I saw this film and I was literally blown away. I read the screenplay 5 times in the week I got it. The film had great dialogue, wonderful development, and great characters. It was simply beautiful. When I saw it, I hailed it as the best film of the year, the 90's, and quite possibly ever. In the unlikable side, You have Frank TJ Mackey, perfectly portrayed by Tom Cruise. Frank is a sex guru who teaches courses on how to pick up women. Not your hero, right? Slimeball? You bet. But he's a person. How about the dying father who left his wife who was dying to have sex with other women... He realizes that what he has done was terrible, and he didn't ask for forgiveness, he just realizes that tey were mistakes and he has to live with them. Ok, so the point is, as with all of Anderson's characters, that as much as you don't like someone's behavior or lifestyle or whatever, they are just people too. And that is the mark of a truly gifted and beautiful writer. Thank you Paul Thomas Anderson, for making the best cinematic memory for me.

When, in the future, film and literature students study the masterpiece "Magnolia" they will need to have two products at their sides: Aimee Mann's Magnolia CD and Magnolia: The Shooting Script. The Shooting Script, published with great polish in both hardback and in a quality oversized paperback format, enhances the experience of having seem the film (no modest accomplishment). By including material not in the finished film product, as well as personal comments from the skilled young director/screenwriter P.T. Anderson, all serious students of film and 20th century American literature should add this volume to their library.

Magnolia: The Shooting Script offers insight into the imagination of film maker Paul Anderson and shows how he translated his ideas into a cohesive film. In addition to the complete shooting script, Magnolia includes an informative introduction by Anderson, an extensive interview conducted by Chuck Stephens with the writer-director, a full-color section of more than 40 photographs, as well as complete cast and crew credits. Magnolia is will prove a highly prized acquisition for film buffs and for film school libraries.

"Magnolia" is a film that should go down in history. And for the mere reason of Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson's brilliant screenwriting is seen the best through his characters. By this talent the piece truly is an ensemble film, for no character outshines the next. Linda Partridge and Claudia Gator, my personal favorite characters, go through the gamut of emotions throughout the script, while likewise staying true to their original motives and feelings.

Basically, the thing that makes Anderson's characters real is that they ARE real. They are normal people whose lives have, along the lines, come apart at every possible seam. No people live absolutely perfect, happy lives, and this is what Anderson gets across. Many of the characters in the script on first look seem invincible, strong, glorified, and beautiful. It does not take long for the reader to see, though, that the most perfect people have the weakest constitutions and strength.

The film is superb. The actors and actresses Anderson used were the ones that could get the job done, not just the big names (okay, despite Tom Cruise and maybe Julianne Moore) that would pull in the crowds. Anderson's direction is also brilliant, for you see that he and his script pulled every ounce of his characters out of his cast.

Anderson is somewhat like the Mel Brooks of the modern, dramatic realm of film. He writes his scripts, does the directing, and he uses the actors and actresses that he knows will deliver. Many of the castmates in Magnolia also appeared in Boogie Nights, and some even in the earlier Anderson film, Hard Eight. He...in truth...is brilliant, and this script is his best one yet I think. My fingers are crossed for him at the Academy Awards this March for his Screenplay nomination, but I'm only upset that no more than three people (Anderson, Aimee Mann, & Cruise) were recognized by the Academy for their amazing performances in the film (especially Melora Walters).

And the bottom line...Anderson is pure brilliance and is one of the next great film makers of our time, and I cannot wait to continue following his career.

Magnolia is one of the best screenplays that I have read in the past few years. It's very enjoyable and a great read.

MAGNOLIA is the brilliant 3-hour intimate epic of Paul Thomas Anderson, writer-director-genius-walking God-auteur-idol.

It's the story of redemption, loss, lonliness and apocalyptic cataclysm over the course of one day but you can't begin to describe in words anything about what it's truly about even after seeing it.

