Wes Anderson

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson-20140206-85.jpg
Wes Anderson, 64th Berlin Film Festival 2014
Born Wesley Wales Anderson
(1969-05-01) May 1, 1969 (age 55)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Education Westchester High School
St. John's School
Alma mater University of Texas at Austin
Occupation Film director, film producer screenwriter, actor
Years active 1994–present
Relatives Eric Chase Anderson (brother)

Wesley Wales "Wes" Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films are known for their distinctive visual and narrative style.[1]

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, Moonrise Kingdom in 2012 and The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014, as well as the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014. He also received the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2015.

Early life

Wesley Wales Anderson was born on May 1, 1969, in Houston, Texas, the son of Texas Ann (Burroughs), a realtor and archaeologist,[2] and Melver Leonard Anderson, who worked in advertising and public relations.[3][4][5][6][7] He is the second of three boys; his parents divorced when he was eight.[7] His elder brother, Mel, is a physician, and his younger brother, Eric, is a writer and artist whose paintings and designs have appeared in several of Anderson's films.[8] Anderson is of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry.[9]

He graduated from St. John's School in Houston in 1987, which he later used as a prominent location throughout Rushmore.[10] As a child, Anderson made silent films on his father's Super 8 camera, starring his brothers and friends, although his first ambition was to be a writer.[7][8] Anderson attended college while working part-time as a cinema projectionist. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in philosophy in 1990, where he met future frequent collaborator Owen Wilson.[7][8][11]

Film career

Anderson's first film, Bottle Rocket (1996), based on a short film that he made with Luke and Owen Wilson, was a crime caper focused on a group of young Texans aspiring to achieve major heists. Though well reviewed, it performed poorly at the box office.[12][13][14]

Anderson's next film, Rushmore (1998), a quirky comedy about a high school student's crush on an elementary school teacher, starring Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, was a critical success.[15] Murray has since appeared in every Anderson film to date. In 2000, filmmaker Martin Scorsese praised Bottle Rocket and Rushmore.[16]

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Anderson's next comedy-drama film about a successful artistic New York City family and its ostracized patriarch, represented Anderson's greatest success until Moonrise Kingdom in 2012. Earning more than $50 million in domestic box office receipts, the film was nominated for an Academy Award and ranked by an Empire poll as the 159th greatest film ever made.[17]

Anderson's next feature, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), about a Jacques Cousteau-esque documentary filmmaker played by Bill Murray, serves as a classic example of Anderson's style but its critical reception was less favorable than his previous films and its box office did not match the heights of The Royal Tenenbaums.[18] In September 2006, following the disappointing commercial and critical reception of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen released a tongue-in-cheek "letter of intervention" for Anderson's artistic "malaise". Proclaiming themselves to be fans of "World Cinema" and Anderson in particular, they offered Anderson their soundtrack services for his The Darjeeling Limited, including lyrics for a title track.[19]

The Darjeeling Limited (2007), about three emotionally distant brothers traveling together on a train in India, reflected the more dramatic tone of The Royal Tenenbaums, but faced similar criticisms to The Life Aquatic. Anderson has acknowledged that he went to India to film the 2007 movie, partly as a tribute to the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, whose "films have also inspired all my other movies in different ways" (the film is dedicated to him).[20] The film starred Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson in addition to Adrien Brody, and the script was co-written by Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola.[21]

In 2008, Anderson was hired to write the screenplay of the American adaptation of My Best Friend, a French film, for producer Brian Grazer; Anderson's first draft was titled "The Rosenthaler Suite".

Anderson's stop motion animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl book Fantastic Mr Fox was released in 2009. Although not earning much more than its production budget, the film was highly praised and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Following the critical success of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson made Moonrise Kingdom, which opened the Cannes Film Festival 2012.[22] The film, emblematic of Anderson's style, was a financial success and earned Anderson another Academy Award nomination for his screenplay.

Anderson's latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), starred Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, and Saoirse Ronan, among many others, along with several of his regular collaborators including Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman.[23] Set in the 1930s, it followed the adventures of M. Gustave, the hotel's concierge, making "a marvelous mockery of history, turning its horrors into a series of graceful jokes and mischievous gestures", according to The New York Times.[24] The film represented one of Anderson's greatest critical and commercial successes, grossing nearly $175 million worldwide and earning dozens of award nominations including nine Oscar nominations with four wins.[25] Anderson received three Oscar nominations, including his first for Best Director for the film.

