Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody will be on AMC’s Shootout Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 11.00 a.m.

A few clips:

Help get/keep The Darjeeling Limited on the Yahoo! Buzz Index of most popular searches by clicking here.

Wes and Jason were on CBC’s The Hour last night (video). Wes promised that Hotel Chevalier will be added to The Darjeeling Limited print in Canada.

Ain’t It Cool has a great interview with Wes and Jason, including Wes’ confirmation of a Criterion Collection edition of Bottle Rocket. Some highlights:

[about this]. Roman said they are both very smart, and he really liked them. And the old man said that he liked these brothers, that the movie is from their point of view traveling through India. And she doesn’t like them, but she also felt that the film exploited people in India. And I always feel like, that makes me unhappy to hear anybody say that because we went to India because I was fascinated with this country. We fell in love with it. We are tourists there; that’s all we can ever be there. But we’re tourists who are very interested in this culture and learning about it. It’s a place where people who go there and like it tend to love it, and the people who love it tend to want to go back. There is more religion, more variety of religion, more practice of religion, more rituals there than any place else I’ve ever experienced. I think that’s why people go on pilgrimages there because it’s a place where, if you’re open to it and interested it will genuinely have quite and impact on you just because of the intensity of the place. I’ve always found that I had very emotional experiences there, but then you get sensitive and wonder if that sounds kind of naive. I don’t know. I just hate to sound self-protective and defensive; I’d rather just express our real feelings about it….

It’s taken us a long time to get this [Fantastic Mr. Fox] going, but we finally got it going. Noah Baumbach and I adapted it. George Clooney is going to play Mr. Fox. We’ve just started working on it in England, and it’s going. We have a guy named Mark Gustafson directing the animation. Henry [THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS] Selick was going to do it originally but over time that didn’t work out because Henry has his own thing he’s directing [CORALINE, based on Neil Gaiman's novel]….

I think the closest thing to compare it to is that Eastern European stuff, because the animals are going to have fur, and the sets are meant to look kind of like real life. So it’s more in the vein….

[about the Criterion Collection DVD] That’s right. We just have to do a lot of work to prepare it, but that’s in the works. I was supposed to do a bunch of stuff already that I didn’t do yet, so I’m going to get on it though. But some of the stuff is at my mother’s house in Texas, so I have to go to Texas and dig through all my boxes, because there’s materials for the movies that I haven’t looked at in a long, long time. And we want to try and include everything that might be good….

Jason’s new album Nighttiming is available as an MP3 download on Amazon.com. Buy it here — it supports the site.

Go see The Darjeeling Limited this weekend, newly available in 13 new markets this weekend! Also be sure to join our community forum, the Yankee Racers.

• Jason Schwartzman was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday. According to Jason, he and Wes Anderson will be traveling the country by train to promote The Darjeeling Limited. Back in 1999, Wes and Jason traveled the U.S. on a big yellow bus to promote Rushmore (“On the Road” from the Archive).
  • Jason on Jimmy Kimmel, Part I (YouTube)
  • Jason on Jimmy Kimmel, Part II (You Tube)
• Jason also talked about his new album, Nighttiming, available at youngbabyrecords.com. We are ordering our copy, and we hope you do, too. The cover reminds me of the Hotel Chevalier:
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• The kids over at Fox Searchlight have posted some really great production videos on the official site:

Send your reports and photos to edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces).

• NYFF Press Conference with Wes and the gang
  
• “Brothers, and Their Baggage, in India” (review) form the New York Times

MTV.com is reporting that Bottle Rocket will “get Criterion treatment at last.” Of course, these rumors have been flying around for years, but we really hope it is true this time.

Add this fun widget to your social networking page…

On to more reviews…

Newsweek calls Darjeeling a “return to form.”

Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com on Darjeeling (keep in mind it’s the first Anderson film she doesn’t dislike):

“Shows flashes of raw feeling. The picture is just naked enough that you want to wrap a blanket around it. . . “The Life Aquatic” met with a less-than-rapturous response even from many loyal Anderson admirers. And so to his credit, Anderson tries to push into new territory with “The Darjeeling Limited.”

