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Magnolia
Movie poster
Directed by	Paul Thomas Anderson
Produced by	Paul Thomas Anderson Joanne Sellar
Written by	Paul Thomas Anderson
Narrated by	Ricky Jay
Starring	Jeremy Blackman Tom Cruise Melinda Dillon April Grace Luis Guzmán Philip Baker Hall Philip Seymour Hoffman Ricky Jay William H. Macy Alfred Molina Julianne Moore John C. Reilly Jason Robards Melora Walters
Music by	Jon Brion
Cinematography	Robert Elswit
Editing by	Dylan Tichenor
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	December 8, 1999
Running time	188 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English French German
Budget	$37,000,000
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Magnolia is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It interweaves nine separate yet connected storylines, about the interactions among several people during one day in the San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles, California. The film was financed by New Line Cinema.

Of the ensemble cast, Tom Cruise was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, and won the award in the same category at the Golden Globes of 2000.

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Character relationships 1.2 Raining Frogs & Exodus 8:2 2 Themes 3 Script vs. final cut 4 Music and soundtracks 5 Documentary 6 Featured cast 7 Awards 8 References 9 External links

Magnolia starts with an introduction (narrated by an uncredited Ricky Jay) describing three events that set the mood for the movie by urging the audience to think about supposed coincidences which occur "all the time." The events, which are well-known urban legends, are:

1. Sir Edmund William Godfrey, a resident of Greenberry Hill, London, is murdered outside his pharmacy by three vagrants by the names Joseph Green, Stanley Berry, and Daniel Hill. This was based on the murder of Edmund Berry Godfrey.
2. A blackjack dealer, Delmer Darion, while scuba diving is accidentally picked up by a fire fighting airplane scooping water to put out a forest fire, however he dies of a heart attack during the flight. The pilot of the plane, Craig Hansen, had met Darion a few days prior at Darion's casino, starting a fight with him after losing a hand of blackjack. The guilt and the measure of coincidence provokes the pilot to commit suicide.
3. A 17-year-old boy, Sydney Barringer, attempts suicide by jumping off the roof of his apartment building; this attempt became a "successful homicide" when he was accidentally shot by his mother as he fell past his own apartment window. His parents regularly argued and threatened each other with a shotgun that was not normally kept loaded. Unbeknown to them, Sydney had loaded the gun a few days earlier hoping they would make good on their threats to kill one another. As a result, he unwittingly became an accomplice in his own murder. The irony here is that a newly installed protective netting for window washers on the building's exterior below their apartment, would have saved his life if he had not been hit by the shotgun blast that he himself had loaded.

The movie then goes on to introduce the main characters:

• Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), author of Seduce and Destroy, a self-help book for men to get women to sleep with them. Mackey's character was inspired by Ross Jeffries, according to Paul Thomas Anderson in the magazine Creative Screenwriting.
• Linda Partridge (Julianne Moore), a woman dealing with her much older husband's terminal illness and feelings of guilt for her infidelity. She is Frank T.J. Mackey's stepmother.
• "Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who won a large sum of money on the television game show What Do Kids Know? in the 1960s, but whose adult life has gone downhill after appearing as a celebrity spokesperson.
• Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), a current contestant on What Do Kids Know?. His avaricious father capitalizes off of his son's success and constantly pressures him to win.
• Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a kind, sympathetic nurse working for the terminally ill Earl Partridge.
• Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters), a young woman plagued by psychological problems and a cocaine addiction; daughter of Jimmy Gator.
• Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), host of What Do Kids Know?, who is dying of bone cancer. He seeks reconciliation with his daughter, Claudia.
• Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a wealthy television producer with terminal lung cancer. He is the estranged father of Frank T.J. Mackey.
• Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), a divorced and forthright police officer. While on patrol, Kurring often speaks to an imaginary camera, as if he were appearing on a reality TV series such as COPS.
• Dixon (Emmanuel L. Johnson), an African American youth who raps and is the son of "The Worm."

The movie ends with the narrator urging the audience to think again about the coincidences mentioned in the intro, implying that the unlikely connections between the characters in the movie are similar.

Many of the characters have thematically similar stories:

	Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly)	Earl (Jason Robards)	Jimmy (Philip Baker Hall)	Claudia (Melora Walters)	Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman)	Stanley (Jeremy Blackman)	Donnie (William H. Macy)
Linda (Julianne Moore)		Both have been unfaithful (Linda to Earl and Earl to his first wife)	Both make admissions of infidelity, and both unsuccessfully attempt suicide.	Both abuse drugs and suffer from psychological problems			Both suffer emotional outbursts
Donnie (William H. Macy)	Both are lonely and desperately seeking love			Both have a persecution complex		Both are "quiz kids" who feel unappreciated by their parents
Frank (Tom Cruise)		Both mistreat women		Both engage in self-destructive behaviors as a result of childhood trauma, as well as living under pseudonyms
Stanley (Jeremy Blackman)	Both feel like outcasts, Stanley from his teammates and Jim from his co-workers		Both suffer breakdowns on Jimmy's show (Jimmy physically, Stanley emotionally)	Both abused by their fathers, Stanley verbally and emotionally, Claudia sexually
Jimmy (Philip Baker Hall)		Both are dying of cancer and both cheated on their wives
Earl (Jason Robards)	Both had a troubled first marriage

