Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Ok, I apologize that this is refraining from the topic at hand, but never have I been this outraged at the academy awards. For credibility, I am an aspiring filmmaker/screenwriter and I study a lot of films and screenplay. I really enjoyed American Beauty, and then I read the screenplay. I was disappointed and saw this film (American Beauty) was saved from being simply awful from a great director, cinematographer, and cast/crew. It was a very flawed script that had moments of terrible dialogue and little character development. Don't believe me? Think about how there is not a single likable moment for Annette Benning. Even Freddy Kruegger had a few moments of likability.And then there was Magnolia... I saw this film and I was literally blown away. I read the screenplay 5 times in the week I got it. The film had great dialogue, wonderful development, and great characters. It was simply beautiful. When I saw it, I hailed it as the best film of the year, the 90's, and quite possibly ever. In the unlikable side, You have Frank TJ Mackey, perfectly portrayed by Tom Cruise. Frank is a sex guru who teaches courses on how to pick up women. Not your hero, right? Slimeball? You bet. But he's a person. How about the dying father who left his wife who was dying to have sex with other women... He realizes that what he has done was terrible, and he didn't ask for forgiveness, he just realizes that tey were mistakes and he has to live with them. Ok, so the point is, as with all of Anderson's characters, that as much as you don't like someone's behavior or lifestyle or whatever, they are just people too. And that is the mark of a truly gifted and beautiful writer. Thank you Paul Thomas Anderson, for making the best cinematic memory for me.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: P.T. Anderson's screenplay is a work of art and coming from such a young writer/director makes you realize this guy is a genius. The film is the most original I've seen in a long time. Mr. Anderson is light years ahead of his fellow hollywood directors and ranks up there with Martin Scorsese as the most dynamic director working today. The academy awards is pure bulls##t! This film at the least should have picked up best director, best original sreenplay. Well back to the script--reading it was just as satisfying as watching the film. It is so complex, the characters, dialoge, flow of the story is sensational. This is a must own screenplay if you are a fan of the movie or interested in film/ screenwriting.
Rating:
Summary: Rain. But not water.
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson has created a great movie when he wrote and directed 'Magnolia'. This book is a great companion as it documents the entire screenplay(including the edited scenes from the released copy), an interview with P.T Anderson and about fourty companion pictures at the back. By itself, the script would be worth buying if you really enjoyed the movie, but the little extras that they have added really make it worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Rain. But not water.
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson has created a great movie when he wrote and directed 'Magnolia'. This book is a great companion as it documents the entire screenplay(including the edited scenes from the released copy), an interview with P.T Anderson and about fourty companion pictures at the back. By itself, the script would be worth buying if you really enjoyed the movie, but the little extras that they have added really make it worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: 90% Chance of Rain
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson shows us, yet again, how he can bring together many different characters, involved us in their different circling stories, and not let us lose touch with any one of them. The shooting script is brilliantly written -- Anderson has developed a wonderful way of describing things and writing dialogue, which can, at times, sound shockingly realistic. It's a delight for fans of the film, like myself, to read scenes that were deleted from the film, most notably, Stanley Spector meeting the mysterious character "Worm". After reading this part, you understand how it fits into this film. This is a really well-crafted work of a story, which complements Paul Thomas Anderson's creative talent, and showcases everyday problems like regret, love, fear, and loneliness and shows how touching they can really be. The pictures at the end of the book are very colorful and gorgeous to look at it, because the capture the feeling of the movie so well. But, I'm a little dissappointed with the interview with Anderson, which comes after the screenplay. It's interesting to hear him talk about the inspiration for the story and characters. But, it doesn't feel very satisfying, because it feels severely edited, leaving you wanting to know more. But, that's okay. The screenplay explains it all, giving you a wonderful, heartfelt story about real people struggling with the problems and unusual circumstances in their lives. If you enjoyed the movie, this book will only make you love it more.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson takes Robert Altmans favored method of filmmaking, and steals his thunder. Using his amazing talent of dialouge writing, he carves out a film that is so powerful and raw that it scared the academy out of an oscar nod. If you have trouble understanding the Robert Altman format, just keep this in the back of your mind; essentially he takes a large group of people that don't know each-other, puts them all close together and then after telling their similar stories, he ties them together with a catastrophic event. Paul Thomas Anderson is someone you will be hearing a great deal more of in the years to come.
Rating:
Summary: The Essential Companion to an Instant Classic
Review: When, in the future, film and literature students study the masterpiece "Magnolia" they will need to have two products at their sides: Aimee Mann's Magnolia CD and Magnolia: The Shooting Script. The Shooting Script, published with great polish in both hardback and in a quality oversized paperback format, enhances the experience of having seem the film (no modest accomplishment). By including material not in the finished film product, as well as personal comments from the skilled young director/screenwriter P.T. Anderson, all serious students of film and 20th century American literature should add this volume to their library.
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