But reserves her highest praise for Hotel Chevalier:

“Short films are exceedingly difficult to pull off, but Anderson has made one that’s very close to perrfect.“

New Jersey Star Ledger:

“Had he been born two generations earlier, Anderson probably would have made some great screwball comedies. . .Taken as a whole, it’s incontrovertible evidence of Anderson’s own free-wheeling talent.” – Stephen Whitty

Filmcritic.com:

“The auteur’s best work to date. The use of songs by the Kinks, the Marc Jacobs designs, the dazed pastels; its all Anderson to a T, but it’s the first time these elements have allowed Anderson to roam free, rather than cooping him up inside.” – Chris Cabin

IGN:

“Anderson’s last film, The Life Aquatic, received deservedly mixed reviews — it had many, many great qualities along with its shortcomings — but almost all of them observed that he was sort of teetering on a precipice, in danger of falling too deeply in love with his font sizes, color schemes and quirky characterizations. Darjeeling is a response to that: Not only an acknowledgement of the dangers of indulging his most idiosyncratic impulses, he rightly points out that even in a carefully-constructed environment things have a way of falling messily out of order, and often to even more profound effect.

The Darjeeling Limited, by comparison, feels like a more comfortable fit than its predecessor — a newcomer that possesses almost all of the qualities of former companions, but offers the promise of new and even more interesting opportunities in the future. As far as coming-of-age experiences go, this is undoubtedly my favorite thus far of 2007 – cinematic or otherwise.” – Todd Gilchrist

Cinematical:

“It’s the chemistry between Schwartzmen, Brody and Wilson that really takes the film up a notch. . . Though it might seem odd to hear, the film succeeds because a lot of the details are left out. Anderson cut entire scenes (in which, I imagine, backstory was explained) in order to let the audience come to their own conclusions. . . like the three main characters, we’re asked to search for them and, thankfully, they’re not handed to us on a silver platter.” – Erik Davis

Susan Granger:

“A spicy, lyrical cinematic feast, slyly written by Anderson, Schwartzman (Talia Shire’s son) and oman Coppola (Francis’s son) – with a terrific score and cameos by Ifan Khan and Bill Murray.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Darjeeling Limited” is a poignant, peripatetic 8.”

Filmiholic:

“See it. It’s mood altering, in a positive way, in spite of some of the darkness that Anderson touches on. The soundtrack is excellent (Bombay Talkie and Rolling Stones), and not since Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint shared a sleeper on the 20th Century Limited has rail travel been so sexy.“

New York Sun has a great piece on the film:

“Even among the gathered members of the press waiting for Mr. Anderson’s arrival at a recent “Darjeeling” press day, there was conjecture as to where this sudden dramatic streak came from. Was it his attempt to spread his wings? Did he run out of comedic material?

“I don’t think of this movie as some reaction against the ‘hermetically’ sterile ‘Life Aquatic,’” Mr. Anderson said, discounting the notion of loftier intent. “I’m just trying to use my imagination to make something interesting. I have to get obsessed with something to spend three years making it, and I’m just trying to put all my ideas in and make it as exciting as possible. I don’t mind people recognizing these films as mine, that they can put all the DVDs up on a shelf, and that they go together in some way that hopefully makes sense.“

The Darjeeling Limited opens the New York Film Festival tomorrow (if you are going, please send your reports and photos to edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org, no spaces). Hotel Chevalier, the 13 minute prequel to (or ‘Part I’ of) The Darjeeling Limited, was released on iTunes yesterday.

• Hotel Chevalier at the iTunes Store
• Yankee Racers forum threads: Hotel on I-Tunes, Hotel Chevalier Commentary Thread

Many fans have been frustrated with the limited availability of the short film. Russer, from the Great White North, writes:

Please mention on your website that people around the world are wanting to see “Hotel Chevalier” just as much as [A]mericans do. Unfortunately, iTunes does not allow people outside of the US to download the short film even if they are current customers. Ridiculous!

Many of the Yankee Racers have been upset about this problem, and the difficulties of dealing with iTunes (i.e. needing to enter a credit card number to register for an iTunes account, even if the film itself is free). We are excited — thrilled — about the film, but we hope Fox Searchlight and the Wes team find a more democratic/international method of distributing the free short.

I have received leads on MANY relevant newspaper and magazine articles. I will try to archive them here on the website once the initial commotion has ended, but until then, some links:

• Marc Jacobs and The Darjeeling Limited in the New York Observer
• Film Comment’s Chris Norris writes “Baggage” (1) (2) (3) (4)
• “A Conversation with Director Wes Anderson” in The Huffington Post
• “Coming Soon: A New Take on the Old Double Bill” in the Wall Street Journal
• “Darjeeling” director powers this train in USA Today
• “Strangers on a Train” in the Village Voice
• “The Life Obsessive with Wes Anderson” in New York Magazine
• (update) “Sound Effects: Interview with Randall Poster” in Men’s Vogue
• (update) Wes Anderson describes the “Anatomy of a Scene” in the New York Times

