Wes Anderson… has a very special kind of talent: He knows how to convey the simple joys and inteactions between people so well and with such richness. This kind of sensibility is rare in movies. ~ Martin Scorsese

The Rushmore Academy was founded in 2001 as a fan site for Wes Anderson’s sophomore film Rushmore.

(original site banner)

With the release of The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, we began the tradition of enshrining each Wes Anderson in our hallowed halls. In 2007, we shifted the focus of our content and energies to a blog format.

A Squad (Editors):

Edward Appleby, Founder and Editor, is a friend of a friend. He was introduced to film (real film, that is) through Wes Anderson’s second film Rushmore during the summer before college. His life was never the same again. He continues his work designing and editing the site into its second decade of existence. Edward lives by the water, somewhere on the East Coast, and is with child (don’t worry, it’s out).

Edward’s favorite Wes Anderson films (so far) are Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited.

Nick, Editor and Contributor, joined Team Zissou , The Rushmore Academy in the summer of 2009 and has been not so consistently starting up series, and putting together videos. In addition to his C+ work on the site, he helps out at Not Coming’s “Stills,” posts yearly on his own blog, and tumbls too much, though he should probably be trying harder to score chicks. That’s all anyone really cares about. He currently resides about ten minutes by Gypsy Cab from the house on Archer Avenue and is sick of these dolphins.

Nick’s favorite Wes Anderson films: All the ones he made from (and including) Bottle Rocket to Moonrise Kingdom.

Gloria Dube, Editor and Contributor, has always wanted to be a Tenenbaum, but it doesn’t mean what it used to. Her first Anderson film was The Royal Tenenbaums and when you find something you love to do, you gotta do it for the rest of your life; for her, it’s watching Wes Anderson films and getting to blog about them. She visited the house on Archer Avenue in the winter of her 25th year. Gloria lives in Washington, DC and is scrapping and yelling and mixing it up, and loving every minute with this damn crew. 

Gloria’s top three favorite WA films are The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, and Moonrise Kingdom.

This is my adopted daughter, Margot Tenenbaum, Editor and Contributor. She was first captivated by The Royal Tenenbaums while attending a Rushmore-like high school where she spent too much time starting clubs and putting on plays. These days, when she’s not contributing to The Rushmore Academy and the Rushmore Academy tumblr, she enjoys her life on the West Coast running a book club, making spotify playlists and doing her own tumblring and tweeting.

Margot’s top three favorite WA films are: Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, and Life Aquatic.

Unpaid Interns (Contributors):

Kingsley Zissou, Contributor, is just another unpaid intern lucky enough to be a part of this pack of strays. Kingsley entered the wonderful world of Wes Anderson via The Life Aquatic and hasn’t been the same since. He was fortunate to meet Wes at the New York Film Festival and can confidently say that the only thing more impressive than his films is the man himself. A perfect blend of genius, humility, emotion and eccentricity—not unlike so many of his memorable characters—Wes and the worlds he imagines are undeniably sublime. When Kingsley is not living vicariously through a Wes Anderson movie or soundtrack— me gusta David Bowie in Portuguese —he is either working with his own unpaid interns, drumming in a polka band, or reading a book in one hand while drinking a campari in the other.

Kingsley’s favorite Wes Anderson films are The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Bottle Rocket.