Seeing the footage from One Battle After Another, nobody would have bothered to compare it to the works of George Lucas or James Cameron. But that’s what star Leonardo DiCaprio has done, saying Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest shares themes with both.
DiCaprio is the current subject of an extensive interview in Esquire conducted by PTA. As DiCaprio — who recently revealed turning down Boogie Nights was his biggest career regret — put it, “There are themes of Star Wars and Terminator 2 in this. It’s interesting to see how you merged your vision of the zeitgeist—of what everyone’s talking about today politically—but with these very relatable themes for a larger audience.” DiCaprio even noted that there were Ellen’s of Walter Matthau’s character from The Bad News Bears!
While PTA didn’t entirely buy into those sci-fi vibes, he did add on to what DiCaprio was saying about One Battle After Another. “Those mythical characters, at least the ones those Star Wars characters are based on, have been around forever, and they never go out of style. It is the classic “nothing changes.” The story of a chosen child and opposing forces in pursuit of her magic—this is an oldie but a goodie and certainly one that fits these times. Once you settle into a story that works, the next question is the tone, and our tone ended up reflecting everyone’s character. Our tone reflects the absolute absurdity of human nature.” Regardless, PTA has been an avid champion of Terminator 2, saying it’s well worth studying alongside even the most “classic” of titles in the film school syllabus.
One Battle After Another marks the first time that DiCaprio and Anderson have worked together, no doubt one of many career highlights for both. The movie — which takes some inspiration from Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland (PTA previously adapted his Inherent Vice) — also stars Regina King, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. It tells of a former revolutionary who sets off on a mission to save the daughter of one of the former group members.
Will you be checking out One Battle After Another when it hits theaters on September 26th?
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