Paul Thomas Anderson wins best director Oscar for One Battle After Another

Anderson wins for film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary, taking Oscar in this category for the first time Paul Thomas Anderson has won the Oscar for best director for One Battle After Another at the 98th Academy Awards. This marks the much-admired director’s second ever Oscar, following his win earlier in the evening for best adapted screenplay. He has been nominated three times previously for best director, for There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza. “There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it,” said Anderson, “but there is no question at the pleasure of having it for myself.” He added: “I’m here because of people’s faith in me – that give me their faith and their time, and that’s the best part about being on a film crew, is being with people. We need each other. This is a wonderful gift, and I’m so happy to call the movies home. This is really terrific. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love it.” Anderson, 55, defeated a strong field of Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value. A loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, One