By Arthur Flynn
There will Be Blood was an epic American period drama. It dealt with greed, capitalism and ruthlessness of oilman Daniel Plainview and his conflict with a young preacher over religion and faith. It spanned the period from 1898 – 1927.
The film was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel Oil by Upton Sinclair. The producers were Paul Thomas Anderson, Jo Anne Sellar and Daniel Lupi. Anderson was then on the fringe of show-business and this was an ambitious undertaking.
The $25 million production had a strong production team headed by cinematographer Robert Elswit, music by Jonny Green wood and editor Dylan Tichenor. The distributors were Paramount and Miramax Films.
Daniel Day Lewis had liked Anderson’s earlier film Punch Drunk Love and he signed up very quickly. At this stage he was very particular about the roles he accepted. He rejected more than he accepted.
Despite this big name the production found it a problem to raise finance. It took two years to raise the total budget.
Along with Daniel Day Lewis playing Daniel Plainview the cast also included Paul Dano as Eli Sunday, Dillon Freasier as H W Plainview, Ciaran Hinds as Fletcher and Kevin J O’Connor as Hena. As with his other films Day Lewis remained in character on and off the set. His character appeared to have no redeeming feature and was despised by everyone.