The World of Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman made at appearance at Borders Store #01 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The last segment of Borders Live at 01 features Wes and Jason wandering around the music and DVD sections, picking up titles of interest. We really liked it, and decided to make an Amazon Widget out of it (which, coincidentally, supports the site if you buy from it):
The CD sampler included in the latest edition of Paste Magazine…
… features the song “Take Me Home” from Lauderdale, the band of Yankee Racers co-founder Corey.
Finally, if you posted a Halloween contest entry (last day of entry is November 5th) and it doesn’t appear here, e-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces).
Good morning, Wes world. Some links and news…
Wes Anderson will be awarded the Stockholm Film Festival’s Visionary Award next month.
He has made lasting impressions through his unique ways of using scenography and subtle humour in film successes such as “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Rushmore.” (link)
Bravo, Swedes!
Be sure to check out The Onion’s A/V Club “Random Rules” feature with Jason Schwartzman and Randall Poster. Yankee Racer Loraxaeon explains the concept:
It’s a feature where they have people just hit random on their iPods and tell them what song comes up and explain why they like it, etc. (thread)
Be sure to enter our First Annual Wes Anderson Inspired Halloween Costume Contest… you could win a Darjeeling Limited prize package!
Finally, The Darjeeling Limited opens nationwide this weekend. Hotel Chevalier will be playing as well. I leave you with the words of fellow Yankee Racer slint:
I just got back from seeing it, finally. Interestingly, Hotel Chevalier did play beforehand, and I’m glad it did. Frankly, having seen the film, I can’t imagine why the studio had pulled it originally.
So…I loved the film. It was such a relief, after my experience with TLA. It flowed so much more naturally, and just carried me along, rather than dragging me. I agree with the Bottle Rocket comparisons; it did feel like Francis is a logical extension of Dignan. His laminated itinerary reminded me of Dignan’s spiral notebook with plans for 6 months, 1 year, 10 years, etc. Overall, this film was just a joy to experience. I had a permasmile, and seriously felt giddy a few times. This totally reaffirmed my love of Sir Anderson’s films…. This was a confident and graceful return to the saddle. Bravo. (thread)
Conclusion: Bravo Swedes, Wes Anderson, and slint.
Updates:
Jason Schwartzman appeared on Live 105.3’s “Wild Ass Circus Show,” Houston/Ft Worth (videos).
IMDB has rescinded an earlier report that Natalie Portman was unhappy with her nude scene in Hotel Chevalier:
UPDATE: A U.S. magazine has been forced to apologize to actress Natalie Portman after suggesting she’s far from happy with her performance in short film Hotel Chevalier. Sunday supplement Parade stated Portman was talking about the movie, in which she appears nude, when she commented about an “uncomfortable” scene she shot in a forthcoming essay she wrote for the publication. But the actress’ publicist, Kelly Bush, has pounced on Parade, insisting her client was actually talking about a torture scene in new film Goya’s Ghosts. A statement from the magazine’s publicist reads, “We say that Portman regrets doing a nude scene in the movie Hotel Chevalier. This is wrong. When Portman writes about this in Parade, she does not mention a specific movie title. She tells us she was referring to a torture scene with a body double in Goya’s Ghosts, which was taken out of context and leaked onto the Internet. Portman is very happy with Hotel Chevalier and proud of her work in the film.” In her essay, Portman admits she is still rather upset about agreeing to do something she felt awkward about, writing, “I’m really sorry I didn’t listen to my intuition. From now on, I’m going to trust my gut more.” (link) (thread)
All aboard! AP writer Ryan Pearson rode along with Wes, Jason, and Roman on another train ride… this time in California.
The Darjeeling Limited goes national, with Hotel Chevalier, this weekend!
And Hotel Chevalier is one of the many mysteries in The Darjeeling Limited, according to USA TODAY.
“Are the three brothers — Francis, Jack and Peter (played by Wilson, Schwartzman and Brody, respectively) — inspired by the film legends Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson and Peter Bogdanovich?
Close but not quite, Anderson says. Jack is actually named for Schwartzman’s father, not Nicholson. “We named the (Wilson) character after Roman’s father, and Peter … well, I’d like to give that to Peter Bogdanovich because he’s my friend.”
Fox Searchlight Pictures
We have been rightfully caught up in the excitement over Hotel Chevalier, The Darjeeling Limited, and the Criterion version of Bottle Rocket, BUT… The Wendell Baker Story (2005) — a film co-directed by, written by, and co-starring Luke Wilson — will be available on DVD October 30th. Andrew Wilson co-directed, Owen co-stars. From Stephen Holden’s New York Times review piece:
This shambling, good-natured comedy is a Wilson family affair. Written by Luke Wilson, who directed with his older brother Andrew, it also stars a third brother, Owen, as Wendell’s nemesis. The appeal of “The Wendell Baker Story” depends on how charming you find the Wilson brothers, with their chipmunk grins and hip smart-aleck attitude. For my taste, a little goes a long way (more reviews).
To pre-order, click here.
Help get/keep The Darjeeling Limited on the Yahoo! Buzz Index of most popular searches by clicking here.
Wes and Jason were on CBC’s The Hour last night (video). Wes promised that Hotel Chevalier will be added to The Darjeeling Limited print in Canada.
