With fewer than three weeks remaining until its wide release on September 26, Paul Thomas Anderson hosted a special screening of his new film One Battle After Another at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles. Accompanying Anderson was legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who had already viewed the film three times and joined Anderson for a detailed conversation exploring the project. The discussion shed light on the adaptation process, casting decisions involving Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio del Toro, and technical choices such as shooting with VistaVision cameras.
An Epic Adaptation Rooted in Complex Characters and Dark Themes
The film draws inspiration from Thomas Pynchon’s novel, though Anderson explained that adapting the dense source material required significant creative decisions. At its core, the story revolves around an ex-revolutionary living in seclusion with his daughter, while their past remains an ominous presence. Anderson emphasized how the father–daughter relationship from the novel resonated deeply with him, especially as a parent himself.
Well, the core of the story is a great one. It’s an ex-revolutionary [who] ends up in the woods raising a daughter, and the past is going to come back and haunt him. There’s a similar love triangle in that story as well,
—Paul Thomas Anderson
And I loved that book. I loved it, and I loved it so much that I thought about adapting him. But the problem with loving a book so much when you go to adapt it is that you have to be much rougher on the book to adapt it. You have to kind of not be gentle. So I struggled for years to try to adapt it. Then when I had a lot of other pieces, some other stories, I started to combine them. And I kept the things that I loved the most about the book, and the things I loved the most was the father-daughter story. I think even before I had kids, I kind of felt a connection to how this father felt about his daughter. And it only grew deeper and stronger as I have had kids to understand what he was writing about in that way. And I’m trying to take from the book what I needed and pursue my own path and let it move in directions that it seemed that it wanted to go.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Insights into Casting: DiCaprio, Penn, and Del Toro’s Roles
Anderson revealed he envisioned Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn for their roles well before filming began. He praised Penn’s electric presence and wide-ranging talent, building on their prior collaboration in Licorice Pizza. DiCaprio’s creative instincts on set also impressed the director, especially his unique way of pitching ideas by initially framing them as “terrible.”
Well, it was impossible to not keep thinking of both of them [when writing] because, you know, as much as you’re trying to kind of imagine a character. [I’d worked with Sean in Licorice Pizza] and I wanted to work with him in a very meaty way for as long as I can remember, as long as the first time I saw him on screen, I wanted to get ahold of him. When you saw him as Spicoli [in Fast Times at Ridgemont High] and then all these fantastic performances over the years. But it was impossible to not think that Sean was the right man for the job for this. And it was sizable and meaty and something that I knew, you know, he was Sean. He was going to bring something electric and off and exciting to him.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
And Leo, I mean, you know what it’s like to work with Leo.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Let me ask a question about Leo. When you said ‘cut,’ did Leo rush to the monitor to watch his own take back every day?
—Steven Spielberg
“Yeah, sometimes,” —Paul Thomas Anderson
Leo has a great thing. He will sell you on something by saying, ‘This is a terrible idea, and you’re gonna hate it.’ And then he proceeds to tell you a really fantastic idea. But he loves to set it up by saying, ‘I think it’s a terrible idea.’
—Paul Thomas Anderson
He always does that,
—Steven Spielberg
But he’s got so many great ideas, and he would just camp out in front of the monitor when we did Catch Me together, and he would just watch it. And just watching the playback would give him the idea that he would come back with. And it was amazing watching him in this, both of them. I have to say, just about Sean Penn: this is my favorite Sean Penn performance of his career for me.
—Steven Spielberg
Benicio del Toro, who joined the project later after wrapping Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, was described by Paul Thomas Anderson as an incredibly prepared and creative “pinch hitter” who contributed hundreds of unique ideas. Anderson highlighted the on-screen energy balance between del Toro and DiCaprio, noting how del Toro consciously maintained his distinct presence.
came in late and he’d like to pretend that he was really not prepared at all,
—Paul Thomas Anderson
‘You’ve got to just hold me up, and I’m just coming in from doing this. I’m that I’m a pinch hitter here, just don’t trust me too much,’ which is total bullshit. He came up with 400 fantastic ideas.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Benicio told me, ‘Listen, just keep an eye on one thing: that I don’t take his energy on.’ He had to have his own energy, and there was only one take where I remember seeing Benicio getting flustered by his crazy ass energy. And I said, ‘I think you’re taking his energy.’ That’s all the direction you need to give him. It’s amazing seeing him on a big screen, isn’t it?
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Spielberg’s High Praise and Kubrick Comparisons
Steven Spielberg offered glowing remarks about the film’s intensity and tonality, drawing parallels to Stanley Kubrick’s satirical classic Dr. Strangelove. He highlighted the film’s blend of absurdist comedy with serious social commentary, noting how the balance allows audiences to release tension through humor amidst heavy themes.
What an insane movie, oh my God. There is more action in the first hour of this than every other film you’ve ever directed put together. Everything, it is really incredible,
—Steven Spielberg
This is such a concoction of things that are so bizarre and at the same time so relevant, that I think have become increasingly more relevant than perhaps even when you finished the screenplay and assembled your cast and crew and began production. What was it about the Thomas Pynchon book that first sort of set you off?
