WES

WES offers a deep dive into the life and work of filmmaker and auteur, Wes Anderson. Articles highlight Anderson’s work through exploration of color, casting, and his unique ability to separate himself from other filmmakers. WES includes exclusive inside looks at set and prop design. It also showcases the work of others who equally enjoy Wes Anderson and his films. Being that Anderson has created such outstanding films, it is my goal to help educate others of his work in ways that haven’t been achieved before. Created by an enthusiast for the enthusiast, WES is a one time release and should be enjoyed as such.

Wes Anderson

The 21st Century Auteur, making his life his art

Innovative, inspirational, unconventional. These are a few words to describe the award winning American filmmaker Wesley “Wes” Wales Anderson, otherwise known as Wes Anderson. Praised for his ingenuity and authenticity, Wes has always been a creative individual. Anderson was born in Houston, Texas in May of 1969. He is the second of three boys and was raised by successful parents, who would later divorce. Anderson would graduate from St. John’s School in 1987, which would later be used as the prominent set for his film Rushmore (1998). Originally wanting to be an architect and later a writer, Anderson spent a majority of his high school and college career writing plays. He would accept a part time job as a cinema projectionist in his college years, and would later meet close friend and colleague Owen Wilson. The two would become good friends and would work closely in the coming decades. The duo began with writing and directing a short film titled ‘Bottle

Rocket’ (1994). This would mark the beginning of a professional partnership with many films to follow, and is what sparked the two’s successful careers in the film industry. In his lifetime, he has received a handful of awards, one of which being the ‘BAFTA Award’ for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ in 2015 for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel.’

Anderson’s films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual narrative. Wes himself recognizes this, and claims to feel as if he is not a part of any establishment, and that he possesses his own style and voice. “There’s a rhythm that’s not quite reality.” He crafts a majority of his stories from the lives of young adults, those in which could be described as flawed misfits. He often disguises melancholy and serious subjects in more quick and comedic tones. He also uses color to build complex moods and emotions in his viewers.

Moonrise Kingdom

Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best. The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a community that seems untouched by some of the bad things going on in the rest of the world. Twelve-year-olds Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) have fallen in love and decide to run away. But a violent storm is approaching the island, forcing a group of quirky adults (Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray) to mobilize a search party and find the youths before calamity strikes. Moonrise Kingdom is a sweet heartwarming coming-of-age comedic drama that showcases some great talent. That talent mostly being Wes Anderson who has crafted an authentic drama with some contemporary flavors. His

direction is so quirky that it’s hard not to fall in love with it. The centralization of characters and objects with the camera, the still shots of the excellent production design, the side track panning as characters walk along and a nice 360 degree scene within a house. It’s a basic plot but the animated characters and young performances help reinvigorate this exhausted genre. Our typical Anderson cast (Norton, Swinton, Keitel, Murray etc.) are all here again and give great performances. The awkward yet loving chemistry between our two young leads was molded with care and tenderness that I found somewhat relatable. Again, the production design was genius. I love how it purposefully looks like it’s built for a stage show as opposed to a cinematic piece, there is something so idiosyncratic about Anderson’s choice of style that just makes it wonderful. It’s a sweet film and Anderson’s style is impeccable.

“Jiminy Cricket, He Flew The Coop.”

The Royal Tenenbaums

2001

Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary and are all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father’s fault. The Royal Tenenbaums is the story of the family’s sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter. A family portrait both melancholic and anarchic, the meticulous brushstrokes on display in writer-director Wes Anderson’s Royal Tenenbaums presents an auteur at the top of his game and the most entertaining and heartfelt filmic example yet of that old cinema chestnut: having one dysfunctional family under one roof for one last time. Everything — from the screenplay, set design, casting, soundtrack, and locations — serve as an integral cog in the world-building wheel of this fantastic and, at the time, unreal story about the undying bonds of family. Even beset with terminal cynicism and sarcasm, the idiosyncrasyfilled miscreants falling from the Tenenbaum family tree ultimately don’t fail each other despite overwhelming odds and inklings. It nails Anderson’s quirky trademarks perfectly. Bottom line: Family Valued.

As a creative tool, color is highly influential in affecting the mood of the viewer. Certain colors can create specific psychological responses, as connections can be made between colors and moods, relationships and concepts. Similar colors can create relationships between dissimilar objects. An abundance of red can create feelings of desire and excitement, green to soothe and calm, yellow to create an aura of happiness and positivity.

Being a post-modern filmmaker, Anderson references Auteurism; which is the creation of film with a direct influence from the filmmaker’s distinctive style. Every scene is shown through a personal filter of the filmmaker’s views, experience and opinions, using visuals as a method of social criticism to encourage viewers to interpret their content in a specific way. In addition, Auteurism includes a filmmaker being involved in every aspect of the film’s creation; including scouting, costuming, interior design and sound design.