In the New York Magazine piece, there is an exchange between the writer (David Amsden) and Wes about recent criticism of his work, The Life Aquatic in particular. Wes’ eloquent response is worth quoting at length:

At one point I [the author] bring up a recent essay by Michael Hirschorn in the Atlantic Monthly arguing that, as a culture, we are “drowning in quirk,” an aesthetic he defines as the “embrace of the odd against the blandly mainstream.” … Anderson, who in person is typically quite calm, becomes suddenly animated by the topic. “You know, I’ve heard that argument a million times, and it’s completely uninteresting to me,” he says. “It’s just deadeningly unoriginal. If you have ideas that you think can contribute to a movie, that you think might help you honestly enjoy it more…” … “When they say a movie I make is smarter-than-thou, that the movie is ‘too smart for its own good,’ as if we’re making movies to try to show everybody how great and cool we are…well, that’s just not the case. We’re trying our hardest to entertain people, to make something people will like, something people will connect with. I don’t think there’s a great effort to try to make some statement about ourselves, you know?”

About.com review:

“A wonderful film. It’s a pleasure to write that sentence. I want to write it again. The Darjeeling Limited is a wonderful film — both funny and affecting.” – Marcy Dermansky

The New York Sun review:

“The Darjeeling Limited” is Mr. Anderson’s most heartfelt film. . . Now that he’s freed from his own tendencies, it is again exciting to ponder where Mr. Anderson will travel next.” – S. James Snyder

New York Press’ resident eccentric Armond White weighs in:

“Casual moviegoers might grumble that Anderson’s vision is “quirky” and doesn’t allow for the mass hypnosis of self-reflexive trash like Superbad or Ocean’s Thirteen. But The Darjeeling Limited is so reflective of personal experience (within the context of rarefied pop antecedents) that it returns common emotional power to today’s fragmented, disingenuous popular culture.”

Eric Kohn – also of the New York Press:

“Having seen Darjeeling twice, I feel firmly convinced that it’s one of Anderson’s greatest accomplishments.”

Lisa Schwartzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gives Darjeeling a B+:

“There’s a startling new maturity in Darjeeling, a compassion for the larger world that busts the confines of the filmmaker’s miniaturist instincts.”

Check out this video interview with Brody and Schwartzman – there’s a mini review at the end.

Finally, the MTV Movies Blog mentions that (link) Bill Murray has been “enlisted” for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mr. Anderson’s next film, an adaptation of the children’s book by Roald Dahl. George Clooney will be Mr. Fox. Jason Schwartman will offer his talents. The fantastic Cate Blanchett and Anjelica Huston are rumored to be part of the (voice) cast as well. Wow, I haven’t even seen the new one yet, and we’re already excited about the new new one!

As usual, send your questions, links, leads, and other coherent statements to edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces).

Hotel Chevalier is now available free on iTunes (link). Note that you do not need an iPod or other portable device to screen the film; you can watch it on your home computer after downloading the free iTunes software.

[Hotel Chevalier commentary thread at Yankee Racers]
[Marc Jacobs and The Darjeeling Limited in the New York Observer]

Photos from the New York screening of Hotel Chevalier (source):

Photos from Chicago screening of Hotel Chevalier (thanks to Loraxaeon):

(more…)

We are looking for more photos from the NYC event, as well as photos from the New York Film Festival premiere on Friday. Please e-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces) to share.

The New York Post has an interview with Wes in their magazine section today:
“The Life Exotic” ** spoiler alert ** (for a spoiler-sanitized version, click here)

The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack is out this Tuesday (click here to order). Send your reviews to edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces), and we’ll post them here.

Monday morning update (7.39): The LA Times is reporting that Hotel Chevalier will be available for free on iTunes starting Wednesday (link).

Other recent, important stuff:

• Free screenings of The Darjeeling Limited
• Hotel Chevalier screenings at Apple stores

As we reported last night, Hotel Chevalier, the short ‘prequel’ to The Darjeeling Limited, will screen at the Apple Stores in Soho (NYC) and Chicago on Tuesday, September 25th, with special guests.

• In Soho, Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Natalie Portman will be on hand to take questions after the movie. The event starts at 9 p.m. (info)

• Roman Coppola will be in Chicago. The screening starts at 9 p.m. there as well. (info)

If you are attending either event, please take your digital camera and send us your photos (edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org, no spaces).

Remember that Fox Searchlight is distributing free passes for screenings of The Darjeeling Limited across the nation.

