Category: Filmmakers

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Mailbag, and the newest Paste

First, join our new Facebook group. That, or sudden death academic probation. Your choice.

An unpaid intern from two.one.five magazine sent us this interview with Wes. Thank you, intern.

One Severus Snape (Alan Rickman, I hope) has asked that I tell you about the new World of Owen site and a new Wilson Brothers’ forum called The Soil Room. I don’t get it either, but good projects.

The new Paste magazine has a brief discussion of the new Harold and Maude soundtrack (pg. 36-37). I would be really excited, but it is only available on LP. Max Fischer is compared to Harold in a lovely chart, “Modern-Day Harolds Revealed”:

Gawky? Not really. Pale? A lighter shade of olive. Bowl cut? No, dad’s a barber. Fixation? Extra-curricular. Overly formal everyday attire? Yes, quite natty. Unusual transportation? Go-cart, bicycle Unlawful behavior? Slices Herman Blume’s brake cables Inappropriate love interest? His tutor, Rosemary Cross Overbearing parent? No, but don’t piss of Dr. Guggenheim Histrionics? Aquarium-building, theatrical-epic-producing Single-artist soundtrack? Various artists, various awesome Cat Stevens? “The Wind,” “Here Comes My Baby” A threat? Marginally — a little too pulled-together, though he does have a way with fake blood

Finally! — after joining the Facebook group, head over to the Yankee Racers forum: vote in the Oscar poll, offer your worst film of the year, talk about Juno, or start your own thread. Hundreds of threads full of Wes-knowledge and discussion…

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Paste Magazine Art House Powerhouse 100

(I meant to post this when the magazine arrived a few weeks ago, but better late than never.)

The latest issue of Paste Magazine (#39) includes the Paste Art House Powerhouse 100:

 Who are the power players in the world of quality cinema? What individuals and organizations make intelligent, well-crafted movies and have the profile, financial resources and/or critical esteem to attract discerning audiences? In short, we looked for those at the intersection of art and commerce who make independent film the viable and sustainable industry that we’ve come to enjoy (link).

Of course, some of our favorites were included:

Wes Anderson
{ RH: The Darjeeling Limited U: The Fantastic Mr. Fox} Scenes in slow-motion set to Kinks songs, overwhelmingly quirky production design, dramatic family rivalries—Wes Anderson just can’t seem to escape himself. But this is OK. Because underneath the deadpan humor of each of his movies is a true sense of melancholy and loss unmatched by any other filmmaker of his generation.

Cate Blanchett
{ RH: I’m Not There, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Notes on a Scandal, Babel U: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button } Like Meryl Streep, this Australian actress may be the best of her generation. All the auteurs love her: Scorsese, Anderson, Iñárritu and now Spielberg. Her performance as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There was not so much impersonation as repossession. Be afraid, Indiana Jones, be very afraid.

Natalie Portman
{ RH: Hotel Chevalier/The Darjeeling Limited; Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium; Paris, Je T’aime U: My Blueberry Nights, The Other Boleyn Girl } The buoyant former child star defies convention: She’s an even better performer now that she’s come of age—a Jodie Foster, not a Lindsay Lohan. Not that there ever was much doubt. Portman is fiercely intelligent and unafraid to take risks (stripping in Closer, rapping on SNL), which makes her a natural for directors as varied as Wong Kar-Wai and Wes Anderson.

Jason Schwartzman
{ RH: The Darjeeling Limited, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story U: The Marc Pease Experience } As Max Fischer he was ambitious and organized, but even Rushmore’s fans never expected Schwartzman would build on his deadpan, cerebral, hipster-geek image to become one of independent film’s most interesting leading men.

Noah Baumbach
{ RH: Margot at the Wedding, The Squid and the Whale U: The Fantastic Mr. Fox (S), The Emperor’s Children (S) } The Squid and the Whale took us by surprise with its refreshingly honest observation of a family in disorder. And now he’s done it again with Margot at the Wedding. Next up is a co-writing reunion with director Wes Anderson for the animated Fantastic Mr. Fox and an adaptation of The Emperor’s Children for director Ron Howard.

Bravo, Paste!

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Charlie Rose rewind; and Yankee Racers threads

Tonight, watching the Jerry Seinfeld interview with Charlie Rose made me think: I ought to revisit Charlie’s interviews with Wes. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are all three (see the end for some great Yankee Racers threads).

26 October 2007:

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15 December 2004:

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29 January 1999:

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Suggested threads at the Yankee Racers forum:
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
DVD (The Darjeeling Limited)
Why is Bill Smiling? (The Life Aquatic)
I’ve set up TRT on continual loop in my apartment
Last movie you saw?

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The Antipodean Anderson

(ed’s note: Welcome to our newest contributor, South Paw!)

As “The Darjeeling Limited” is nearing the end of its Australia run, it’s time for us to take a look at how the film has fared. Jason Schwartzman took a promo trip down under a short while ago, and though we can’t take a trip ourselves, we’ll soar the internet skies instead. Below is a look at what the Aussies have been saying about Mr. Anderson’s latest. A couple of these links have been posted before, but have been included again here for your convenience. Enjoy!

