JoAnne Sellar Director of Photography. On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story. Through a collusion of coincidence, chance, human action, shared media, past history and divine intervention they will weave and warp through each other's lives on a day that builds to an unforgettable climax. Some will seek forgiveness, others escape. Some will mend frayed bonds, others will be exposed.
Magnolia is a mosaic of American life woven through a series of comic and poignant vignettes.
It is a portrait of a lonely city sometimes called up short on love. It is a personal exploration of the hidden elements of crisis. It is a story about putting things right again. But his plans went somewhat askew as characters beget other characters and the story blossomed into a complex tapestry of human frailty and universal chaos. It just took 200 pages and 90 days to get the right amount of small and intimate.