Anderson has also created several notable short films. In addition to the original Bottle Rocket short, he made the Paris-set Hotel Chevalier (2007), which was created as a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited and starred Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, and the Italy-set Castello Cavalcanti (2013),[26] which was produced by Prada and starred Jason Schwartzman as an unsuccessful race-car driver. Additionally, he has directed a number of television commercials for companies such as Stella Artois and Prada, including an elaborate American Express ad, in which he starred as himself.[27]

Anderson's cinematic influences include François Truffaut, Louis Malle, Satyajit Ray,[28] John Huston, Mike Nichols, Hal Ashby,[29] Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Orson Welles, and Roman Polanski.[30]

Directing techniques

Themes and stories

Anderson has chosen to direct mostly fast-paced comedies marked by more serious or melancholic elements, with themes often centered on grief, loss of innocence, parental abandonment, adultery, sibling rivalry and unlikely friendships. His movies have been noted for being unusually character-driven, and by turns both derided and praised with terms like "literary geek chic". The plots of his movies often feature thefts and unexpected disappearances, with a tendency to borrow liberally from the caper genre.[31]

Visual style

Anderson has been noted for his extensive use of flat space camera moves, obsessively symmetrical compositions, snap-zooms, slow-motion walking shots, a deliberately limited color palette, and hand-made art direction often utilizing miniatures.[32] These stylistic choices give his movies a highly distinctive quality that has provoked much discussion, critical study, supercuts and mash-ups, and even parody. Many writers, critics and even Anderson himself have commented that this gives his movies the feel of being "self-contained worlds", or a "scale model household". According to Michael Chabon, with "a baroque pop bent that is not realist, surrealist or magic realist", but rather might be described as "fabul[ist]".[33][not in citation given]

From The Life Aquatic on, Anderson has relied more heavily on stop motion animation and miniatures, even making an entire feature with stop motion animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox.[34]

Soundtracks

Anderson frequently uses pop music from the 1960s and 70s on the soundtracks of his films, and one band or musician tends to dominate each soundtrack. In Rushmore, Cat Stevens and British Invasion groups featured prominently, The Royal Tenenbaums included multiple songs recorded by Nico and The Velvet Underground, The Life Aquatic was replete with David Bowie including both originals and covers performed by Seu Jorge, The Kinks appeared on the soundtrack for The Darjeeling Limited and Rushmore, The Beach Boys in Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Hank Williams for Moonrise Kingdom. (Much of Moonrise Kingdom is filled with the music of Benjamin Britten, which is tied to a number of major plot points for that film) [35] The Grand Budapest Hotel is notable for being the first Anderson film to eschew using any pop music from the 1950s, 60s or 70s, likely due to it being set in the early 1930s. The soundtracks for his films have often brought renewed attention to the artists featured, most prominently in the case of "These Days", which was used in The Royal Tenenbaums.[36]

Personal life

Anderson is dating Lebanese writer, costume designer and voice actress Juman Malouf.[37][38] He lives in New York City but has spent extensive time in Paris.[39][40]

His brother is artist Eric Chase Anderson, who illustrated the Criterion Collection releases of Anderson's films and provided the voice of Kristofferson in Fantastic Mr. Fox.[41]

Filmography

Features

Year Title Director Producer Writer Actor Role Notes
1996 Bottle Rocket Yes Yes Yes Passenger on Bus (uncredited) Co-written with Owen Wilson
1998 Rushmore Yes Yes Yes Yes Student (uncredited) Co-written with Owen Wilson
2001 The Royal Tenenbaums Yes Yes Yes Yes Tennis Match Commentator (uncredited) Co-written with Owen Wilson
2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Noah Baumbach
2005 The Squid and the Whale Yes Co-produced with Peter Newman, Charlie Corwin, and Clara Markowicz
2007 The Darjeeling Limited Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola
2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox Yes Yes Yes Yes Weasel Co-written with Noah Baumbach
2012 Moonrise Kingdom Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Roman Coppola
2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Hugo Guinness (story)
2015 She's Funny That Way Yes Co-produced with Noah Baumbach
- Untitled Stop-Motion Animated film about Dogs Yes Yes Pre-production[42][43]

Short films

Year Title Director Producer Writer Actor Role Notes
1992 Bottle Rocket Yes Yes Short film, co-written with Owen Wilson
2007 Hotel Chevalier Yes Yes Short film, created as a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited
2013 Castello Cavalcanti Yes Yes Short film, created for Prada starring Jason Schwartzman

Commercials and promotional videos

Year Title Director Producer Writer Actor Role Notes
2004 American Express: My Life, My Card Yes Yes Yes Himself Commercial starring Anderson as himself as he directs an elaborate fake film featuring Jason Schwartzman[44]
2008 Softbank Yes Japanese commercial filmed in France and starring Brad Pitt
2010 Stella Artois: Apartomatic Yes Commercial, co-directed with Roman Coppola
2012 Cousin Ben Troop Screening with Jason Schwartzman Yes Yes Promotional short for Moonrise Kingdom
2013 Prada: Candy Yes Commercial