The charmingly-named Wollondilly Advertiser (Wollondilly Shire is just south of Sydney in New South Wales and supplies the city with most of its waters) reviewed TDL in its January 22, 2008 Edition in “Oh Brothers, What an Amazing Journey”. The WA described TDL as “unpredictable and “impossible to categorize”, but also that it “has elements of a travel adventure, it is partly family drama, it is often funny and sometimes downright bizarre.” Overall a positive review, “breath of fresh air” for audiences and the good people of the Shire.
Continue reading “The Antipodean Anderson”

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The Darjeeling Limited script

In their campaign to push TDL (and their other films) for Academy Awards, Fox Searchlight has posted The Darjeeling Limited script on their website (link). Enjoy!

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Hotel Chevalier in Zoetrope All-Story

Francis Ford Coppola’s magazine dedicated to short fiction and one-act plays, Zoetrope All-Story, has published the screenplay for Wes Anderson’s short film Hotel Chevalier in their Winter 2007 edition. You can purchase the issue for $8.00 on the Zoetrope website.

(thanks to Brian)

But where do you go to my lovely
When you’re alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes I do

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Wes Retrospective at AFI Silver Theater and Amara Karan a Femme Fatale

The AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD (suburban Washington, DC) is screening four of Wes Anderson’s films over the next two weeks! The Wes Anderson Retrospective is a really exciting series — an opportunity to see the films of Wes Anderson on the big screen.

Bottle Rocket
Sunday, Dec. 30, 3:00; Monday, Dec. 31, 2:45; Tuesday, Jan. 1, 12:45, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 7:00

Rushmore
Friday, Dec. 28, 7:30; Saturday, Dec. 29, 7:45; Tuesday, Jan. 1, 9:45, Thursday, Jan. 3, 7:00

The Royal Tenenbaums
Friday, Jan. 4, 7:00; Saturday, Jan. 5, 7:00; Thursday, Jan. 10, 7:00

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Sunday, Jan. 6, 12:45; Tuesday, Jan. 8, 9:20; Wednesday, Jan. 9, 9:20

In other news, ION Cinema has chosen Amara Karan (Rita, The Darjeeling Limited) as one of their Top Ten “Foreign Femme Fatales of 2007.” 

2007: She played lovely Rita – the damn cute Indian girl poking her head in and outside of the train in Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited.

2008: It was just released in the U.K and I’ve got no clue if it will make its way here, but she has a role in Barnaby Thompson and Oliver Parker school girls rule/remake called St. Trinian’s.  (link)

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Merry Christmas from the Rushmore Academy

Merry Christmas to you and yours from the Rushmore Academy. Please leave your holiday wishes — for our community or even for Wes* — at the Yankee Racers forum (‘Holiday wishes’ thread).

* RA.com is not an officially sanctioned site, and Wes probably won’t read your wish.

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Some links:

I hesitate to use the word real, because this is India as seen by a director who likes to put his stamp on reality…. That has given the film its heart and a strikingly rich colour design – purple, turquoise, ruby, at least inside the train. This is India as in one of those highly coloured paintings of a Hindu god. It’s absolutely gorgeous but every so often the train stops and we go outside, into the dusty yellow plains of Rajasthan, where reality is more present.

Happy holidays, everyone!

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Halloween Costume Contest Winners

Happy Holidays. Halloween, that is. So, after many false starts and delays, we have winners. These three lucky entrants will receive a Darjeeling Limited prize package thanks to our friends at Fox Searchlight Pictures. I will be in touch with the winners soon, and the prizes will be mailed out early in 2008.

Best Costume, Darjeeling Limited Category

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There were many great Darjeeling costumes, but we liked these — because they’re a bit unconventional. After all, they’re dressed as luggage… Louis Vuitton luggage. Very cool.

Best Costume, Non-Darjeeling

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We really like this one. The Max Fischer vibe, with a twist. Bravo, Max.

Second Best Costume, Non-Darjeeling

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Richie and Margot — a popular costume in our contest. But, this one… it has a bit more spark and vitality than we expected. Even if Margot is adopted.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

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indieWIRE: “Mr. Anderson, welcome back, we missed you”

From IndieWIRE’s 2007 critics’ poll:

“The idea that ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ is somehow lazy Anderson redux amazes me. It’s a huge leap forward — the first movie to feature characters that aren’t emotionally constipated, and the suffocating over-designed tableaux are taken in an unexpected direction: there’s too much stuff to take in, so you don’t bother. As opposed to that awful games closet in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums.'” – Vadim Rizov

“Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” marked the greatest evolutionary leap forward by a major American filmmaker this year. He was so far ahead of everybody this year that almost nobody recognized what, exactly, he was doing. There are no epiphanies in the movie, only thwarted potential epiphanies and almost-epiphanies, experienced by brothers who narrate every feeling they have, add soundtrack music to their real world experiences and generally seem hell-bent on narrating their own autobiographies in real time…. They plan and execute their spiritual odyssey as if it were a shopping spree. They’re metaphysical consumerists. That’s America circa 2007. Anderson has evolved, yet his critics — lovers and haters alike — are still reviewing ‘The Royal Tenenbaums.'” – Matt Zoller Seitz