Use of Color

Wes’s success as a filmmaker is reliant on his use of color. When viewing digital media, audiences often have poor color memory, as there is very little unique visual harmony. However, even by only reading the title of a Wes Anderson film, it’s incredibly easy to recall its feature colors. The rich purple, red and pink of The Grand Budapest Hotel. The unique orange, beige and pale blue of The Royal Tenenbaums. The primary red, blue and yellow of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Anderson’s ability to become memorable and instantly recognisable simply due to his aesthetics are a major reason for his indie success.

Bill Murray

Born in 1950 in Illinois, Bill Murray eventually relocated to New York City, where he took his comedic talents to radio’s National Lampoon Hour. In 1975, he was in an off-Broadway spin-off of the comedy radio show when Howard Cosell recruited him for a show called Saturday Night Live. Meanwhile, Lorne Michaels had his own Saturday Night Live running concurrently,

and when Murray joined the cast in 1976, he began crafting the comedic persona that became his calling card for many films to come, from Stripes to Caddyshack. In his later career, Murray took on more seriocomic roles in many of director Wes Anderson’s movies, as well as Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor.

Owen Wilson

Wilson was born in Dallas, the middle child of three sons of photographer Laura Cunningham Wilson (born 1939) and Robert Andrew Wilson (1941–2017), an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. His brothers Andrew and Luke are also actors. Wilson’s parents are of Irish descent. He attended New Mexico Military Institute, amongst other schools. He later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, but did not graduate. While in college, he met and was roommates with director and frequent collaborator Wes Anderson. After his film debut in Bottle Rocket (1996), Wilson co-wrote with Wes Anderson the script

for Anderson’s next two directorial films, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums , for which they garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. While Wilson did not act in Rushmore he appears briefly in a photograph in the film. Wilson then landed a role in The Cable Guy , directed by Ben Stiller, an early admirer of Bottle Rocket . After appearing in supporting roles in action films like Anaconda and Armageddon and the horror film The Haunting , Wilson appeared in two dramatic roles: a supporting role in Permanent Midnight , which starred Stiller as a drug-addicted TV writer; and the lead role (as a serial killer) in The Minus Man , in which his future girlfriend, singer Sheryl Crow, was a co-star.

The Darjeeling Limited

2007

Estranged brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) reunite for a train trip across India. The siblings have not spoken in over a year, ever since their father passed away. Francis is recovering from a motorcycle accident, Peter cannot cope with his wife’s pregnancy, and Jack cannot get over his ex-lover. The brothers fall into old patterns of behavior as Francis reveals the real reason for the reunion: to visit their mother in a Himalayan convent. The Darjeeling Limited is one

of Wes Anderson’s most mature films, but still has all the beautiful imagery, funny yet touching writing, and brilliant performances we could’ve hoped for. Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzmen all give great performances. This relationship is the heart of the film, but also is able to show off the charming dynamic between the three. The Darjeeling Limited was not a film, but an experience. As the credits rolled I found a big smile on my face, something Wes Anderson has achieved time and time again.

“Maybe we could express ourselves more fully when we say it without words.”

The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014

In the 1930s, the Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave’s friend and protege. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel’s guests, including satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there. When one of Gustave’s lovers dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder. Zero is a stoic and observant pupil, whose painted on pencil mustache suggests that perhaps he shares some of his mentor’s rarefied tastes. Soon mayhem will hit the grand hotel in

the form of murder, revenge, and a sinister dark plot. Brilliant direction by Wes Anderson, with terrific supporting performances by F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amairic, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Kietel, Jude Law, Billy Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson. Impressive cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman, and a sensational score by Alexandre Desplat. An absurdly funny and original madcap comedy. Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. Highly Recommended.

“Rudeness is merely an expression of fear. People fear they won’t get what they want. The most dreadful and unattractive person only needs to be loved, and they will open up like a flower.”

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

2004

Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned (Owen Wilson), a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane (Cate Blanchett), a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou’s past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston). Zissou is both a parody of and homage to French diving pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997), to whom the film is dedicated. Of course, the enjoyment was greater when you have Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Seu Jorge, and Bud Cort also featured in the

film. This is one of the most thoroughly and elaborately designed movies I have ever seen — ev en more so than Anderson’s other films. The look and feel of The Life Aquatic , drenched in knowing eccentricity, can only be Anderson’s own vision. He really does create an all-encompassing world of wackiness. The design of Zissou’s rickety-rackety ship, the Belafonte, is a work of art in its own right. The captain takes us on a guided tour, and the ship’s various cabins and staterooms are laid open to us in cross-section. If The Life Aquatic were a prog-rock concept album (and in a way it is), then the map of this beautiful and strange ship would open out on a double-gatefold. The resulting film is as much an exploration of fading youth and mortality as it is a dazzling dive into the wonders of the deep.