Recurring collaborators

Anderson's films feature many of the same actors, crew members, and other collaborators, including the Wilson brothers (Owen, Luke, and Andrew), Bill Murray,[45] Willem Dafoe, Seymour Cassel, Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Kumar Pallana and son Dipak Pallana, Stephen Dignan and Brian Tenenbaum, and Eric Chase Anderson (Anderson's brother). Other frequent collaborators include writer Noah Baumbach (who co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox, with Anderson co-producing his film The Squid and the Whale), Owen Wilson (who co-wrote three of Anderson's feature films), cinematographer Robert Yeoman (A.S.C.), music supervisor Randall Poster, and composers Mark Mothersbaugh and Alexandre Desplat.

Actor/actress Bottle Rocket (1996) Rushmore (1998) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2005) The Darjeeling Limited (2007) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Untitled Animated Movie [46][47][48]
Waris Ahluwalia NoN NoN NoN
Bob Balaban NoN NoN NoN
Adrien Brody NoN NoN NoN
Seymour Cassel NoN NoN NoN
Willem Dafoe NoN NoN NoN
Michael Gambon NoN NoN
Jeff Goldblum NoN NoN NoN
Anjelica Huston NoN NoN NoN
Harvey Keitel NoN NoN
Bill Murray NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN
Edward Norton NoN NoN NoN
Kumar Pallana NoN NoN NoN NoN
Jason Schwartzman NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN
Tilda Swinton NoN NoN NoN
Andrew Wilson NoN NoN NoN
Luke Wilson NoN NoN NoN
Owen Wilson NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result
1996 MTV Movie Award Best New Filmmaker Bottle Rocket Won
Lone Star Film & Television Award Debut of the Year Shared with Luke Wilson & Owen Wilson Won
1998 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award New Generation Award Bottle Rocket & Rushmore Won
1999 Lone Star Film & Television Award Best Director Rushmore Won
Best Writer Shared with Owen Wilson Won
National Society of Film Critics Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Won
Independent Spirit Award Best Director Won
2001 New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Screenplay The Royal Tenenbaums Won
2002 Academy Award Best Original Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
BAFTA Film Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Best Screenplay Shared with Owen Wilson Nominated
2003 Bodil Award Best American Film Nominated
DVD Premiere Award Best Audio Commentary Nominated
2005 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Nominated
Golden Satellite Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Nominated
2006 Independent Spirit Award Best Feature The Squid and the Whale Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
2007 Gijón International Film Festival Award Best Feature The Darjeeling Limited Nominated
Venice International Film Festival Award Golden Lion Nominated
Little Golden Lion Won
2008 Bodil Award Best American Film Nominated
2009 National Society of Film Critics Award Special Achievement Award Fantastic Mr. Fox Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
2010 Academy Award Best Animated Feature Nominated
Annie Award Best Writing in a Feature Production Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
Directing in a Feature Production Nominated
BAFTA Film Award Best Animated Film Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Nominated
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Nominated
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award Special Achievement Award for Best Film Nominated
National Society of Film Critics Award Best Director Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Director Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
Producers Guild of America Award Best Animated Theatrical Motion Picture Shared with Allison Abbate and Scott Rudin Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award Best Original Screenplay Shared with Noah Baumbach Won
2012 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Moonrise Kingdom Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Original Screenplay Shared with Roman Coppola Nominated
2013 Academy Award Best Original Screenplay Shared with Roman Coppola Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Original Screenplay Shared with Roman Coppola Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
Independent Spirit Award Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Shared with Roman Coppola Nominated
2014 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear The Grand Budapest Hotel Nominated
Jury Grand Prix (Silver Bear) Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
David di Donatello David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film Won
Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards Best Director Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Runner-up
Best Screenplay Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Screenplay Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Director 2nd Place
Best Original Screenplay Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award[49] Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Shared with Hugo Guinness Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Won
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Won
2015 87th Academy Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Runner-up
Best Original Screenplay Runner-up
72nd Golden Globe Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Won
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Comedy Won
68th British Academy Film Awards Best Direction Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
4th AACTA International Awards Best Direction Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Denver Film Critics Society Best Original Screenplay Nominated
67th Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
London Film Critics' Awards Director of the Year Nominated
Screenwriter of the Year Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Screenplay Won
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Best Original Screenplay Won
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Won
67th Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Won

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />
Bibliography
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Script error: The function "top" does not exist.

Script error: The function "bottom" does not exist. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDZS-WRQ
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/wes-anderson/print/
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ [1]
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ According to Matt Zoller Seitz, the author of The Wes Anderson Collection http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/wes-anderson-collection-24-tidbits-matt-zoller-seitz.html
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Wes_Anderson&oldid=718060"