--- description: The American Genre Film Archive needs your help title: Paul Thomas Anderson Works With American Genre Film Archive: Watch image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40c8a2efac284d79/6986825fd0b6f2b201302e7e/china_valentine_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Help Paul Thomas Anderson and Nicholas Winding Refn Save the Movies by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2014 4:02 PM CUT  A Chinese cinema audience watches a movie through 3D glasses A Chinese cinema audience watches a movie through 3D glassesChinaFotoPress—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2014 4:02 PM CUT You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of — let alone seen— _The Astrologer_. The film, an “auto-biopic,” was realized and self-financed by real life-astrologer Craig Denny, released in 1975 and rarely seen since. Now, the [American Genre Film Archive,](http://americangenrefilm.com/ "undefined") along with board members Paul Thomas Anderson and Nicholas Winding Refn, are working to save the film for posterity. Much to-do has been made in cinematic circles about the need preserve the films shot on 35mm film and now at risk of degrading to the point of disappearing. Both New York’s Museum of Modern Art and UCLA’s film archives have made great strides in preserving the important films of the bygone pre-digital age. But when it comes to _less_ important films like _The Astrologer_ and its ilk, few have stepped up to save them — until now. The American Genre Film Archive — which was founded with the mission of preserving “horror, sleaze, action, and independent regional filmmaking,” “regardless of ‘artistic’ merit” — has set up [an Indiegogo campaign](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-american-genre-film-archive#home "undefined") in the hopes of saving even more of these so-called orphan films. AGFA, which is home to many rare titles, including films that can’t be lent out because only one copy exists, is looking to film buffs around the world to help raise the funds necessary to preserve 2,000 films, including some of the rarest titles in their archive. AGFA will also create digital duplicates of the films to help fulfill their mission of sharing these films with the world. [Get involved here](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-american-genre-film-archive#home "undefined"). \[via [The AV Club](http://www.avclub.com/article/get-involved-internet-help-nicholas-winding-refn-a-203971?utm%5Fsource=Twitter&utm%5Fmedium=SocialMarketing&utm%5Fcampaign=Default:1:Default "undefined")\] **MORE**: [Robert Redford’s Protip for Aspiring Auteurs](http://time.com/74840/robert-redfords-protip-for-aspiring-auteurs/ "undefined") **MORE**: [Five Movies You’ll Be Hearing About from This Year’s Cannes Film Festival](http://time.com/66391/cannes-most-anticipated-movies/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/82490/paul-thomas-anderson-nicholas-refn-movies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/82490/paul-thomas-anderson-nicholas-refn-movies/"},"headline":"Help Paul Thomas Anderson and Nicholas Winding Refn Save the Movies","datePublished":"2014-04-30T16:02:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:36:57.815Z","description":"The American Genre Film Archive needs your help","url":"https://time.com/82490/paul-thomas-anderson-nicholas-refn-movies/","keywords":["movies","film"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40c8a2efac284d79/6986825fd0b6f2b201302e7e/china_valentine_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40c8a2efac284d79/6986825fd0b6f2b201302e7e/china_valentine_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"china_valentine_0214","caption":"A Chinese cinema audience watches a movie through 3D glasses","creditText":"ChinaFotoPress—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/82490/paul-thomas-anderson-nicholas-refn-movies/","name":"Help Paul Thomas Anderson and Nicholas Winding Refn Save the Movies"}}]}] ```