The only companion book to Paul Thomas Anderson's
acclaimed 1999 film, Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay includes the
complete shooting script, introduction and script notes by Anderson, an
interview with the writer/director, and complete cast and crew credits.

Anderson deliberately withheld information about his new
film during production because "I feel lately as if I know everything about a
movie before I see it, and I really want the audience to discover this purely."
Featuring an ensemble cast and, in an unbilled role, Tom Cruise (who called
Anderson to express interest in working with him), the film is now described by
New Line as follows:
There are stories of coincidence and chance and
intersections and strange things told. There is the story of a Dying Father,
the Young Wife, his Lost Son, the Caretaker, the Boy Genius, his Father, the
Game Show Host, the Daughter, the Mother, the Ex-Boy Genius and the Police
Officer in Love.
There are nine plots that tell one story, set in the San
Fernando Valley on a day full of rain with no clouds.
Along with the story of a pharmacist in London, a scuba
diver and an accidental suicide, this is the story of "Magnolia."