MAGNOLIA was a brilliant film. At 3 hours and 8 minutes, MAGNOLIA is a vast film of such brilliant and breathtaking vision, it makes you wish they gave an OSCAR for BEST SCOPE.

I've read the screenplay by ANDERSON and bought the book and it too is brilliant, just like the film. But I suspect because of the publicized editing in the film, ANDERSON'S SHOOTING SCRIPT that is the book is actually more in depth in the nature of certain characters and scenes. The film neglects to explain fully some of the plot threads and the script scoops them up and cradles them in light.

It's a self-affirming jolt of a movie that is sure to be unpredictable by everyone. I do recommend both to everyone who can understand the pain of the characters.

If you were a fan of Magnolia, this book is definatley needed in your collection. Not everyone appriciated it's length, it's complexity, and it's insight, but hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, right? Well this book makes a wonderful counterpart to the movie (although the soundtrack is the first thing you should buy). The script is the original shooting script, so you see some minor changes and additional scenes that were apparently cut from the film (i.e. an extended storyline involving Stanley, The rapping kid, and "The Worm"). There's plenty of behind the scenes pictures, and a forward by pta, as well as an interview that offers some insight as to not only the meaning behind the title behind the film, but the stunning climax. This book could help you answer some of the questions you may of had leaving the theatre about the film.

.
In the year Two Thousand an epic (3 hrs., 8 mins.) and epochal movie was released upon the movie-going world: MAGNOLIA. Screenwriter Paul Anderson, who hitherto was best known for the entertaining and impressive tragicomic view of the porn-and-disco Seventies, BOOGIE NIGHTS, really outdid himself on this one. I'm not saying MAGNOLIA is the equal of CITIZEN KANE but in many respects Anderson succeeded by violating many pre-existing norms of classic cinema: instead of main plot/subplot Anderson deftly characterized and set into action about 20 residents of Los Angeles on a day that would quite unexpectedly shatter many of their illusions, and endanger their lives. Like CITIZEN KANE, MAGNOLIA is very deft in its cutting of language, sound and image; and that, combined with pinpoint casting and performances and brilliant dialog, lets us assemble, recognize, understand and sympathize with the film's characters, despite some behavior that is desperate and some that is despicable, and despite the fact that no clear "Rosebud" theme emerges until late in the film. The style of dialog is not the well-rounded speechifying of an earlier generation's "issue movies" (think of SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO or WILD RIVER), but a more expressionist prose style that is nonetheless easy to understand and furthers the flow of plot from one character to the next.

First of all, I'd recommend that anyone who has yet to see the movie MAGNOLIA get ahold of the DVD right away. Secondary to that, if you'd like to see how the cumulative effects of plot, character, montage and narrative transition work hand-in-glove, buy this version of the shooting script (from publisher Newmarket, which has about 40 branded "Shooting Scripts" on the market) because it's such a great way to see how the technique and the screenplay (or better said, the interplay between dialog and technique) work to form a more perfect union.

The photo section is noteworthy for its comprehensiveness and identifying captions. There are a couple of things that leave me unimpressed about this shooting script as a consumer good but with one exception they are not spoilers. Yes, the interview with director Anderson could have risen to a higher level; as it is, it is barely on a par with a PLAYBOY magazine interview if that. Yes, the words and scenes in this book are not 100 percent what wound up in the can (or on the DVD), but that's a possibility with any leap from printed word to the director's vision on the screen. What really annoyed me, though, is the apparent lack of any meaningful proofreading or typescript correction visible in these pages. Early on the screenplay serves up such spelling bloopers as "Secuirty" guards, "forrest" fires and "gentle-man" resident -- and that's just the first six pages! I am usually not one to complain about poor cosmetics in a printed work but when the blunders are this appalling and this frequent, they form an ongoing distraction and definitely interfered with my ability to enjoy reading the shooting script. Really, though, that's the only reason I gave this book a "four" insead of "five" star count.