Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative styles,[1] and frequent use of ensemble casts, critics have cited Anderson as anauteur. Three of his films[a] appeared inBBC Culture's2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000.[2]
Wesley Wales Anderson was born on May 1, 1969, inHouston, Texas, to Ann Anderson (née Burroughs), arealtor andarchaeologist,[6] and Melver Leonard Anderson, who worked in advertising andpublic relations.[7][8][9][10] He is the second of three boys; his parents divorced when he was eight.[10] His older brother, Mel, is a physician, and his younger brother,Eric Chase Anderson, is a writer and artist whose paintings and designs have appeared in several of Anderson's films, includingThe Royal Tenenbaums.[11] Anderson is of English, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry.[12]
Anderson's first film wasBottle Rocket (1996), based on a short film of the same name that he made withLuke andOwen Wilson. It is acrime caper about a group of young Texans aspiring to achieve major heists. It was well reviewed but performed poorly at the box office.[18][19][20]
Anderson's next comedy-drama,The Royal Tenenbaums, was released in 2001. The film focuses on a successful, artistic New York City family and its ostracized patriarch, played byGene Hackman. It also starsAnjelica Huston as the ex-wife andBen Stiller,Luke Wilson, andGwyneth Paltrow as the children. The film was a box-office and critical success. It was Anderson's greatest financial success untilMoonrise Kingdom, earning more than $50 million in domestic box-office receipts.The Royal Tenenbaums was nominated for anAcademy Award and ranked by anEmpire poll as the 159th greatest film ever made.[24]
Anderson's next feature wasThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), about aJacques Cousteau-esque documentary filmmaker played by Bill Murray. The film also stars Owen Wilson,Cate Blanchett,Willem Dafoe,Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, andMichael Gambon. It is 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 ofThe Royal Tenenbaums.[25]
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) was about three emotionally distant brothers traveling together on a train in India. It reflects the more dramatic tone ofThe Royal Tenenbaums but faced criticism similar to those ofThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Anderson has acknowledged that he went to India to film the movie partly as a tribute to Indian filmmakerSatyajit Ray, whose "films have also inspired all my other movies in different ways" (the film is dedicated to him).[26] The film stars Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson in addition toAdrien Brody, and the script is by Anderson, Schwartzman, andRoman Coppola.[27]
Anderson has also made several notable short films. In addition to the originalBottle Rocket short, he madeHotel Chevalier (2007), which is set inParis. It is a prologue toThe Darjeeling Limited, and stars Schwartzman alongsideNatalie Portman. He wrote a script forBrian Grazer for an English-language remake ofPatrice Leconte'sMy Best Friend. In 2010 he said that he did not plan to direct the film, tentatively calledThe Rosenthaler Suite.[28] In 2009, Anderson'sstop-motion-animated filmadaptation based on theRoald Dahl bookFantastic Mr Fox was released. Its voice actors include Murray, Dafoe, Schwartzman, Brody, Gambon, Owen Wilson,George Clooney, andMeryl Streep. Critics praised it highly and it was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature, although it barely made back its production budget.
In 2012, Anderson's filmMoonrise Kingdom was released, debuting at theCannes Film Festival, where it competed for thePalme d'Or.[29] The film is acoming-of-age comedy set in a fictionalNew England town. It includes ensemble performances by Bill Murray,Edward Norton,Bruce Willis,Frances McDormand, andTilda Swinton. The film is emblematic of Anderson's style and earned him another Academy Award nomination for his screenplay. The film was also a financial success, earning $68.3 million at the box office against a budget of only $16 million.
