Wes Anderson's Pronatalism
The best housewarming gift is a high-end broom and dustbin
My husband and I always make a point of seeing the new Wes Anderson film in theaters. I know, I know, but I really enjoy them, even if they aren’t Great Films anymore. At this point, Wes’s work is so textual. Story booking. They occupy that pleasing intersection of ritual and consumerism—personified perfectly in The Phoenician Scheme by the star fingering a glittering jeweled rosary in every scene. (It’s more like if “What’s in her bag?” was a film instead of a magazine vertical.)
I like a world without cellphones, the internet, “like” and “LOL”; one populated by intelligent and mischievous children & hard-drinking caustic adults with strong ties to one another. Now that I think about it, Wes’s films are really pronatalist in a comforting way. I like what he says about Moonrise Kingdom: “For a long time I’ve had this idea that I’d like to make a movie about what it was really like to be a 12-year-old and to fall in love in a way that is just beyond….My memory of this experience.” (He says he sees America as a foreign country, but with Moonlight Kingdom he wanted to make an American Film.)
These tidbits are from a great Vanity Fair filmed interview with Wes Anderson that delves into each of his twelve films individually. It’s already garnered 459K views. A full hour! What a treat.
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig inspires The Grand Budapest Hotel.
I suppose it’s obvious, but I didn’t put it together that Salinger’s stories in the New Yorker inspired The Royal Tenenbaums.
Nor did I connect his interest in Kubrick’s voiceovers. He got Alec Baldwin to do the voiceover for the film after hearing him read a short story at the 92nd Y. (I love hearing short stories at the 92nd Y. I’ll never forget hearing a David Foster Wallace story from Harper’s being read aloud.)
The Darjeeling Limited is my favorite Wes film (!); he says he was inspired by Louis Malle’s films made in India.
Realtor.com has a quite comprehensive list of the houses used in all the Wes Anderson films. More here.
Accidentally Wes Anderson collates colorful buildings that are reminiscent of the Wes Anderson style of building.
My husband and I both thought Michael Cera was the star of The Phoenician Scheme. It reminded us of his work in Youth in Revolt.
I loved this interview with the set decorator of the current film.
Misc.