The plot reveals all these relationships over a number of interlocking events, including:

• A crime that investigators think was committed by the Worm (played by Orlando Jones in scenes that were deleted).
• The broadcasting of a live episode of What Do Kids Know?, a quiz show that pits children against adults.
• A noise complaint that leads to an awkward conversation, and eventually a date between Jim and Claudia.
• Donnie's barroom conversation with an enigmatic and eccentric barfly, and his misguided attempts to woo the braces-wearing bartender, Brad. His love for him results in an attempt to steal money from the employer who fired him to pay for braces that he does not need.
• An interview in which a reporter attempts to penetrate the emotional wall that Frank hides behind.
• The last hours of Earl, which complicate Linda's life with a number of vital decisions and in which a desperate Phil attempts to fulfill Earl's wish to see Frank, the son who despises him.

At the end of the movie, a rare but precedented event occurs: frogs rain from the sky. While the plague of frogs is unexpected, there have been real-life reports of frogs being sucked into waterspouts and raining to the ground miles inland; see raining animals. ^[1]

The movie has an underlying theme of Fortean unexplained events, taken from the 1920s and 1930s works of American intellectual Charles Fort. Fortean author Loren Coleman has written a chapter about this motion picture, entitled "The Teleporting Animals and Magnolia," in one of his recent books. ^[2]The film has many hidden Fortean themes. The fall of frogs is merely one of them. One of Charles Fort's books is visible on the table in the library and there is an end credit thanking Charles Fort. ^[3]

Another explanation could be the scene in which a boy named Dixon tells Jim that "when the sunshine don't work, the good Lord bring the rain in." A Bible verse frequently referenced and alluded to in the film, Exodus 8:2 (NIV), states that "If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs," (In Exodus the frogs are described as simply crawling out of the "waters of Egypt"). Many of the film's other strange occurrences, such as quotes that seem odd or out of place, can be similarly explained (see the link to Cigarettes and Red Vines' Magnolia page below for more information).

There are various references to Exodus 8:2, like when the humidity is recorded to be 82 percent. At the very beginning, the man being hanged bears a sign reading '82'. The plane that kills Darion has '82' painted on the side, and at the poker table, the man asks for a two and gets an 8. In the "Jumping scene" of Sydney Barringer, to the left of Sydney along the roof border, "82" appears to be spelled out in some type of wire formation on the wall, his parents were arguing in room #682, and the forensics meeting is at 8:20. The phone number for "Seduce and Destroy" has 82 in it. At the beginning scene of the show "What Do Kids Know" a fan is seen carrying a sign reading "Exodus 8:2" before an usher [a cameo appearance of the director Paul Thomas Anderson] removes the sign; one of the most concrete references towards that verse in the Bible. During the rain of frogs, a sign reading "Exodus 8:2" can be seen on the side of the street. Also, the Officer Jim's voice mailbox says that his automated answering machine number is "82." Anderson did not originally include these allusions in his screenplay; after Henry Gibson brought the passage to his attention, he worked it into the script.^[4]

Other repeated references to animal rain in the story include at least four different characters in different scenes using the cliche "It's raining cats and dogs." The only character in the story who seems to be unsurprised by the unusual meteorological event is the child prodigy, Stanley. He calmly observes the falling frog silhouettes, saying “This happens”. This has led to the speculation that Stanley is seen as a prophet, allegorically akin to Moses, and that the "slavery" the movie conveys alludes to the exploitation of children by adults. ^[5] These "father issues" persist throughout the movie, as seen with the abuse and neglect of Claudia, Frank and Donnie (as children), Stanley and Dixon (from the deleted scene).

Many essays and other writings have been composed on the themes in Magnolia. Some themes that are often associated with the film include:

• Regret
• The cost of failed relationships as a result of fathers that have failed their children. ^[6] Jimmy to Claudia, Earl to Frank, Stanley to his dad, Donnie to his parents. (While crouched over a toilet Donnie mumbles another explicit Exodus reference saying, ‘The sins of the fathers laid upon the children. Exodus 20:5’)
• Not all events and their results can be controlled, but an individual can control his or her own actions.
• Mistakes of the past cannot simply be erased ^[7].
• Exploitation ^[8]
• The limits of forgiveness

A published version of the shooting script (Newmarket Press, 2001, ISBN 1-55704-406-6) indicates that there was substantial additional material to be incorporated into the film which did not make the final cut. In particular, the character of Dixon, the boy Kurring met while investigating the shots in the first act, returns in a scene in the diner near where Donnie and Jim return the money, with his father (the Worm) in an extended dialogue exchange which indicates that Worm's father is abusive toward both Dixon and himself.

See also: Magnolia (album)

See also: Magnolia (score)

Anderson has stated that the screenplay was written largely around the songs of Aimee Mann.