Adrien Brody

Adrien Nicholas Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the only child of retired history professor Elliot Brody and Hungarian-born photographer Sylvia Plachy. He accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice, and credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the camera. Adrien attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York. Despite a strong performance in The Thin Red Line (1998), time constraints forced the director to edit out much of Adrien’s part. In spite of his later work with Spike Lee and Barry Levinson, he never became the star many expected he would become until Roman Polanski called on him to play a celebrated Jewish pianist in Nazioccupied Warsaw. He pulled off a brilliant performance in The Pianist (2002), drawing on the heritage and rare dialect of his Polish-born grandmother, as well as his father, who lost family members during the Holocaust, and his mother, who fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 uprising against the Soviet Union. In 2014, Brody collaborated with Wes Anderson in the Academy Award-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel, where he played Dmitri.

Edward Norton

Filmmaker, American actor, and activist Edward Harrison Norton was born on August 18, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Columbia, Maryland. His mother, Lydia Robinson “Robin” (Rouse), was a foundation executive and teacher of English, and a daughter of famed real estate developer James Rouse, who developed Columbia, MD; she passed away of brain cancer on March 6, 1997. His father, Edward Mower Norton, was an environmental lawyer and conservationist, who works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Edward has two younger siblings, James and Molly. From the age of five onward, the Yale graduate (majoring in history) was interested in acting. At the age of eight, he would ask his drama teacher what his motivation in a scene was. He attended theater schools throughout his life, and eventually managed to find work on stage in New York as a member of the Signature players, who produced the works of playwright and director Edward Albee. Norton had two lead film roles in 2012. He starred as scoutmaster Randy Ward in charge of finding his missing camper in the coming-of-age film Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson. The film was acclaimed by critics and grossed over $68 million. He collaborated again with director Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel, which featured an ensemble cast and won four Academy Awards.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009

After 12 years of bucolic bliss, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) breaks a promise to his wife (Meryl Streep) and raids the farms of their human neighbors, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Giving in to his animal instincts endangers not only his marriage but also the lives of his family and their animal friends. When the farmers force Mr. Fox and company deep underground, he has to resort to his natural craftiness to rise above the opposition. Wes Anderson’s trademark ironic eccentricity and Roald Dahl’s vaguely menacing but entirely lighthearted surrealism combine to form Fantastic Mr. Fox , Anderson’s first animated effort (and, by all accounts, one using maddeningly traditional stop-motion techniques). It’s ostensibly a children’s film, but rather transparently aimed at their parents, who likely read Dahl’s books in grade school, remember stop-motion when it didn’t feel vintage, and have been following Anderson’s work for years now. The tale has been greatly expanded from the Dahl original to cover familiar Anderson themes of family, rivalry, and feeling different. And with its lush autumnal palette and hijinks worthy of Max Fisher or Dignan, the result is a film that only Wes Anderson could have made.

Isle of Dogs

2018

When, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture. The beautifully stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs finds Wes Anderson at his detail-oriented best while telling one of the director’s most winsomely charming stories. This film is criminally underrated and one of the best stop motions films alongside Fantastic Mr. Fox . Isle of Dogs deserves more praise from critics and audiences alike. It is his most visually stunning film. Isle of Dogs is a perfect film for dog lovers, or maybe just animal lovers in general. It expresses the special bond and friendship between humans and their pets. Wes Anderson realizes these ideas with an amazing, unique flare. The best thing of all is that Anderson achieves his vision with a form of animation that the industry has rendered close to obsolete.

Storybook Motif

Wes Anderson’s style can be summed up as this: Direct-directing. Wes Anderson is the most direct director in popular cinema today, but his films are simultaneously idiosyncratic and relentlessly detailed. Laced throughout his films are nuanced production design elements and visual gags, but executed in such a deliberate manner that the viewer always ‘catches’ these little easter eggs that inform our mood. The Wes Anderson style is Wes Anderson himself. A hard working, thoughtful human who is focused on his imagination. His visuals are an extension of his own psychology. Anderson is those clothes, those Zissou Adidas, those record players...Those memories. Rather than portray himself predominantly through his characters, he finds a

more sophisticated way to express his unique personality through his visuals. This is where many other directors fall short with their auteurist spirit. You don’t have to like Wes Anderson films to appreciate the way he moves the camera, composes shots, and directs the actors. He makes robust, thoughtful films that use every department to the fullest degree. Each of his more recent films could be described as a visually spectacular tour de force. This is because he pays “relentless attention to detail.” He directs your attention to what he wants, when he wants, and he is a master at making each image count through the use of cinema.

Design

We have been taught to believe that for production design to be successful, it must be invisible. I think Wes Anderson production design proves that visible, bold production design can also be successful in moving a story and character forward. What fascinates me most, I suppose, is what Matt Zoller Seitz refers to as “material synecdoche—showcasing objects, locations, or articles of clothing that define whole personalities, relationships, or conflicts.” This alone cuts to the core of what production design is and why Anderson’s films are so well-designed despite being logistically ambitious and overtly in your face.

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