Several weeks after The Master opened in the U.S. and Canada, Paul Thomas Anderson has hit the publicity trail. (Behind the scenes, I can imagine Harvey Weinstein twisting his arm: 'Paul - it's for the Oscars! I know you don't care about awards - but I do! And I'm the distributor! And it's in your contract! Will you get out there?')
Last night Anderson appeared on The Daily Show, where Jon Stewart talked to him about the writing process, a refreshing angle coming from Stewart, who is also a writer. Anderson noted that endless rewrites don't always benefit a script, since often 'you got it right with the first draft, because it vomited out of you.'
Today he talked with Charlie Rose (and co-hosts) on CBS This Morning, covering the divisive reaction to the film, what was in his head when he sat down to write it -- among other things, John Huston's documentary Let There Be Light -- his personal conclusions about Scientology, having the backing of "bull in the china shop" Harvey Weinstein, and what he learned from Robert Altman.
You can watch both interviews below.