PTA and Safdie Slip Into Carnegie Hall With Cameras Rolling
Paul Thomas Anderson and Benny Safdie quietly turned Cameron Winter’s Carnegie Hall debut into an impromptu film set, according to attendees who spotted the directors shooting the Geese frontman’s performance on Panavision gear.
Attendees described Anderson rolling out a large camera rig mid-performance(during “Nina” and “Field of Cops”) before setting up a balcony shot that reportedly ran for the entire show. For some, the reveal landed only after the fact. “I had no idea I was witnessing Paul Thomas Anderson,” one attendee wrote, while another added they were “chuckling to myself when the camera rolled up.”
As far as details go, nothing was shared, but one commentor did mention seeing PTA and his wife Maya as VIPs at the LA show. After the show, PTA signed a 7-inch after the show, but answered no questions. Is this the start of a music video, a documentary, or something else entirely?
Music Video, Documentary, or Something Else?
The Carnegie Hall surprise also follows the release of Winter’s latest music video, Love Takes Miles. Directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall and starring Lucas Hedges, the video features choreography created by Rowlson-Hall in collaboration with Hedges. Mia Lidofsky and Adele Romanski produced the project, further underscoring that Winter’s solo rollout is operating at a distinctly film-forward scale.
Anderson has done music videos in the past (like Joanna Newsom’s “Divers”), but the concert setting feels distinctly documentary. Throwing Safdie in the mix muddles it further. Both are in the Oscar race this year, so could it be for performance on Oscar night? It could just as well be part of a concert film ala Stop Making Sense, or it could just be a pet project between friends. We’ll have to wait and see.
