Wes Anderson has been working on films with actor/writer Owen Wilson since the two met as students at the University of Texas in the early 1990s. Out of college, the two wrote and Anderson directed the comedy Bottle Rockets (first as a short, then as a feature in 1996), a quirky comedy that found a limited but enthusiastic audience. Anderson and Owen then reached a wider audience with Rushmore (1998, with Bill Murray) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001, with Gwyneth Paltrow), and Anderson proved himself as a filmmaker with a distinctive style. Anderson's movies are neither epic nor flashy; he creates characters and tells stories of relationships with understated humor, earning him comparisons to filmmaker Woody Allen.
Career Highlights: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited
First Major Screen Credit: Bottle Rocket (1996)
Biography
Bolstered by the support of veteran director James L. Brooks and producer Polly Platt, Wes Anderson attained a status in the late 1990s that most young filmmakers only dream of achieving -- he proved that he could work within the Hollywood studio system and still create distinctive, willfully quirky films infused with an independent sensibility. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Anderson was interested in filmmaking and performance from a young age, shooting crude Super-8 movies and staging elaborate school plays (including a hand-puppet adaptation of the 1980 Kenny Rogers vehicle The Gambler).
As a philosophy student at the University of Texas at Austin, Anderson found a kindred spirit in classmate Owen Wilson, who shared the director's passion for playwriting and watching classic films of the '70s. The two became roommates and lingered at UT -- even after they had completed their degree requirements -- as Anderson honed his skills at a local public access television station and Wilson performed in local stage productions. The duo then set out to shoot a full-length script they wrote, titled Bottle Rocket, recruiting two of Wilson's brothers, Luke Wilson and Andrew Wilson, to perform. Despite Andrew's production connections in Austin, however, the team eventually ran out of film stock and funds, and they had to edit their footage into a 13-minute short. The black-and-white production eventually found its way to fellow Texan filmmaker L.M. Kit Carson, a family friend of the Wilsons who was so impressed with the work that he sent a copy to his colleague Platt and convinced Anderson to enter the film in the Sundance Film Festival. Before long, the film had also garnered the attention of Platt's partner, Brooks, and he orchestrated a deal for Anderson to shoot the full-length feature with Columbia Pictures.
Billed as a botched-heist comedy, Bottle Rocket also made room for its characters' romantic neuroses and aimless slacker ennui. Though critics responded to such a mix -- likening the coming-of-age tale to everything from Easy Rider to Saturday Night Fever -- Columbia barely promoted the picture's early-1996 release, and it was quickly swept out of theaters. Luckily, positive word-of-mouth gave it a healthy life on video, and Anderson remained a noteworthy young talent, winning the Best New Filmmaker award at the MTV Movie Awards later that year. The director began to shop his second script around town with little success, until Disney chairman and Rocket fan Joe Roth signed on to Anderson's project, vowing to give him low-budget, hands-off support.
The resulting film, Rushmore, was completed in 1998. Instead of test-marketing the film with focus groups (as had been done with Rocket), Roth and Anderson opted instead to take the feature to festivals. Critics gave the film an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception: by the time it opened in wide release in February, 1999, Premiere magazine had called Rushmore the best film of the year, and co-star Bill Murray had already been named Best Supporting Actor by both the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Associations, as well as the National Film Critics Society. A bittersweet coming-of-age tale about an underachieving but ambitious-to-a-fault teen, played with gusto by the unknown Jason Schwartzman, the film scored points for its wry, deadpan sense of humor and inventive visuals. Anderson drew from sources as disparate as Murmur of the Heart, Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoons, and Meatballs, giving the proceedings a giddy absurdity without ever losing genuine compassion for his characters. Despite the orgy of positive reviews and Touchstone studios' aggressive marketing campaign, however, the director's second feature failed to resonate with audiences who may have been expecting a laugh-a-minute Murray vehicle. Worse yet, when Academy Awards nominations were announced in mid-February, Murray was passed over in favor of actors in more traditionally high-minded roles.
Still, Anderson's ardent fans -- including director Martin Scorsese, who listed Rocket as one of his 10 favorite movies of the 1990s -- eagerly awaited his 2001 effort. Titled The Royal Tenenbaums, the J.D. Salinger-inspired tale revolved around a loose-knit, oddly-dressed, super-intellectual Manhattan family, and reunited some of the cast of Rushmore with a new phalanx of stars including Danny Glover, Anjelica Huston, and Gene Hackman. Given a careful platform release by Touchstone, the film garnered enough critical praise and positive word-of-mouth to rally over $50 million dollars in box office receipts -- more than three times that of Rushmore -- proving perhaps that the public had finally come around to Anderson's uniquely skewed worldview. At the very least, the members of the Academy had: In February, 2002, Anderson and Wilson garnered a Best Original Screenplay nomination for their multi-character tragicomedy.