Devin Faraci, over at CHUD.com (article), thinks Hotel Chevalier really ought to be screened before The Darjeeling Limited, but that it is probably too late to convince Fox. A few days ago, on the Yankee Racers forum, Loraxaeon suggested that we should petition Fox Searchlight to include the short in the national release (thread). Join the discussion.

LAist says that The Darjeeling Limited puts Wes “back on track”:

So if you were a fan of Anderson’s Rushmore or Royal Tenenbaums, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It’s kind of like when you go away to college, and then you come home for the summer. It still feels comfortable, but not quite how it used to. But that doesn’t stop you from enjoying it all the same.

Saturday evening update (6.33 pm): Great feature, from the New York Times Magazine (thanks to leeroy!):

About Hotel Chevalier (credit: NataliePortman.com):

Before the Venice screening of ‘Darjeeling’, Anderson presented a seventeen-minute short film called ‘Hotel Chevalier’, which he originally conceived to play before the main feature, although there’s now talk that it will only be available to see online come the film’s UK release in November. This wistful and maudlin short story offers some background to the main attraction as Schwartzmann and Natalie Portman play a pair of estranged lovers who square up to each other in the sumptuous surroundings of a Parisian hotel room.

Those fifteen minutes are classic Wes Anderson. His camera moves with grace and precision through the room as Schwartzmann, with a sad look on his face and a stark moustache above his lip, waits for Portman to arrive. Sitting on the floor is a beautiful tanned-leather trunk decorated with colourful images of elephants (one of a set crafted especially for the film by Marc Jacobs). On the stereo we hear Peter Sarstedt’s wistful ode to Paris, ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)’, and all around there’s evidence of the same deep orange that characterises Schwartzmann’s hotel dressing-gown, from the thick duvet on the bed to the towels in the bathroom. If there’s one element of ‘Hotel Chevalier’ that’s surprising for Anderson, it’s a strong sense of romance and sexuality: in one shot, Schwartzmann gently pulls off Portman’s clothes to reveal her naked body from behind, and a later shot has Portman, nude, standing still in a doorway, one foot up against the frame. It’s a beautiful shot, and one that’s made even more pertinent by Sarstedt’s melancholic lyrics on the soundtrack. It’s the sexiest thing that Anderson has ever done.

URL: TimeOut review

Yesterday, I was moaning over on the Yankee Racers about the initial reviews I had read. However, I responded to an e-mail this morning a bit differently, arguing that the negative reviews of TDL are rather formulaic and that all of Wes’ films have received mixed reviews. So what? However, good ol’ leeroy offered an even better perspective:

The negative review from Hollywood Reporter, and the positive review from Variety have been posted in the non-spoiler thread. Here’s a positive review from Premiere.com:

“The performances are spot-on (Brody slips into this world effortlessly); the colors rich and lush; the soundtrack again cool and eclectic; the cinematic language deliberate and formal, despite Anderson filming on a moving train.”

Rolling Stone loves it:

“Confession: I love this movie. It’s the most assured, mature work yet from director Wes Anderson . . .it’s Brody who is the revelation. Touched by tragedy, his character doesn’t talk but asks “to hold this in for a while.” The Darjeeling Limited is more than one of the best movies of the year. It’s a movie you want to hold in.”

Another good review, from TimeOut London:

“Darjeeling’ is lighter on its feet than ‘The Life Aquatic’ because of its speedy pace and the relative simplicity of its camerawork . . . there’s less of the intricate background and layering of some of Anderson’s other films, particularly ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, which delighted in the complexity of its biographies. Instead, much is left to the moment and the landscape: Anderson sucks in the sights, colours, oddities and details of India, from the way that tickets are checked on the train to visits to a shoe-shiner and a holy temple.”

And a report on the Darjeeling press conference:

“The press briefing for “Darjeeling” was lighthearted even though the film screened under a pall after Owen Wilson, one of the film’s three main stars, was hospitalized last week. Anderson began the briefing by telling the packed press room that Wilson was recovering fine and cracking jokes at home; soon, the rest of the cast began cracking their own jokes.

Bill Murray stole the show, telling people that his two minutes of screen time in “Darjeeling” was “the role he always wanted.”

“I fly to a fascinating place like India for a week, work one day and spend the rest of the time shopping and sightseeing, then I fly home, rest, relax and then fly to beautiful Venice for a week to spend my time eating and drinking and resting, interrupted by work for just one hour,” Murray joked. “Not bad, right?”

Anderson was asked whether he had plans to expand Murray’s cameo role in any possible sequel to the film. The director said there were no such plans, to which Murray pounded his fist on the table, feigning an angry “Damn it!”