Paul Thomas Anderson’s partnership with cinematographer Robert Elswit — one of his most consistent creative collaborators, and the Oscar-winning DP on films such as There Will Be Blood — publicly frayed around the production of Phantom Thread (principal photography began January 2017). Elswit was notably absent during that production, and despite talk that Anderson himself assumed some of the camera duties, Elswit took no cinematography credit. The split became explicit when, on February 16, 2019, Elswit announced he would not work with Anderson on future projects. For a director whose visual style is closely associated with a steadycam‑based long‑take aesthetic, the end of a decade‑plus collaboration with his primary cinematographer was a striking behind‑the‑scenes rupture with real creative and professional consequences.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2010s
A Long Collaboration Ends: The Phantom Thread Rift Between Paul Thomas Anderson and Robert Elswit
Phantom Thread / Robert Elswit / 2010s
Paul Thomas Anderson’s partnership with cinematographer Robert Elswit — one of his most consistent creative collaborators, and the Oscar-winning DP on films such as There Will Be Blood — publicly frayed around the production of Phantom Thread (principal photography began January 2017). Elswit was notably absent during that production, and despite talk that Anderson himself assumed some of the camera duties, Elswit took no cinematography credit. The split became explicit when, on February 16, 2019, Elswit announced he would not work with Anderson on future projects. For a director whose visual style is closely associated with a steadycam‑based long‑take aesthetic, the end of a decade‑plus collaboration with his primary cinematographer was a striking behind‑the‑scenes rupture with real creative and professional consequences.
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