Anderson's worldview didn't serve him quite as well on his next feature, 2004's curiously titled seafaring opus The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Pairing again with Bill Murray on the heels of the actor's acclaimed turn in Lost in Translation, Anderson crafted a paean to another arrested adolescent, this time a sort of slacker Jacques Cousteau. Co-writing the screenplay with Kicking and Screaming auteur Noah Baumbach -- thereby freeing up his usual scribe-mate Wilson for a prominent supporting role as Zissou's purported son -- Anderson crafted an absurdist adventure as whimsical as it was sprawling. Bolstered by an omnipresent promotional campaign, The Life Aquatic attracted hordes of Anderson-philes to the theaters, at least in its first couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the film was greeted with what must've been a first for the young filmmaker: critical indifference. Despite its candy-colored visual scheme, The Life Aquatic didn't attract half the audience of Tenenbaums, and was ignored in year-end awards races.
Regrouping for a project that was at once more ambitious and less far-flung, Anderson collaborated with Rushmore star Schwartzman and friend Roman Coppola on the script for 2007's India-set The Darjeeling Limited. Exploring a similar dynamic to Bottle Rocket, the film set three fractious brothers -- Schwartzman, Wilson and Adrien Brody -- on a life-changing journey through the subcontinent. Toning down the whimsy and amping up the drama, the Fox Searchlight release found mixed reviews and a mostly appreciative, if small, audience. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Wesley Mortimer Wales Anderson
May 1, 1969 (1969-05-01)(age 40) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other name(s)
Marcelo Carrillo
Occupation
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Years active
1994–present
Wesley Mortimer Wales "Wes" Anderson[1] (born May 1, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials. He was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums. Anderson has been called an auteur, as he is involved in every aspect of his films' production. His films employ a similar aesthetic, employing a deliberate, methodical cinematography, with mostly primary colors. His soundtracks feature early folk and rock music. Anderson's films combine dry humor with poignant portrayals of flawed characters – often a mix of the wealthy and the working class. He is also known for working with many of the same actors and crew on varying projects.
The second of three brothers, Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and currently owns a public relations firm in Houston; his mother, Texas Ann Burroughs, a former archaeologist, is now a real estate agent and was the inspiration for Etheline Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Anderson attended both Westchester High School and St. John's School, a private school in Houston, which he later featured as a location for his second film, Rushmore. Like Rushmore's protagonist, Max Fischer, he wrote and directed plays on the stage of St. John's now-demolished Hoodwink Theatre.
Anderson divides his time between New York City and Paris, France. His friends include a diverse set of fellow filmmakers, including the screenwriter-director Noah Baumbach, the actor-screenwriter Owen Wilson, and director-actress Sofia Coppola. His brother, Eric, designs both the sets and styles for his films. His older brother, Mel, is a doctor.
Film work
Wes Anderson has frequently been referenced as a cinematic auteur,[2] as he is involved in every aspect of his films' production: writing, cinematography, production design, and music selection.
Influences
Anderson has recently acknowledged that he went to India to film his 2007 film, The Darjeeling Limited partly as a tribute to the legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, whose "films have also inspired all my other movies in different ways." He dedicated the movie to Ray's memory.[3]
His films employ a similar visual style, primarily through the use of vivid primary colors. He is known for deliberate, methodical cinematography, using 90 degree camera angles, parallel and perpendicular arrangement of forms, frequent use of symmetry, close-ups, quick pans, and slow motion shots.[4]
Wes Anderson is known for making independent-type stylistic films that mix poignancy and dry humor. Examples of his humor include malapropism and understatement.
All of Anderson's films utilize the font Futura Bold in either the opening credits, title sequences or closing credits and is also displayed in other printed materials used throughout his films.[5] Each film also uses Futura Bold to display the main closing credits in a particular format where the first name is displayed in a title case and the last name is displayed in all caps (except The Darjeeling Limited which uses capitals for full names).
He often uses folk and early rock (The Kinks) as the leitmotif to establish ambience in his films.
He frequently has many characters throughout his films who smoke cigarettes
His often damaged characters are viewed in a compassionate light.
