The closing night film of Fantastic Fest was a real doozy: Paul Thomas Anderson’s eagerly awaited Christmastime release There Will Be Blood. Despite the film not falling into the sci-fi, crime, and horror genres that populate the fest, the film is certifiably “fantastic.” Anderson was present for the screening and brought along some of his key personnel (editor Dylan Tichenor, production designer Jack Fisk – who appeared to be accompanied by his wife Sissy Spacek, and others). Variety invited me to write a post about the screening on their Fest Central blog, so I won’t repeat myself here, except to include one thing I neglected to mention: Anderson dedicates the film to Robert Altman, who died last year but not before completing A Prairie Home Companion, on which Anderson served as Altman’s insurance-required backup director.
This article appears in September 28 • 2007.
