A few tidbits…

An interview with Life Aquatic animator Henry Selick (no mention of Wes or TLA, sadly).

Selick’s new film Coraline debuts in December. He was scheduled to work with Wes on The Fantastic Mr. Fox, but scheduling conflicts with Coraline prevented a second collaboration.

Wes was mentioned in a recent article in The Guardian (U.K.):

Soundtracks and musical scores fit a specific purpose. However, what I find interesting are scores that go beyond their specific purpose and take on multiple lives.

Film soundtracks have always had the power to impact culturally. From the obvious: Ennio Morricone’s theme to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, or dialogue from Scarface – to the less obvious: Wes Anderson reusing Sven Libaek’s Shark Theme in the Life Aquatic (a score that in turn found itself on a Volvo Advert).

Using a film sample or being under the influence of a score will almost always result in the adjective “cinematic” being used to describe a band’s sound. It’s a rich tradition in hip-hop, rock and dance, and I enjoy the approximation and interpolation of movies and music (link).

Friend of the site and contributor Derek Hill discussed the musicology of Wes Anderson in a recent guest blog post.

In the September issue, Paste Magazine choses Dr. Nelson Guggenheim (Brian Cox, Rushmore) as their third favorite cinematic high school principal (vote for Dr. G in their poll!).

Rushmore an Entertainment Weekly “New Classic”

Entertainment Weekly ranked Rushmore #22 on its recent “New Classics” list of films made between 1983 and 2008.

Wes Anderson’s breakthrough comedy is, like its predecessor The Graduate, a mannered, idiosyncratic, and hilarious coming-of-age tale that makes amazing use of its rock soundtrack and features a decidedly odd love triangle: Bill Murray’s middle-aged businessman, Olivia Williams’ widowed teacher, and, of course, Jason Schwartzman’s ardent schoolboy.

We find the list objectionable on multiple fronts. Where are the other Wes Anderson films? And, Titanic and Die Hard both made the top 10. Hmm… but nice to see Rushmore recognized…

Fantastic We(in)spired prints

From elloh’s Etsy store.

These are so fantastic. I hope you buy some.

Karen Patch talks costume design

Costume designer for Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, Karen Patch is currently featured in an article on W‘s website called “Dressing the Part.”


(Mary Zophres, Jacqueline Durran and Karen Patch, from W)

Rushmore in Louisville; and Mr. Ray Davies of The Kinks

The Louisville Film Society is screening Rushmore on Tuesday, February 19, 7.30 pm at the Actors Theatre. Admission is free, but you must RSVP ahead of time (502.584.1205).

(thanks to the Backseat Sandbar)

Today’s Boston Globe has an article/review on that well-respected man, Ray Davies. M. Davies’ new CD, Working Man’s Cafe, comes out on Tuesday.

P.S. 100 members in our Facebook group to date! Please join, if you haven’t already!

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)

Some links, for you.

The New York Times Style Magazine has a rather lovely feature on the “smart, beautiful, and real” Natalie Portman called “Screen Goddess.”

Paste Magazine‘s “Signs of Life” Best 50 Films of 2007 included The Darjeeling Limited at #26.

Total Film has a great interview with Jason Schwartzman (thanks, David!).

Empire Magazine has a video interview with Wes Anderson. Not much new here, but it is always good to hear from Wes (thanks to Julien).

“Professional weirdo” (Guardian, U.K.)

Link

November 17, 2007, The Guardian


The Darjeeling Limited’s Jason Schwartzman has carved out a career playing freaks and geeks. Andrea Hubert meets the actor recently named ‘the coolest man in Hollywood’

Looking like a stylish, impeccably polite hybrid love child of Cher, Anthony Kiedis and Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman sits back, one leg casually slung over the table, waiting for the interview to begin. I’ve seen this laid back stance before – on that infamous YouTube clip, where an equally unperturbed Schwartzman sits quietly, one leg on the desk, observing without drama on the set of I Heart Huckabees as director David O Russell goes apeshit on co-star Lily Tomlin. In the “comments” section below, someone remarks “I love the way Jason Schwartzman is just sitting back, chilling”. I kinda like that too.

Continue reading ““Professional weirdo” (Guardian, U.K.)”

The Rushmore Academy Gift Guide, #1


Max Fischer
Grover Cleveland High School

A little angst-ridden British Invasion music is in order, but today we saw a great compilation of Unit 4 +2 music (“Concrete and Clay,” from Rushmore):

For that angst-ridden British Invasion fix, what of Creation? (“Making Time,” Rushmore)

About this series: RushmoreAcademy.com is a non-profit website dedicated to the films of Wes Anderson. You can support the site by buying products at Amazon.com through our product links. When shopping at Amazon.com this holiday season, be sure to click through our links (even if you aren’t purchasing the page-featured item).