Paul Thomas Anderson just delivered what might be the most enviable wedding gift of all time: a personally curated, six-film marathon played from his own collection at California’s Ojai Playhouse.
The legendary director programmed this cinematic feast for guests recovering from Este Haim’s New Year’s Eve wedding celebration.
Starting at 9 a.m. the morning after the festivities, Anderson’s selections ranged from cult classics to Oscar winners, offering both comfort and artistry to bleary-eyed wedding attendees.
And the lineup? It’s sparked endless conversation about what makes the perfect day-after-wedding film program.
The Morning Kickoff: Punk Rock Energy
Anderson opened with Alex Cox’s 1984 cult classic Repo Man at 9 a.m., an unconventional choice that immediately signals this wasn’t going to be a typical movie marathon.
The punk rock sci-fi comedy about car repossession in Los Angeles offers anarchic energy—perhaps exactly what hungover guests needed to shake off the previous night’s celebrations. Rather than easing viewers in gently, Anderson chose to jolt them awake with one of cinema’s most distinctive oddball masterpieces.
Classic Romance at 11 a.m.
Next came Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca, screening at 11 a.m. and providing the day’s first dose of timeless romance.
Following a wedding celebration with Hollywood’s most beloved love story feels appropriate—even if Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s bittersweet ending offers a different kind of romantic conclusion than Este and her new spouse experienced the night before.
The Afternoon Epic: Three Hours of Kubrick
After a brief break, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon began at 1:30 p.m., demanding guests settle in for three hours of meticulously crafted period drama.
Shot entirely with natural light and featuring some of cinema’s most stunning cinematography, Kubrick’s 1975 masterpiece represents a bold midday choice. The film’s deliberate pacing and painterly compositions require patience and attention—challenging fare for an audience potentially still recovering from champagne toasts.
Yet Anderson’s selection demonstrates confidence in his audience’s cinematic stamina and appreciation for visual artistry.
Evening Thrills with Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s Casino hit screens at 5 p.m., bringing nearly three hours of Las Vegas excess, violence, and marital dysfunction.
The 1995 crime epic offers a stark tonal shift from Barry Lyndon’s measured elegance, injecting the marathon’s later hours with intensity and contemporary edge. Scorsese’s examination of power, greed, and betrayal provides darker thematic territory—perhaps a knowing wink at marriage’s potential complexities following a celebration of its beginning.
Comedy Relief Before Midnight
Mike Nichols’ The Birdcage started at 8:30 p.m., delivering much-needed comedic relief after Casino’s brutal narrative.
The 1996 remake of the French farce La Cage aux Folles centers on family, acceptance, and the chaos of wedding preparations—thematically perfect for an audience that just witnessed nuptials. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane’s performances provide warmth and laughter, lightening the marathon’s mood before its final selection.
The Finale: Full Circle to Weddings
Charles Shyer’s Father of the Bride closed the marathon at 11 p.m., bringing the day’s programming full circle back to wedding celebrations.
Steve Martin’s portrayal of a father struggling with his daughter’s wedding offers both humor and sentiment, creating an emotional bookend to the entire experience. The choice to end rather than begin with wedding-themed content shows Anderson’s sophisticated programming instincts—guests needed distance from the actual ceremony before revisiting similar territory on screen.
What Makes This Lineup Work
Anderson’s selections reveal careful consideration of pacing, tone, and thematic resonance throughout a 14-hour viewing experience.
The program balances genres—punk comedy, classic romance, historical drama, crime thriller, and family comedies—preventing fatigue while maintaining engagement. Notably absent are any of Anderson’s own films, a classy choice that keeps focus on celebration rather than self-promotion.
The marathon includes two remakes (The Birdcage and Father of the Bride), suggesting Anderson’s appreciation for how great filmmakers reinterpret existing stories rather than viewing remakes as inherently inferior.
How to Recreate the Experience at Home
For those inspired to attempt this marathon themselves, the films are widely available across streaming platforms, though not concentrated on any single service.
Streaming availability includes:
- Casablanca streams on HBO Max
- The Birdcage is available free on Tubi, Roku, and Kanopy
- All six films can be rented or purchased through Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV
- Interestingly, none appear on Netflix
Successfully completing this marathon requires stamina, snacks, and ideally a group of friends willing to commit an entire day to cinema.
The Bigger Picture
Anderson’s curated marathon represents more than just post-wedding entertainment—it’s a masterclass in film programming and understanding how cinema can serve specific moments and audiences.
His choices demonstrate that the best viewing experiences consider context, pacing, and emotional arc across multiple films. Rather than simply selecting his favorite movies or crowd-pleasers, Anderson crafted a journey that acknowledged his audience’s physical state while respecting their cinematic sophistication.
For film lovers who weren’t among Este Haim’s wedding guests, recreating this marathon offers a window into Anderson’s curatorial mind and a reminder that sometimes the best way to spend a day involves surrendering completely to great storytelling across decades and genres.