Category: Films

Posted on

Typewriter Tip, Tip, Tip

A fun little post from At the Edge:

Image: Famous “Typewriter Sequence” from Merchant Ivory’s film Bombay Talkie (1970) featuring “Queen of the Nautch Girls”  Helen and great Shashi Kapoor. The film is not the best from Merchant Ivory duo, but the sequence is definitely iconic.

Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited (2007) made the song somewhat of an international hit (editor’s note: did it?).  Here is the song clip with Ismail Merchant, in a very Indian way, explaining the metaphor of “Fate Machine.”

.

Posted on

Fantastic Mr. Fox rumors

The Dutch Hollywood.blog has made several startling claims, namely that Meryl Streep has replaced Cate Blanchett as Mrs. Fox.  It also seems to suggest (from the poor translation, Dutch speakers: please help me!) that Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Jarvis Cocker, and Wes himself all have voice roles in the film.

These are unsubstantiated rumors. Can anyone confirm or deny them?

Updated March 31 (8:30 p.m.)

Reader drbenway raises a possible explanation in his comment:

Well…  I would bet a very small amount of money that they’re assuming Anderson does voice work in the film because of the fact that he read some lines in the rough cut they recently screened.

Updated April 1 (7:30 a.m.)

Dutch-speaker John adds (edited slightly):

I’m Dutch, (so excuse my english ; ) and this is what it basically says. From the screening it was clear that Meryl Streep does the voice of Mrs. Fox instead of… Cate Blanchett. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a mixture of Wes Anderson (of course), Wallace And Gromit, and Watership Down. The three farmers are done by Bill Murray (Badger), Jason Schwartzman (Ash), and Owen Wilson (Coach Skip). Other voices are Michael Gambon (Franklin Bean), Willem Dafoe (Rat), Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker (Petey)… Wes Anderson (Weasel)!! and Adrien Brody (Rickity). The logo earlier post on this site, which I don’t believe… was ‘real.’ It was printed on a presentation folder that 20th Century Fox handed out in Showest.

Earlier, our good pal Loraxaeon suggested the same, that the logo was from the early promotional material and not from the title frame. We agree. Thanks for the translation, John!

Posted on

New York Magazine: “Is Wes Anderson Changing the Ending of Fantastic Mr. Fox?”

The New York Magazine entertainment blog, on the heels of The Playlist, wonders if Wes has changed the ending to Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. For one thing, we should consider the source: an anonymous message board post (see the post in question here).  And, a correction: these observations are not from the Sunday screening in New Jersey but an earlier one (check the date on the message!).

Wes Anderson’s hugely anticipated stop-motion film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox screened for a New Jersey test audience yesterday. How was it? “Very good,” says an anonymous message-board critic with a devil-may-care attitude about signed nondisclosure agreements. There is something slightly troubling, though. From the review:

“The plot itself doesn’t deviate from the book that much. At the moment they’ve changed the ending slightly from the book, but from the feedback we gave in the discussion at the end, it wasn’t particularly popular (although I personally thought it was quite good), so they may do something completely different with it.”

What could Anderson have possibly changed? And what makes his new ending so odious? Did he shoehorn in an Anderson-esque scene in which the three farmers are all simultaneously reunited with their fathers? Is there an egregious use of sixties Britpop? We’re getting worried!

Posted on

Going to see Mr. Fox this afternooon?

If you are going to a screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox today in the New York area, we would love to hear your spoiler-free feedback.

E-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org!

Posted on

The real Eagle’s Island

The New York Times recently ran a piece on City Island in the Bronx, the real Eagle’s Island.

Along with a handful of historic houses, including the stately Queen Anne where the movies “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” were filmed, City Island, just 1.5 miles long, manages to cram in two parks, a ball field, three churches, a synagogue, two schools, a cemetery, a museum, a French bed-and-breakfast and 33 restaurants.

queenanne01

The island is popular among film and TV producers (most recently “Law and Order” and “Life on Mars”). The landmark Queen Anne at 21 Tier Street was used in “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

queenanne02

A whale decorates the weathervane on the peak of the Queen Anne house at 21 Tier Street.

(from our Gallery)

Posted on

Enter the Rushmore Academy Webicon contest (updated)

Make Wes Anderson-inspired art at Paste Magazine’s Webicon.me! Then, Tweet (@rushmoreacademy) or e-mail (edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org) us your image. We will post your entries here at the Rushmore Academy, and the best one will win of copy of Derek Hill’s fantastic Charlie Kaufman and Hollywood’s Merry Band of Pranksters, Fabulists and Dreamers: An Excursion Into the American New Wave (available for purchase on Amazon.com).

adopted

Contest is on-going. We will add new prizes if we extend it beyond April 1, 2009.

Check out the entries so far after the break! Please digg our contest!

Continue reading “Enter the Rushmore Academy Webicon contest (updated)”

Posted on

You should watch Wes Anderson’s oeuvre before you die!

According to Yahoo’s recent list “100 Movies to See Before You Die,” Wes Anderson’s films are not mandatory pre-mortem viewing. We disagree, of course. Criterion proudly boasts 16 titles on the list (there really ought to be more). Satyajit Ray’s World of Apu, one of the films that inspired The Darjeeling Limited, made the list even though it is out of print in the United States.

From this image (also below) and the list’s postscript, we are left to assume that Rushmore was strongly considered for the list. Why Groundhog Day made it and Rushmore didn’t, we shall never know. Other than Wes Anderson’s films, what other great movies are missing from the list?

707_7076051929

Yes, the Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (BAFICI) got it right! They’re showing Rushmore in this year’s festival!

Posted on

Wes Moment No. 001

“You Are Forgiven.” From Rushmore.

Brought to you by the 2009 Wes Anderson Film Festival.

Suggest the next Wes Moment! E-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org or tweet @rushmoreacademy!

Posted on

Another UCB parody

via SlashFilm:

Wes has inspired the Upright Citizens Brigade once again, this time in their parody “Famous Sketches Retold.” I can’t really say that I think this one is much funnier than the last one. Opinions?

Posted on

Merchant Ivory Film Festival at The Auteurs

The really fantastic film site The Auteurs is  showing the films of Merchant Ivory, free of charge this month. The music and films of Merchant Ivory helped inspire The Darjeeling Limited.

Thanks to the dream team of American-born director James Ivory, Indian producer Ismail Merchant, and German-British screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Merchant-Ivory Productions set the standard for gorgeous period pieces and sophisticated literary adaptations. This month, The Criterion Collection presents six of them for free, ranging from Bollywood-tinged comedies to award-winning E. M. Forster adaptations.

Follow The Auteurs on Twitter! (we are!)