Two songs were written expressly for the film: "You Do," which was based on a character later cut from the film, and "Save Me," which closes the film; the latter was nominated in the 2000 Academy Awards and Golden Globes and in the 2001 Grammys. Most of the remaining seven Mann songs were demos and works in progress; "Wise Up," which is at the center of a sequence in which all of the characters sing the song, was originally written for the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. At the time Mann's record label had refused to release her songs on an album. Anderson had heard the demos while writing the screenplay. The song that plays at the opening of the film is a cover version of "One" by Harry Nilsson.

Mann's song "Deathly" is also on her album Bachelor No. 2. It features the lyric "Now that I've met you/Would you object to/Never seeing each other again". This is used as line of dialogue in Magnolia, and the song was a major inspiration for the film.

Anderson produced a music video for "Save Me" that featured Mann in the background of what appeared to be scenes from the film, singing to characters. Unlike in many such music videos, there was no digital manipulation involved; the video was shot at the end of filming days with Mann and actors who were asked to stay in place. The video, which contains exactly seven cuts, won the Best Editing award at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and was nominated for Best Music Video from a Film.

The soundtrack album, released in December 1999 on Reprise Records, features the Mann songs, as well as a section of Jon Brion's score and tracks by Supertramp and Gabrielle that were used in the film. Reprise released a full score album in March 2000.

Various spoken lines of the film were used as samples in the Dream Theater song "Honor Thy Father", from their album Train of Thought.

The Magnolia DVD includes a lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary, That Moment. It uses a fly-on-the-wall approach to cover nearly every aspect of production, from production management and scheduling to music direction to special effects. The behind-the-scenes documentary is an in-depth look into Anderson's motivation and directing style. Pre-production included a screening of the film Network, as well as Ordinary People. Several scenes showed Anderson at odds with the child actors and labor laws that restrict their work time. The character of Dixon has further scenes filmed but, from Anderson's reactions, appear not to be working. These scenes were cut completely and have never been shown on DVD.

Actor	Role
Jeremy Blackman	Stanley Spector
Michael Bowen	Rick Spector
Tom Cruise	Frank T.J. Mackey
Melinda Dillon	Rose Gator
Henry Gibson	Thurston Howell
April Grace	Gwenovier
Luis Guzmán	Luis
Philip Baker Hall	Jimmy Gator
Philip Seymour Hoffman	Phil Parma
Felicity Huffman	Cynthia
Thomas Jane	Young Jimmy Gator
Ricky Jay	Burt Ramsey/Narrator
Orlando Jones	Worm
William H. Macy	Quiz Kid Donnie Smith
Alfred Molina	Solomon Solomon
Julianne Moore	Linda Partridge
Michael Murphy	Alan Kligman, Esq.
John C. Reilly	Jim Kurring
Jason Robards	Earl Partridge
Melora Walters	Claudia Wilson Gator

2000 Academy Awards

• Nominated, Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise
• Nominated, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: P.T. Anderson
• Nominated, Best Music, Song: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me"

2000 Berlin Film Festival

• Won, Golden Bear: P.T. Anderson

2000 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

• Nominated, Best Picture

2000 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

• Won, Best Supporting Actor: Tom Cruise
• Nominated, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
• Nominated, Best Picture
• Nominated, Best Screenplay: P.T. Anderson

2000 Golden Globe Awards

• Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Tom Cruise
• Nominated, Best Original Song - Motion Picture: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me"

2001 Grammy Awards

• Nominated, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
• Nominated, Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
• Nominated, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me

2000 Screen Actors Guild Awards

• Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture
• Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Julianne Moore
• Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise

2001 Swedish Film Institute award

• Winner of the Guldbaggen prize as Best Foreign Film of year 2000

1999 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

• Won, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
• Won, Best Picture
• Won, Best Screenplay: P.T. Anderson

1. ^ http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a901207a.html
2. ^ Coleman writes that falls of frogs are more commonplace than often realized. One of the reasons that the skeptical answer (saying all are scooped up in a watersprout) does not hold water is because the falls of frogs or fish are routinely all of one species, instead of a variety of species as would be expected if it was a random sucking up of the contents of a river or lake. Also, watersprouts are rare over the locations of freshwater frogs.
3. ^ ISBN 1-416527-36-2 Mysterious America'
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175880/trivia
5. ^ http://metaphilm.com/philm.php?id=96_0_2_0
6. ^ http://www.sydfield.com/featured_magnolia.htm
7. ^ http://www.tollbooth.org/movies/magnolia.html] (We might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us
8. ^ http://www.movie-page.com/reviews/m/magnolia.htm

• Magnolia: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series), Newmarket Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55704-406-6
• Mysterious America NY: Simon and Schuster, 2007, ISBN 1-416527-36-2

• Official website
• Magnolia at the Internet Movie Database
• cigarettes and red vines: magnolia
• Magnolia at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list

v • d • e Films directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Hard Eight (1996) • Boogie Nights (1997) • Magnolia (1999) • Punch-Drunk Love (2002) • There Will Be Blood (2007)

Preceded by The Thin Red Line

Golden Bear winner 2000

Succeeded by Intimacy