Holiday Movies: 20 On-the-Set Portraits

MOST POPULAR GALLERIES OF 2007: Go inside the making of ''I Am Legend,'' ''National Treasure: Book of Secrets,'' ''Alvin and the Chipmunks,'' ''Juno,'' and other year-end films

By EW Staff Updated November 02, 2007 at 10:00 PM EDT

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Credit: Gemma La Mana

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8. Paul Thomas Anderson

Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon

THE EVIDENCE: Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master (2012)

WHY HIM: One of the most dynamic directors to emerge in the last 20 years, Anderson makes movies that crackle with energy and typically showcase volcanic performances (see: Daniel Day-Lewis in Blood, Joaquin Phoenix in The Master). Anderson is particularly good at taking a well-worn genre — the Western epic, the romantic comedy — and transforming it into something modern and unforgettable. —Tim Stack