During the October 11 episode of Saturday Night Live, Seth Meyers reunited with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Weekend Update desk to support Poehler as host. Backstage, Paul Thomas Anderson, the acclaimed director behind the Oscar-nominated There Will Be Blood and this year’s praised One Battle After Another, offered to take a group photo of the reunited SNL veterans. However, the resulting Paul Thomas Anderson photo was surprisingly blurry, sparking good-natured jokes among the group.
Meyers, Rudolph, and Others Recount the Photo Incident
Maya Rudolph and Will Forte, both present backstage, shared the story on Meyers’s Late Night show. Meyers described the gathering:
“The five of us were together, very special, we wanted to get a picture,”
Meyers said, addressing Rudolph.
“Your partner, Paul Thomas Anderson was there, an incredible director, he made one of the great movies of this year, ‘One Battle After Another,’”
Rudolph enthusiastically agreed, and Meyers continued:
“When he stood up with a camera I was like, ‘Here we go.’”
Rudolph added some context about the friend group’s reaction after Paula’s attempt at photography:
“Yeah cause the friend text chain was like, ‘Hey cute photo, can we get one from the front?’,”
she recalled.
“And I said, ‘I think Paul took some’ and you were like, ‘Oh because he’s notoriously bad at taking photos.’”
The Blurry Photo Becomes the Center of Laughs
Meyers then showed the blurry picture to the Late Night audience:
“But then this is the best one he got.”
The audience laughed as Rudolph chimed in:
“It looks like Amy’s got that filter on that makes you barf rainbows.”
The humorous take on the Paul Thomas Anderson photo also appeared on the podcast The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers. Co-host Akiva Schaffer joked:
“Probably Best Director at the Oscars this year doesn’t know how to use his iPhone I guess.”
Why This Moment Resonates Beyond the Lens
This funny incident underscores the warmth and camaraderie shared among the SNL alumni and their friends, including celebrated figures like Paul Thomas Anderson. Despite his directorial genius, the blurry photo shows a more human, playful side to the filmmaker. This moment also highlights how even the most talented artists can have everyday foibles, making the reunion all the more relatable and memorable for fans.