—Steven Spielberg
I have not seen a movie that is so tonally a relative to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. This brings a kind of absurdist comedy, taken very seriously, because it’s so much a reflection of what’s happening today, every day, throughout this country. But it takes it to a point where you want to laugh, because if you don’t laugh, you’re going to start screaming, ‘This is too real.’ And so you got that outlet. So Kubrick used armageddon as a way to tell his story, to make his statement. And there’s something that gets us on the same edge of that kind of absurdist feeling, a tone, that you take it both very seriously, but you’re praying for some kind of relief, some kind of a trigger to laugh. I nervously laugh all the way through Dr. Strangelove, and, more than nervously, I had a great time laughing all the way through this. But it’s interesting where you laugh here, where you allow us to laugh, and then when you shut it down.
—Steven Spielberg
Shooting Challenges and Technical Choices: Working with VistaVision
The production undertook filming with VistaVision cameras, a format rarely used today, which fascinated Anderson, stemming from his initial experimentation during 2011’s The Master. The revived cameras were refurbished by actor Giovanni Ribisi, a longtime supporter of the format, enabling the team to shoot the film with this distinctive technology to achieve a specific visual quality.
When we were doing tests for The Master in 2011, we were messing with formats, and somebody rolled up with a VistaVision camera. [We said], ‘Oh, this is great. This is terrific.’ But it was a bit beat up. It was very impractical to think about making a film with it at that time. So we ended up shooting in 65mm. It was fantastic. It was great. But that VistaVision camera always nagged at me. It was very interesting.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Cut to 2019. I made [Anima], a kind of long-form music film with Thom Yorke. It was three songs, and we dusted off these cameras and we really kind of refurbished them and found ways to work with it. But it was easy, because it was a music video,
—Paul Thomas Anderson
You didn’t have to think about sound. It was a very successful result. In the meantime. I kept dreaming about doing it. It wasn’t right on the last film I did [Licorice Pizza]. And in the meantime, one of the great supporters of VistaVision is an actor that you’ve worked with, Giovanni Ribisi, who is really kind of a jack of all trades and has refurbished these cameras so beautifully. Because it’s one thing to get one and it’s junky, maybe it’ll work. But he really did an incredible job refurbishing this, and it seemed it was very, very practical all of a sudden to work with it. And we had three of them at times. And we had our confidence from doing it on that music video. And we practiced with them and we tested with them.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
The biggest problem is for the operators, the great Colin Anderson, who we’ve both worked with,
—Paul Thomas Anderson
It’s very, very challenging because you have a mag that is horizontal and so your chest is here, the eyepiece is here, and it’s a yoga move every single time you have to do something. But he’s one of the best in the world. And he was able to do it. And we had a terrific time with them and they worked wonderfully, even to the point where we’ve made now prints in VistaVision, and installed VistaVision projectors at Warner Brothers, at the Vista here [in L.A.], and one in New York, and one in London.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
The organic film, the grain is what makes it alive.
—Steven Spielberg
I mean, it’s in the room with us. It’s living and breathing, stuff can go wrong with it, which is exciting.
—Paul Thomas Anderson
Unexpected Production Choices and a Thrilling Finale
Notably, Anderson shared that the production commenced without a finalized ending for One Battle After Another, a rare approach that contributed a spontaneous energy to the shoot. This uncertainty climaxed in a high-adrenaline car chase sequence filmed across hazardous desert roads between Borrego Springs, California, and the Arizona border, inspired by the challenging terrain with sharp blind curves.
Appreciation for Film Heritage and the Art of Direction
Spielberg praised Anderson’s versatility as a director, likening him to iconic filmmakers of Hollywood’s golden era such as Victor Fleming, Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, and David Lean, all known for exploring varying subjects rather than repeating formulas. The admiration underlined Anderson’s dynamic approach to filmmaking and his commitment to diverse storytelling.
What a fan I am of all your movies from the very, very beginning,
—Steven Spielberg
And you’re kind of like those old-time directors. I kind of like to think of myself that way, too, like Victor Fleming or Michael Curtiz, or William Wyler, they never sort of made the same movie. They made all these different subjects. David Lean was that way.
—Steven Spielberg
Closing Remarks: Cinema’s Future and Film’s Enduring Spirit
Wrapping up their discussion, Spielberg expressed hope that One Battle After Another would achieve great success with audiences while celebrating the enduring craftsmanship of film in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. His enthusiasm reflected the passion shared by both masters of cinema toward the continued vitality of their art form.
May film live forever. May we never be replaced by A.I. And may this movie make a bundle and make you very happy. I loved it. We loved it,
—Steven Spielberg
As the social media embargo lifts later tonight, fans can also look forward to a newly released fan poster designed by Alessandro Montalto, adding to the excitement surrounding the film’s arrival.