Ain’t It Cool has a great interview with Wes and Jason, including Wes’ confirmation of a Criterion Collection edition of Bottle Rocket. Some highlights:
[about this]. Roman said they are both very smart, and he really liked them. And the old man said that he liked these brothers, that the movie is from their point of view traveling through India. And she doesn’t like them, but she also felt that the film exploited people in India. And I always feel like, that makes me unhappy to hear anybody say that because we went to India because I was fascinated with this country. We fell in love with it. We are tourists there; that’s all we can ever be there. But we’re tourists who are very interested in this culture and learning about it. It’s a place where people who go there and like it tend to love it, and the people who love it tend to want to go back. There is more religion, more variety of religion, more practice of religion, more rituals there than any place else I’ve ever experienced. I think that’s why people go on pilgrimages there because it’s a place where, if you’re open to it and interested it will genuinely have quite and impact on you just because of the intensity of the place. I’ve always found that I had very emotional experiences there, but then you get sensitive and wonder if that sounds kind of naive. I don’t know. I just hate to sound self-protective and defensive; I’d rather just express our real feelings about it….
It’s taken us a long time to get this [Fantastic Mr. Fox] going, but we finally got it going. Noah Baumbach and I adapted it. George Clooney is going to play Mr. Fox. We’ve just started working on it in England, and it’s going. We have a guy named Mark Gustafson directing the animation. Henry [THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS] Selick was going to do it originally but over time that didn’t work out because Henry has his own thing he’s directing [CORALINE, based on Neil Gaiman’s novel]….
I think the closest thing to compare it to is that Eastern European stuff, because the animals are going to have fur, and the sets are meant to look kind of like real life. So it’s more in the vein….
[about the Criterion Collection DVD] That’s right. We just have to do a lot of work to prepare it, but that’s in the works. I was supposed to do a bunch of stuff already that I didn’t do yet, so I’m going to get on it though. But some of the stuff is at my mother’s house in Texas, so I have to go to Texas and dig through all my boxes, because there’s materials for the movies that I haven’t looked at in a long, long time. And we want to try and include everything that might be good….
Jason’s new album Nighttiming is available as an MP3 download on Amazon.com. Buy it here — it supports the site.
Thursday evening update: Wes and Jason will be on CBC’s The Hour tonight — Thursday, October 18th at 11 pm ET. We will post the video tomorrow.
Toronto, D.C., Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, and more*
* note, not all dates include BOTH Wes & Jason
The Huffington Post compares Wes to Sofia Coppola
Someone who’s never seen a Wes film (other than TDL) interviews the writers and gets some interesting answers:
“I can’t remember having a work experience or travel experience that I felt was more life-changing than this one, just in terms of how it affects your point of view and just the feeling coming out of it . . . We wanted a mechanic who looked like a Nazi but then turns out to be a good guy. . . I mean, he’s Ringo. Does Ringo get offended? I don’t know. I doubt it.”
The Cleveland Free Times, compares Wes to Richard Lester and Peter Bogdonavich, and also gets a scoop:
“Anderson is also in the process of writing a new live-action film that he hopes to get before the cameras within the next year. “Ideally, I’d like to have two movies opening at the same time,” he says optimistically . . . I’ve had offers and have even thought about directing some big Hollywood tent-pole kind of thing, but that’s about as far as it’s gone.”
The Retriever Weekly calls TDL “simply awesome”
Check out this great essay on Wes from Fanzine
Broadside Online praises a Wes trait that often goes unnoticed these days, his sincerity:
“With his latest film, the oddball auteur takes his audience on a train ride fraught with a newfound maturity that elevates his talent as a filmmaker to impressive new heights. So hop aboard The Darjeeling Limited and experience Wes Anderson’s eclectic, eccentric, esoteric and always entertaining blend of comedy, tragedy and heartbreaking sincerity.“
Go see The Darjeeling Limited this weekend, newly available in 13 new markets this weekend! Also be sure to join our community forum, the Yankee Racers.
Go see The Darjeeling Limited this weekend! It opens in thirteen new markets today:
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Philadelphia
San Diego
Seattle
Baltimore
Denver
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Austin
Portland
Hartford/New Haven
Vancouver
Montreal
Head on over to the Yankee Racers forum, and discuss why Jack doesn’t wear shoes.
Watch this great production video, then read the production designer Mark Friedberg’s “personal experience” from the Media Alerts below.
Media alerts
Wes wanted to have a unified sort of sensibility, and those [Kinks] songs appear in the film at three critical moments: one at the head of the film, one in the middle of the movie and then one at the end of the film.
More soon…
Release Schedule from Fox Searchlight
Image Courtesy of The New Yorker
IndieWIRE: Big Wheels Keep Rolling:
“A steamrolling weekend gross of $561,628 made Wes Anderson’s sibling comedy “The Darjeeling Limited” the top release on the iWBOT, which ranks films by per-screen average. “Darjeeling Limited” was also Fox Searchlight’s best fall comedy, so far outperforming its 2004 comedy “Sideways.”
Adrien Brody on Regis and Kelly
There is a great interview with Sweet Lime at rediff.com.
Pajiba.com on Darjeeling:
“The Darjeeling Limited is a smart, nimble film, swinging from subtle wit to outright hilarity to devastating loss . . .Anderson has retreated far enough into his dreamworld that he’s come out the other side, back into reality, pulling with him everything he learned and saw along the way.”
Jason Schwartzman on The View
Anthony Lane of The New Yorker gives the film a subtitle: “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the East”
“The Darjeeling [Limited] isn’t like other films by this somewhat enigmatic filmmaker. It’s full of mystery and spender and a few raw notions that set this one apart from the rest.”
World Hum calls Dareeling fresh and funny
Glenn Whipp of The Los Angeles Daily News
“Anderson has pulled the heartstrings before, though that seems to go unnoticed by people who get distracted by his precisely constructed worlds. But the beautiful, wistful melancholy of “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” has been augmented here by a more mature empathy and understanding for the vast world outside of Anderson’s making. It makes for an extraordinary movie, filled with splendor, laughter and a touch of cosmic wisdom. You won’t forget it.”
