Director Paul Thomas Anderson and producer Sara Murphy both mentioned first assistant director Adam Sumner in their speeches.

One Battle After Another filmmakers pay tribute to late crew member in Golden Globe win

Director Paul Thomas Anderson and producer Sara Murphy both mentioned first assistant director Adam Sumner in their speeches.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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January 12, 2026 12:11 a.m. ET

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'One Battle After Another' wins Golden Globes for Best Picture — Comedy or Musical. Credit:

As *One Battle After Another* took home prime awards at the Golden Globes, the filmmakers paid tribute to one of their own, Adam Somner, their first assistant director, who died at 57 this past November.

The principal cast and crew took the stage at the Globes in the climax of the night to receive the award for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy.

"I want to agree with Paul that this has been one of the most incredible filmmaking experiences, once in a lifetime, due largely in part to the person that we share this award with, the late Adam Sumner, who we miss every day," producer Sara Murphy said alongside director Paul Thomas Anderson and stars Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, and Chase Infiniti.

Teyana Taylor in 'One Battle After Another'.

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

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Somner became a go-to first AD not just for Anderson but also for Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott. Aside from *One Battle After Another*, he worked on the films *Blitz*, *Killers of the Flower Moon*, *West Side Story*, *Licorice Pizza*, *Ford v Ferrari*, and *Ready Player One,* all in the last decade.

Somner died from anaplastic thyroid cancer on Nov. 27 last year.

When Anderson won the Golden Globe for Best Director earlier in the night, he also paid tribute to his fallen crew member. The entire film *One Battle After Another* honors Somner with a dedication in the end credits.

Teyana Taylor accepts Golden Globe for 'One Battle After Another'.

Kevork Djansezian/CBS via Getty

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"There's an unfortunate title to the people that we work with, 'assistant director,' 'cause that's inaccurate," Anderson said during his Best Director speech. "If you get a good one, like I had — I had the best one, his name was Adam Sumner, a lot of you in this room might know 'em, Steven [Spielberg] knows 'em — it's underselling it, what he did for me and for us and for this film. He's why I'm standing here. He's what made making this film so much fun. I think it helped make you all seem to enjoy it the way that you have, and thank you very much for this affectionate award."

Earlier in the night, Taylor took home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical. She stars in *One Battle After Another* as Perfidia, a member of the revolutionary group the French 75.

"I almost didn't even write a speech because I didn't think I would get this," she said during an emotional speech in accepting the award. "Oh my babies! My babies are upstairs watching, y'all better be off those damn phones and watching me right now." **

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