From the Guardian, full interview after the break.
Portrait of the artist: Wes Anderson, film director
Interview by Laura Barnett
What got you started?
Filming thrillers and jungle chases on Super 8 when I was about 10. I was trying to imitate Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars and, above all, Hitchcock. Watching The Man Who Knew Too Much made me realise that there was such a thing as a director.
What was your big breakthrough?
Making my first proper short, Bottle Rocket, with Owen Wilson on 16mm film when I was 23. Nobody was interested in it except [director and producer] James L Brooks, who picked it up and let us turn it into a full-length movie.
What have you sacrificed for your art?
Well, I’m 40 and I don’t have children yet. I do want to have them: perhaps I already would, if I wasn’t so involved with these movies.
Dave Poland at Movie City News has a rather informal, half-hour interview with Wes on the Awards campaign trail. Click on the image below to find the interview, it will load automatically in Quicktime.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX director/co-writer/producer Wes Anderson sat down with Fox Searchlight’s own lovely Stephanie Allen, the basis of a video series in which Wes discusses various aspects of how FANTASTIC MR. FOX came to fruition. And the film’s now been nominated for two Academy Awards! Watch all eight videos here.
So as you may have read on our twitter page (@RushmoreAcademy), Wes was one of the names rumoured to be on Sony’s wishlist of directors for their proposed Spiderman reboot before Marc Webb was chosen. Jeff Loveness has made a parody video based on that possibility, it is below.
This morning it was announced that Fantastic Mr. Fox received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Animated Feature and another for Best Original Score. This is the second nomination Wes has received, after receiving a Best Original Screenplay nomination with Owen Wilson in 2002. But what are Fantastic Mr. Fox’s chances come Oscar time? We’ll take a look at that and get Wes’ reaction to the nominations after the break.
Last night Wes accepted the Best Animated Film award for Fantastic Mr. Fox from the New York Film Critics Circle, video of George Clooney’s introduction and Wes’ speech below.
If the video goes down, here are two reports on the evening from The New York Times.
