There Will Be Blood (2007): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Two weeks in, Anderson replaced the actor playing Eli Sunday (Kel O'Neill) with Paul Dano, who had originally been cast only in the much smaller role of Paul Sunday, the brother who tipped off Plainview about the oil on the Sunday ranch.
• In 2024, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino named it one of the best films of the 21st century, although, in the following year, he criticized Dano's performance and instead wanted to replace Austin Butler as a better choice if he had to pick the best.
• Anderson, who had said that he would like to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, wrote the screenplay with Day-Lewis in mind and approached Day-Lewis when the script was nearly complete.
• Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's camera is as crucial to the film's hypnotic pull as the performance at its center.
• Inspired by the novel, Anderson contacted Schlosser and adapted the first 150 pages to a screenplay.
• Principal photography began in June 2006 on a ranch in Marfa, Texas, and took three months.
• And the images captured by Robert Elswit, a genius of camera and lighting, made visual poetry out of an oil well consumed by flame.
• The film was tied for 122nd place in the 2022 Sight and Sound critic's poll.
• Development on There Will Be Blood began after writer Eric Schlosser purchased the film rights to Sinclair's novel in 2004.
• The film went on to make $40.2 million in North America and $36 million in the rest of the world, with a worldwide total of $76.2 million, well above its $25 million budget; however, the prints and advertising cost for the film's United States release cost about $40 million.
• The film was released on December 26, 2007, in New York City and Los Angeles where it grossed US$190,739 on its opening weekend.
• The film then opened in 885 theaters in selected markets on January 25, 2008, grossing $4.8 million on its opening weekend.
• Principal photography began in June 2006 and lasted until that September, with filming locations including Los Angeles and Marfa, Texas.
• The first public screening of There Will Be Blood was on September 29, 2007, at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.
• The film's music was composed by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

Source: Wikipedia

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