There Will Be Blood Screenplay

Daniel Plainview is an ambitious oil prospector who builds a drilling empire in early twentieth-century California. His pursuit of wealth and control brings him into conflict with Eli Sunday, a local preacher seeking influence in Little Boston.

Paul Thomas Anderson's screenplay is loosely inspired by Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!, especially its oil-boom setting and conflict between business power and religion. Daniel Plainview and the screenplay's darker story are substantially different from Sinclair's original characters and plot.

Daniel and Eli compete for authority over Little Boston, with Daniel using money and oil development while Eli uses religion and public performance. Their rivalry becomes personal after Daniel humiliates Eli and later uses the church's language against him.

The final scene shows Daniel in his private bowling alley after his wealth has isolated him from ordinary life. His confrontation with Eli ends with the line about milkshakes and confirms that his business victory has become a portrait of destructive obsession.