Paul Thomas Anderson Dedicates First Oscar Win to His Children in Emotional Speech

Accepting the award, Anderson thanked author Thomas Pynchon, whose 1990 novel Vineland inspired the film, and acknowledged the support of his family.

"Thank you very, very much," he began. "I'm incredibly honored to be part of this history. This is an adaption, so I owe a huge debt of admiration and love to Thomas Pynchon. Any writer knows that you either beg for forgiveness or your special thanks is really to your family and the people that you share a roof with who put up with what it means to live with a writer," Anderson said, according to Deadline.

He also expressed gratitude to his wife, actress and comedian Maya Rudolph, before turning his attention to his children.

Anderson said he wrote the film with a message for the next generation. "I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world we're handing off to them, but also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency," he said, mentioning his children Pearl, Lucille, Jack and Ida, according to Deadline.

The sweeping drama, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was among the major contenders at this year's Oscars and also received nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.

During the ceremony, actor Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor, while Amy Madigan took home the award for Best Supporting Actress, beating nominee Teyana Taylor. Casting director Cassandra Kulukundis also won the inaugural Oscar for casting for her work on the film, according to Deadline.

- ANI