One Reference After Another (Updated 10/25)
An Incomplete List of References, Easter Eggs, and more from One Battle After Another
Vineland was always going to be too hard to adapt, so I stole the parts that spoke to me and just started running like a thief. I guess that’s what all us writers do—we’re fucking thieves. I always liked the structure of Les Misérables. You have a wild and crazy first act, and then you settle into the story, and you must pick up the pieces of the wreckage or you must reckon with the choices you made in the first act. This is a very good dramatic structure. - PTA
After Amy and I walked out of the theater, we had to sit down and talk about One Battle After Another (OBAA). If you haven’t seen it yet, the first few minutes of our conversation are spoiler-free but if you’ve already seen it and want to know more, you’re in the right place.
An Incomplete List of Inspirations/Easter Eggs/References
“I have not seen a movie that is so tonally a relative to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. … You take it both very seriously, but you’re praying for some kind of relief, some kind of a trigger to laugh …” - Speilberg.
On the press tour, PTA and the cast name-check inspirations: The Searchers, Midnight Run, Mad Max, Dog Day Afternoon, Terminator 2, Running on Empty, The Big Lebowski, and Star Wars. Let’s dig for more things you might have missed
BAD HOMBRES?
Early in production, the working title was The Battle of Baktan Cross. When filming wrapped, crew members received gifts printed with “Bad Hombres,” leading many to believe that would be the final title. But when the film was officially announced, it had changed again.
So where did One Battle After Another come from? The phrase is memorably attributed to a statement released in New Left Notes by the Weather Underground, following the Days of Rage protests in Chicago in October 1969
Don’t forget the real business of the War is buying and selling. The murdering and the violence are self-policing, and can be entrusted to non-professionals. The mass nature of wartime death is useful in many ways. It serves as spectacle, as diversion from the real movements of the War. It provides raw material to be recorded into History, so that children may be taught History as sequences of violence, battle after battle, and be more prepared for the adult world. Best of all, mass death’s a stimulus to just ordinary folks, little fellows, to try ’n’ grab a piece of that Pie while they’re still here to gobble it up. The true war is a celebration of markets. Organic markets, carefully styled “black” by the professionals, spring up everywhere.
What’s in a Name?
Thomas Pynchon has always treated names as codes, jokes, and keys to theme. Vineland is full of them: Zoyd Wheeler (restless motion), Frenesi Gates (thresholds and portals), Brock Vond (force and domination). Paul Thomas Anderson clearly pays homage to this in his character names. Perfidia Beverly Hills: “Perfidia” hints at betrayal and moral conflict, while “Beverly Hills” points to surface, class, and spectacle. Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, is a name that literally clenches, tightening like the net closing around the French 75. Then there’s the Sisters of the Brave Beaver, which is both absurd and on the nose, perfectly Pynchonian.
Bedford Forrest Medal of Honor
Lockjaw’s awards is named after the 1st Leader of the KKK and you might even remember Forrest Gump also referenced Nathan Bedford Forrest, with this being the man Forrest was named after.
Battle of Algiers
Bob sits down to watch The Battle of Algiers. Pontecorvo’s 1966 film dramatized Algeria’s anti-colonial war with newsreel realism, and it became the blueprint for how cinema depicts asymmetrical struggle. Anderson borrows from that visual DNA: terse compositions, occupied streets, claustrophobic urban zones. The homage is more than cosmetic it’s a way of pulling that 60s radical urgency into the now. As Vulture put it, Anderson drags the ethos of radical resistance “into Tuesday afternoon in America.” It’s not the same war, but the stakes feel the same.
Vince McMahon’s Million Dollar Strut?
Is it possible that Penn modelled Lockjaw’s walk and general style (hair cut and ill fitting suits) on Vince McMahon?
Also This
From the Opening Credits of Fahrenheit 9/11.
WHY BOB IS BAD AT BRAIDS
Midway thru the film, we come to learn that Bob never knew how to do Willa’s hair correctly, and you can see PTA’s inspiration for that in a quote from his wife Maya Rudolph in the NYT
Rudolph’s father — in her words, a “pretty adorable Jew” — did not know how to do his daughter’s hair after his wife’s death. “So much of my childhood was dealing with my hair and being super embarrassed by it, mainly because I grew up being the only mixed kid,” she said.
Bob’s Whistle
Legendary Banana Pancakes?
In another nod to Pynchon, a Christmas Adventurer casually asks about those legendary banana pancakes. Which is a nod to Gravity’s Rainbow, where the character Pirate Prentice is known for making elaborate “banana breakfasts” which are restorative, almost magical meals that keep his fellow officers going. No matter what battle you are fighting, there is always time for pancakes.