His main characters frequently come from families with money (Anthony "never worked a day in his life" in Bottle Rocket, Blume's multimillion dollar business in Rushmore, the elaborate townhouse in The Royal Tenenbaums, Eleanor and her family money in Life Aquatic and the family inheritance in The Darjeeling Limited).
By contrast, each movie has minor characters who are working class (such as the housekeeper Inez in Bottle Rocket and personal assistant Pagoda in The Royal Tenenbaums)
About his American Express commercial, Anderson states that his films, "point out the beauty in flaws and vice versa."
The depiction of escapism and companionship through chemicals seems to be one of his trademarks also. In each of his films, one or more of the main characters smokes cigarettes or marijuana, excessively drinks, takes pills, etc. To accompany the cigarettes in his films he also features Zippo lighters prominently; from Dignan in Bottle Rocket lighting firecrackers to Raleigh St. Clair in The Royal Tenenbaums. Additionally, his films often feature a heavy-smoking female character.
A recurring character in Anderson's films is a respected middle aged male who is essentially a fraud.
All of Anderson's films, with the exception of The Darjeeling Limited, end with slow motion sequences[6] - although The Darjeeling Limited's antepenultimate shot is in slow motion.
All of his films portray a deteriorating family.[6]
A shot of a character's point of view is usually included, for example the opening to The Royal Tenenbaums or a person walking with their feet visible while reading a card, which can be seen in The Darjeeling Limited as the brothers examine their itinerary. This is also seen in Rushmore as Max first walks to Ms. Cross' classroom and in The Life Aquatic as Ned is walking to the helicopter reading a letter.
In 2005, Anderson produced The Squid and the Whale, written and directed by Life Aquatic co-writer Noah Baumbach. The Squid and the Whale won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival; one for its direction and one for its writing.[7] In 2006, he directed and starred in a "My Life, My Card" American Express commercial.
Critical reviews of Anderson's early work were positive, with some exceptions. His second film Rushmore was a critical darling, and many[who?] argued that Anderson would soon become a major artistic voice in American cinema.[citation needed] Many critics[who?] noted a strong sense of sympathetic but intelligent humanism in Anderson's films that linked them to the work of Jean Renoir and François Truffaut.[citation needed] Filmmaker Martin Scorsese is a big fan of Anderson's, praising Bottle Rocket and Rushmore in an Esquire magazine article and choosing him as the next Martin Scorsese.[9]The Royal Tenenbaums was also a critical favorite and garnered Anderson an Academy Award nomination. The film was his first high-profile commercial success, featuring several established movie stars.[citation needed]
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" of 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.[10]
Anderson was criticized by journalist Jonah Weiner for what the writer feels are shallow portrayals of non-white characters.[11]Reihan Salam of The Atlantic offered a rebuttal to this line of criticism.[12]
Advertising
In September 2007, Wes Anderson oversaw a series of six commercials for AT&T: “College Kid,” “Reporter,” “Mom,” “Architect,” “Actor” and “Businessman.” The campaign also includes online, print and outdoor advertising. These TV spots are part of AT&T's "Your Seamless World" national campaign from BBDO/New York. Each ad embodies Anderson's distinct style by focusing on a subject and having the environment around them change. Each of the six AT&T commercials introduces us to a different AT&T customer. As each of these people comes before the camera and talks about the different, far-reaching locales where he or she needs cell-phone service, the visuals behind the customer change dramatically to reflect the different destinations.
The "Reporter" piece was subject to controversy when several Lebanese-American groups protested its airing as ignorant given the complex and sensitive nature of the Lebanese political situation. The ad portrayed photojournalists dodging bullets on a Beirut rooftop while the city was being bombed. It was subsequently pulled from rotation after the assassination of Antoine Ghanem on September 19, 2007 with AT&T and BBDO issuing public apologies.[citation needed]
Anderson starred in and directed an American Express "My Life, My Card" commercial, which chronicled the "filming" of an action movie starring Jason Schwartzman. Anderson acts as if he is being interviewed by someone from American Express for the ad, while walking around completing tasks on set. It was aired on television and in movie theaters in both a short and extended version, during and shortly after the theatrical release of The Life Aquatic.
In 2008, Wes Anderson teamed up with Brad Pitt for a commercial for Japanese cell phones. The commercial takes inspiration from Jacques Tatis' Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. Anderson filmed Pitt in one continuous shot at a French seaside town.
In 2009 Wes Anderson signed a petition for the release of Roman Polanski who was 32 years earlier convicted of the rape of a 13 year old girl and had left the United States to avoid prosecution.
