10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Thomas Anderson's Movies

2. Nobody Believed Paul Thomas Anderson When He Announced His Adam Sandler Project

After Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Magnolia it seemed clear to pretty much everyone that Paul Thomas Anderson wasn't remotely interested in directing mainstream genre movies, so it wasn't at all surprising that few believed him when, after Magnolia, he announced his next project. The thought of Anderson working with Adam Sandler seemed completely out of the question to most people - after all, Anderson was a director of real class whereas Sandler mainly peddled low-brow comedies which appealed to the lowest common denominator. So when Punch Drunk Love was finally released many were no doubt amazed that Anderson had been telling the truth. Punch Drunk Love is arguably the best movie Adam Sandler ever made. That said, his detractors - of which there are many - are hardly going to see that as a ringing endorsement.