PERFIDIA’S LETTER is REAL
Faaacebones on REDDIT found a Documentary on the WEATHER UNDERGROUND on Youtube
At 1:16:19, we begin to hear a voice over of a woman reciting a letter she wrote to her dad while on the run and living “underground.” The letter from the documentary reads as follows:
“October 19th, 1977. Dear, dad. Hello from the other side of the shadows. I don’t mean to shock you, but I have been contemplating writing you for a long time. First, the good news, which is that you have a second grandson. He had a good birth. No drugs. No problems. And his mom is okay, too. I have been working when I can which is not full time and not nearly enough to support us. Not only do I lack skills and qualifications, I also lack the references and work record fitting my age. All of which become more important with this extreme unemployment. Right now its hard to get a job pushing a broom if you can’t prove you’ve been doing it for ten years. Often I wake up and find it completely inexplicable how and why I am where I am today and disconnected from my family. As I know you wont be out here for a while, I’m finding an address where you can write me directly. Please send me your advice or your reflections on what I should do.”
TITLE AND BOOK COVER HOMAGES
During the crossroads scene in OBAA, Bob drives down S Vineland Road before turning onto the road where the car chase scene takes place (Di Giorgio Rd).
I Know You
Thanks to the Redditor bakailao on BLANKIES Reddit for laying out these amazing Cameos/Crossovers
Jonathan Demme’s son Brooklyn is Sober Rick. PTA is a huge Demme fan and one of his many mentees (I highly recommend listening to this conversation between the two).
French 75’s radio coordinator Howard Summerville is played by Paul Grimstad, who’s best known as the composer of scores for NYC indie films in the Safdie sphere, like Heaven Knows What and The Sweet East.
“Comrade Josh,” who annoys Bob on the phone, is played by Dan Chariton, a screenwriter who (with his wife Staci) co-wrote The English Teacher, a Julianne Moore vehicle.
Speaking of second appearances in PTA movies, everyone’s favorite SNL writer and pod meme Jim Downey plays a Christmas Adventurer, 18 years after playing Al Rose in There Will Be Blood. One of my favorite Jim Downey SNL sketch. He plays Paul McElroy.
Downey is also the Subject of an Upcoming Doc
Fellow John Sayles fans may recognize Sayles troupe member Kevin Tighe as the oldest Christmas Adventurer in that same scene. It’s his first film appearance in over a decade.
And Jena Malone is the voice on the hotline when Bob is first alerted to Lockjaw’s raid
I also noticed April Grace, who grilled Tom Cruise in Magnolia as Gwenovier the TV interviewer, makes a return in One Battle After Another as Sister Rochelle.
Who Was That Guy?
Colonel Danvers (the military interrogator is played by James “Jim” Raterman. This is his 1st acting credit but his bio is intense. Mr. Raterman is a a retired United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent and previously held the positions of Special Agent for the United States Secret Service (USSS). Mr. Raterman has participated in, supervised and directed sensitive and complex domestic and international criminal investigations, critical incident responses, and all facets of presidential and diplomatic protection. He has testified extensively in both federal and state court. Mr. Raterman possesses a TS/SCI clearance and his subject matter expertise includes but is not limited to: money laundering, crimes of violence, threat detection and mitigation; customs/immigration violations and border security.
SELFIE TIME
While there is no phone booth in front of Murphy’s Market, in Eureka…YET. You can bet this will be a selfie spot for years to come.
Bad News for Halloween, you won’t be able to easily find Bob’s bathrobe online, the film’s costume designer, Colleen Atwood, said it was made from old fabric. “I found some vintage-looking fabric and made the multiples I needed for the robe.”
Leonardo DiCaprio chose his One Battle After Another character’s sunglasses because he wanted to look like Boba Fett.
FINDING BOB
From REDDIT USER Adept_Valuable_6813
THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURERS LIVE AT REAGAN’S HOUSE SD - TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR
PTA AND SPIELBERG
MAKE YOUR OWN SOUNDTRACK
In addition to the beautiful score by Johnny Greenwood, here’s a list of the most notable needle drops in the film so make those playlists
Perfidia – Los Panchos
Dirty Work – Steely Dan
Soldier Boy – The Shirelles
Ready or Not (Here I Come) – The Jackson 5
Mo Bamba – Sheck Wes
goosebumps – Travis Scott
Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar) – Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar
Vengo a Aclarar – El Fantasma
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? – Ramsey Lewis Trio
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Remastered) – Ella Fitzgerald, Robert Norberg
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Gil Scott-Heron
American Girl – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Currently there are two Jon Brion tracks that aren’t available
Bunker Bumper & Global Bully Written and performed by Jon Brion,
Andy Jurgensen mentioned this in his interview:
I had to confirm. [Laughs] There’s this incredible section of music that starts with Sean Penn’s erection, a beat that begins and then goes through this sweeping, almost romantic orchestral score that goes through the power outage. It’s not on the soundtrack, but Jon Brion is in the credits. Is that from him?
