Perhaps there is no perfect word for the kind of people I have raised my children to be: a word that encompasses obsessive scholarship, passionate curiosity, curatorial tenderness, and an irrepressible desire to join in the game, to inhabit in some manner—through writing, drawing, dressing up, or endless conversational riffing and Talmudic debate—the world of the endlessly inviting, endlessly inhabitable work of popular art. The closest I have ever come for myself is amateur, in all the best senses of the word: a lover; a devotee; a person driven by passion and obsession to do it—to explore the imaginary world—oneself. And if we must accept the inevitable connotation of hopeless ineptitude that amateur carries, then at least let us stipulate that we shall be hopeless and inept like Max Fischer, the hero of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore: in the most passionate, heedless, and whole-hearted way.
Director Mark Romanek recently updated his photoblog with a picture of Wes (I assume in London) working on Fantastic Mr. Fox. Mr. and Mrs. Fox seem to be in a cage.
Romanek is in London doing post-production on his own film, out in 2010, that will also be distributed by Fox Searchlight. Full size picture here.
And, apropos of…nothing, here’s a promo video that Jason Schwartzman did for the clothing store Opening Ceremony in which Jason flies a kite, something he’s donebefore.
Amanda Mae Meyncke at Film.com has compiled her list of the twenty must-own Criterion Collection DVDs, including films by Francois Truffaut, Noah Baumbach, and Wes Anderson.
Rushmore, directed by Wes Anderson (1998) Rushmore is easily the best of Wes Anderson’s films, a carefully crafted vision from one of the best new American directors of the ’90s. A young man named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) finds himself too busy enjoying school to attend to the mundane nature of actually graduating and getting anywhere with his life. Throw in a crush on a teacher and a friendship with a sad sack played by Bill Murray, a host of strange characters and fantastic music, and you’ve got a good look at quirk done right. Nobody other than Cameron Crowe and Quentin Tarantino understands the importance of a good soundtrack quite like Anderson, and Rushmore comes close to perfection in the musical department. Funny, heartwarming and intensely likable, Rushmore is the ideal film.
To read the rest of the list, head on over to Film.com and let us know what you think of their choices.
Wes fan Anant Prabhakar has created a great tribute video to Anderson called “Let Me Tell You About Wes: Part 1.” We’ll be sure to tell you about Part 2, or whatever it is, if it actually exists.
When I was sixteen or seventeen, I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a playwright. But everything I wrote, I thought, was weak. And I can remember falling asleep in tears because I had no talent the way I wanted to have.
Did you ever seeRushmore? I was just like that kid.
With the school year winding down, A. O. Scott takes a look at one of cinema’s more offbeat students, Max Fischer, in the director Wes Anderson’s 1998 film “Rushmore.”
“What makes “Rushmore” so profound and so poignant is that it tells two stories in counterpoint,” Mr. Scott says. “It’s about an adolescent coming to terms with his limitations and an artist coming into possession of his powers.” Mr. Anderson has created a signature style with his films and has gained a cult following. Are you a fan of Mr. Anderson’s films? And if so, which one do you like the best?
Watch the video.
Yusuf (a.k.a. Cat Stevens) was a guest on The Colbert Report a few weeks back. Two of his songs are featured on the Rushmore soundtrack, and he is one of our favorites. He has a great new album called roadsinger.
Michael Chabon has been making the rounds for his new book Manhood for Amateurs. He read a piece, “The Amateur Family,” at the Union Square (N.Y.C.) Barnes and Noble:
