Slate’s Interview with Wes Anderson

Jacob Weisberg sat down with Wes for an extended interview to discuss his auteur style, his commercials as mini-movies, stop-motion animation, and the pleasures of working with Bill Murray, along with answering Slate reader questions for the Conversations with Slate series. Two installments have been released so far, with others to be added as the week goes on (and TRA will be there to update this post!)

Here is the first installment, in which he discusses the casting of the adolescent leads, his childhood experiences, and his love-affair with Francois Truffaut:

See the second installment after the jump. Continue reading “Slate’s Interview with Wes Anderson”

Wes Anderson Tumblr Blogs

With the rise in popularity of the Tumblr blog platform, we’ve seen many unique Wes Anderson-themed Tumblr blogs arise. Check out some of these Wes blogs and comment with your favorites. (Also check out our official Tumblr page here: RushmoreAcademy.Tumblr.com)

Wes Anderson Blogs:

Wes Anderson Film Blogs:
Miscellaneous:

 

Friday News Round-Up 5/4/12

FMF + Inglourious Basterds =

Thanks to 247comedy for this.

The first batch of ties are on their way!

The first batch of Fantastic Mr. Fox faux-fox tail ties are on their way! Note that we have a limited quantity, so you should order soon if you want one!

The ties cost $25.00 (USD) plus $10.50 (USD) Priority-rate shipping within the United States (we are glad to ship internationally, but please contact us first by e-mail for rates). As a bonus, we’ll throw in a promotional folder, too. Where’s my bandit hat?, SOLD OUT!

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day from our dysfunctional family to yours…

Fantastic Mr. Fox on DVD and Blu-Ray

A review of Fantastic Mr. Fox on DVD and Blu-Ray, you say? But, they came out over a month ago!

Well played, reader. But, we need to do a review. We promised.

We, of course, love the film. Owning it, being able to watch it over and over offers obvious benefits. The careful details of a Wes Anderson film, of the world inspired by Roald Dahl’s fantasy universe and his real world in Great Missenden in the UK, can be observed, noted, taken in… and the colors are utterly mesmorizing…

Some thoughts:

1) Buy the Blu-ray. It comes with the high-definition and regular ol’ DVD versions, so you can watch even if you don’t have a fancy Blu-ray player and keep the other disc for later. We don’t have the Blu-ray version (d’oh!), but it also features a digital copy and special features, which brings us to point deux…

2) The regular DVD version is comparatively bare-bones. It includes “From Script to Screen,” “Still Life (Puppet Animation),” and “A Beginner’s Guide to Whack-Bat.” The Blu-Ray set also includes “Making Mr. Fox Fantastic,”  “The Look of Fantastic Mr Fox,” “The Cast,” “Bill and His Badger,” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World of Roald Dahl.” These bonus features are similar to, but more extensive than (please share your thoughts), the well-done online documentaries. But, they are absolutely worth having, and it is too bad that the regular DVD disc only includes a few of them.

3) The transfer is absolutely stunning.

4) Minor complaints: the menus are a bore; the layer change comes at an awkward point; and, the “Guide to Whack-bat” is rather useless.

Once we have The Darjeeling Limited Criterion-ized, we will start our Fantastic Mr. Fox campaign.

A Fantastic birthday!

Richard had this cake created by the Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley, New York, for his daughter Iliana’s second birthday. Best dad ever? And it is never too early to become a fan of Wes Anderson. Happy belated Birthday, Iliana. “She is a cute little kid.”

(click for larger image)

Wes Anderson on NPR’s Fresh Air today

On today’s Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviews Wes Anderson on Fantastic Mr. Fox (thanks @nprfreshair). In all likelihood, it is a repeat of the interview done in November:

Fantastic Wes-inspired prints

On sale today at Zoltron.com, via OMG Posters! and Eoghan.