Yes, it is. It’s a piece of music that Paul had from Jon Brion. I don’t know exactly when [it is from], but it was in the archive. We got the Pro Tools tracks from him and we were able to mix it.
So it wasn’t a track that was specifically recorded for the movie?
It wasn’t recorded for the movie, no. It was a song we licensed. It was in Paul’s archive of songs, unused music.
What is VistaVision & Why Does Giovani Ribisi Love it?
VistaVision was invented in 1954 by Paramount Pictures and popularized by Alfred Hitchcock in To Catch a Thief (1955). It was part of Hollywood’s arms race to lure audiences back from television, promising sharper, richer images. The trick was simple but ingenious: instead of running film vertically through the camera, VistaVision ran it horizontally, doubling the negative size and delivering more detail per frame.
The catch? VistaVision cameras are rare and notoriously temperamental. Enter Giovanni Ribisi. In what he calls a midlife crisis, the actor began restoring old VistaVision rigs and loaned his refurbished gear to Anderson for One Battle After Another. “The last 35 mm camera that was built, the one people really use, was almost 25 years ago,” Ribisi said, worrying that if no one maintains the hardware, formats like VistaVision will vanish. His obsession helped Anderson resurrect one of cinema’s most beautiful but fragile tools.
Until One Battle After Another, the last major film shot entirely in VistaVision was One-Eyed Jacks (released in 1961). There are only 4 Vistavision Projectors in the US (and only 3 open to the public the 4th is on the WB lot)
The Gaffer Speaks
ADVERTISING A MOVIE THAT’S HARD TO DESCRIBE
DiCaprio: You are considered a very art-house director. Would you call it that? What do you call it?
Anderson: Well, there’s no need to be insulting.
DiCaprio: No, what’s the term? You don’t do incredibly commercial movies, let’s put it that way. You are a writer, director. You have your own vision. What’s the term?
Anderson: Box-office challenged?
With a budget reportedly in the $130–140 million range, One Battle After Another couldn’t afford to be positioned as only an awards-season darling. Most of the marketing is letting you know it’s serious but NOT an Art Film.
It had to pull people into theaters. That pressure has led to some big, sometimes bizarre press moves from DiCaprio’s first talk show appearance in 20 Years to Fortnite skins and Monday Night Football tie-ins.
The notoriously press shy DiCaprio made his podcast debut on the Kelce Brothers’ New Heights. Where he revealed a potentially very different career for himself,
“I finally got an agent. They said, ‘Your name is too ethnic.’ I go, ‘What do you mean? It’s Leonardo DiCaprio?’ They go, ‘No, too ethnic. They’ll never hire you.’ So my agent said, ‘Your new name is Lenny Williams.’”
In addition to the press there tie-ins like the Monday Night Football Commercial with Peyton Manning.
But one of the most odd tie-ins was a FORNITE SKINS. Finally Fortnite’s revolution will be televised.
This is a great breakdown of the game and the PTA mini games inside the OBAA main game
I personally love they even rolled out exclusive swag for influencers jackets, hats, sun glasses and beards on a stick. Which are already flipping for high prices on eBay.
Is it working? The Financial success remains to be seen but it defied expectations on Opening Weekend coming in at 22.4M US/48M Global and the Critical Consensus is overwhelming with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes as well as the very rare ‘A’ CinemaScore. It’s currently Dicaprio’s 11th film to open above 20 Mill and PTA’s career-best opening weekend.
AMY REFLECTS ON ONE BATTLE
In her LA Times review, Amy nails what makes One Battle After Another feel less like a spectacle and more like a wound: Anderson resists clean endings. She writes, “He doesn’t … let us know if everyone is OK. … To knot these plot threads together would imply a sense of finality that he doesn’t believe in.” Read the Rest Here
It’s one been a few days after release, I’m sure we’ll be talking about this film and dissecting all the little details that make it great all the way up to awards season.
GET TICKETS to see Paul on Tour in November in DC, Boston, Philly and NYC with Jason Mantzoukas Brooklyn 99), Edi Patterson (Righteous Gemstones), Danielle Schneider (Garbage World), Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital) Mary Holland (Ghosts), and Owen Burke (Funny or Die)
Paul’s Book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is avail wherever you get your books and if you want it personalized, click here
the movie had me so buzzy afterward, I needed all the insider intel. thanks for pulling it all together!
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