GOLD STANDARD

PROFILING OSCAR WINNERS PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, JESSIE BUCKLEY AND MICHAEL B. JORDAN

- STORY: ANDREW MARSZAL, PETER MURPHY AND ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES / AFP

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has often been on the outside looking in during an eclectic career of boundary-pushing filmmaking, but he received the ultimate insider's accolade last Sunday - the Oscar for best director of his acclaimed One Battle After Another.

The Los Angeles native has long been a critical darling, with a raft of previous Academy Award nominations dating back to his breakout film Boogie Nights and including his last feature Licorice Pizza.

But One Battle After Another with an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Teyana Taylor - has proved unstoppable during awards season.

Anderson also took home the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay and shared the Oscar for best picture as a producer.

"I'm so happy to call the movies home," Anderson told the audience.

With One Battle After Another, a quirky tale about a pot-addled revolutionary who must get back into the game to rescue his daughter, the 55-year-old Anderson bested Chloe Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value and Ryan Coogler for Sinners.

The filmmaker had already won a BAFTA, a Critics Choice Award, a Golden Globe and a Directors Guild Award in the run-up to the Academy Awards.