"But it's also what surrounds it, where all the actors stay in the same hotel. We have dinner at one table every single night with Wes and all guests; it's like actor camp... On a Wes Anderson film there are no trailers, no dressing rooms... there's no hierarchy, no call sheet—you are just ready to go at about 9:30, 10:00 in the morning in your wardrobe. You hop in his golf cart with him or a van and you go to the set... you hang out with everyone so you never know if you are going to be called into a scene. He's such a kind and generous spirit... also in his personal life. Everyone makes the same amount of money. You just show up and off you go. Sometimes you might [be] just a small supporting role in a scene and then [in] others you'll be the lead in a movie.[56]
TheSoviet comedy movieWelcome, or No Trespassing byElem Klimov (1964) has been pointed out as one major source of inspiration for Wes Anderson, specifically its “camera work, storytelling devices, and charming whimsy".[63]
In 2022, Wes Anderson participated in theBritish Film Institute'sSight and Sound polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Anderson's choices, all French, in chronological order, were:[65]
Anderson's work has been classified aspostmodern, on account of his nostalgic attention to detail, his subversion of mainstream conventions of narrative, his references to different genres in the same film, and his love for eccentric characters with complex sexual identities.[68][69]
Anderson has mostly directed fast-paced comedies marked by more serious or melancholic elements, with themes often centered on grief, loss of innocence, dysfunctional families, parental abandonment, adultery, sibling rivalry and unlikely friendships. His movies have been noted as unusually character-driven and, by turns, both derided and praised with terms like "literary geek chic".[70][71] Their plots often feature thefts and unexpected disappearances, with a tendency to borrow liberally from thecaper genre.[72]
According to Alex Buono,[73] Anderson has been noted for extensive use of flat space camera moves (pans, tilts, and zooms within scenes that look two-dimensional),[74] symmetrical compositions,snap-zooms (rapid, shakey zooms onto subjects),[75] slow-motion walking shots, a deliberately limited color palette, and handmade art direction often using miniatures. These stylistic choices give his movies a distinctive quality that has provoked much discussion, critical study, supercuts, mash-ups, and parody. Many writers, critics, and Anderson himself have commented that this gives his movies the feel of being "self-contained worlds" or a "scale-model household".[76] According to Jesse Fox Mayshark, his films have "a baroquepop bent that is not realist, surrealist or magic realist", but rather might be described as "fabul[ist]".[77] In 2019, the company Murals Wallpaper launched a line of wallpapers inspired by the visual design of Anderson's films.[78]
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 inThe Royal Tenenbaums.[81]
In 2009, Anderson signed a petition in support of directorRoman Polanski after Polanski was detained while traveling to a film festival arrest on his 1977sexual abuse charges. The petition argued the arrest would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[86][87]
Anderson is in a romantic relationship with Lebanese writer, costume designer, and voice actressJuman Malouf,[88][89] the daughter of novelistHanan al-Shaykh.[90] Malouf gave birth to the couple's daughter, Freya in 2016.[91] Bill Murray is the godfather.[92]
Anderson has maintained an apartment in Paris since 2005, after spending most of his adult life in New York City.[93][94][95] He is the brother of author, illustrator and actorEric Chase Anderson.[96]
In January 2021,The Simpsons aired itsthirty-second season episode titled "The Dad-Feelings Limited", a reference to Anderson's 2007 filmThe Darjeeling Limited. The episode itself tells the origin story ofComic Book Guy and refers to several Anderson styles and tropes, including aRoyal Tenenbaums-esque chronicling of the character's elaborate family tree.[100]
In October 2021, Anderson redesigned the interior of thePullman carriageCygnus, which had its first run with the new design on October 13, 2021.[101]
In July 26, 2023, The fourth episode of Season 2 ofThe Afterparty the portion of the episode shown as a flashback is a clear homage to Anderson style of film making.[102]
^abcdCollin, Robbie (February 19, 2014)."Wes Anderson interview".The Daily Telegraph.Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. RetrievedDecember 19, 2014.
^abc"Wild, Wild Wes".The New Yorker. November 2, 2009.Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. RetrievedDecember 19, 2014.
^Chabon, Michael (January 31, 2013)."Wes Anderson's Worlds".New York Review of Books.Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. RetrievedJuly 28, 2014.
.jpg)
2.jpg)
