Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English director, writer, and producer.
Describing himself as a "populist filmmaker", Anderson has carved out a niche in the business of modestly budgeted genre action films. His first major breakthrough was directing Mortal Kombat (1995), and he has since been involved with several other video-game inspired movies, particularly the Resident Evil (Film Series), with which his name is more or less synonymous.
He's also known for his marriage to his leading lady Milla Jovovich, whom he met while filming Resident Evil (2002). She has starred in almost all of his subsequent films, nine in total so far. One of the couple's three daughters, Ever, is also an actress.
He is not to be confused with actor Paul Anderson or directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson, or with science fiction author Poul Anderson.
Films
- Shopping
- DOA: Dead or Alive (producer only)
- Mortal Kombat (1995)
- Event Horizon
- Soldier
- Resident Evil (Film Series) (also writer/producer on all films in the franchise):
- Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- Death Race (2008)
- The Three Musketeers (2011)
- Pompeii
- Monster Hunter (2020)
- In the Lost Lands
Anderson's work provide examples of:
- Action Genre: Most of the films he directed are usually some variation of action (often mixed with Fantasy, Science Fiction and/or Horror).
- Jitter Cam: Like Michael Bay, Anderson is (in)famous for his use of this trope, which, combined with fast cutting, makes it hard to tell what is going on in some scenes.
- Sequel Hook: Of his directorial efforts, all but Pompeii (obviously) have some variation on Bolivian Army Ending, The End... Or Is It?, or And the Adventure Continues. Fortunately for him, almost all have been followed up on at some point, for better or worse. Despite this tendency in his work, he rarely directs the sequels himself (even with Resident Evil where he later returned to direct some of the sequels, he skipped out on directing the second and third films).