Is this the WORLD'S BICCCST Paul Thomas Anderson fan?
On the scene with Flowers Foster
With the release of his new film Licorice Pizza, celebrated American auteur Paul Thomas Anderson is back once more as the name on everybody’s lips. You love him, we love him, even your parents love him. But do you love him to the level that you would describe yourself as his all-time biggest fan? Under the grey skies of Seattle, WA we meet Quebec Farnsworth, a sophomore at University of Washington where he’s the president of Delta AV and Cinematograph Society and the self-proclaimed Biggest Paul Thomas Anderson Fan in the Whole World. We enter his dorm room where he shows us his most prized possession: a bespoke selection of PTA-themed Craft Beers which he has hand-brewed, named and designed.
LWLies: Quebec, thank you for opening your doors to us.
Farnsworth: Yeah, sure. I’m just glad to get a chance to talk about my man Paul. Do you think he’ll read this?
I’m sure of it. Let’s start with how you first became aware of his work.
That’s a great story. I must’ve been, like, in elementary school. I could hear my parents watching something in the living room so I snuck in. And on the screen was a woman I later discovered to be Julianne Moore. I had no idea what it was but I knew I wanted to see more. The film was, of course, Boogie Nights. The next day I snatched the tape and hid it in my room so I could watch it myself. My dad was so mad because he had to return it to Blockbuster and pay a fine [laughs for three minutes]. Then I just started following his work in high school, reading up on him and became really into his films. He’s not like other guys out there, you know? I mean, he dropped out of film school ’cause his professor didn’t like Terminator, that’s so cool. To me he is the People’s Director. He really is one of us.
How wonderful! Now, I have to mention the spread you prepared for us today. For our readers at home, Quebec has about 20 bottles of beer on his desk, all adorned with characters from PTA’s films. Tell us how you came to make beer inspired by PTA?
Well, I started making my own craft beer at home when I was 17. My dad’s a big beer guy so I thought it’d be a nice surprise. Then I started college and joined the film club. No one wanted to be in charge of it so I took over. I decided to do a retrospective of PTA’s work but couldn’t come up with any fun ideas to promote it. Then I went home for Christmas, saw the old crafting gear in the garage and it dawned upon me: PTA Craft Beer. It wasn’t easy to sneak the stuff into the dorm, but I succeeded by smuggling it through the window in some tubs I stole from a pall
