Importance Score: 45 / 100 🔵
Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” Arrives at Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival is abuzz with anticipation as Wes Anderson presents his latest cinematic endeavor, “The Phoenician Scheme.” However, Anderson isn’t behind the wheel on the journey to Cannes. Instead, Laurent, a professional driver, is entrusted with safely transporting Anderson and his ensemble cast to the prestigious film festival.
A Unique Tradition: The Anderson Bus
Rather than utilizing standard festival transportation, Anderson has established a tradition of bringing his personal bus to Cannes. This allows the entire cast to travel together to the premiere. As Anderson travels from Paris to the South of France, he clarifies, “I don’t operate the bus. It demands around four years of training and a EU bus driver’s permit. The key element is that to drive a bus like this, you should be able to drive reversing, too.”
This year, “The Phoenician Scheme” sees Anderson accompanied by a stellar cast including Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Scarlett Johansson, and Bryan Cranston. The group will gather aboard the bus for the film’s premiere.
Anderson’s Signature Style
Anderson has consistently crafted distinctive films since his debut with “Bottle Rocket” (1996). While his filmography includes expansive family dramas such as “The Royal Tenenbaums,” more intimate works like “Rushmore,” and densely layered stories as seen in “Asteroid City,” his unique vision always shines through.
About “The Phoenician Scheme”
“The Phoenician Scheme,” distributed by Focus Features and scheduled for release on May 30, showcases Anderson in peak comedic form. This playful thriller stars Del Toro as the tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda, who designates his daughter (Threapleton) as the heir to his questionable fortune.
- Genre: Playful and poignant thriller
- Starring: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton
- U.S. Release Date: May 30
A Retrospective of a Career
As Anderson unveils his latest work, the Cinémathèque in Paris is hosting a retrospective of his films alongside an exhibition featuring props, costumes, and various artifacts from his personal collection. At 56, Anderson, father to a 9-year-old daughter with costume designer Juman Malouf, reflects on his career and its impact.
He shares insights into “The Phoenician Scheme” and its underlying message: “What matters is the sincerity of your devotion.”
On Preserving Movie Artifacts
ANDERSON: We’ve been keeping this stuff for so long. The experience of doing it was kind of great. I’d sort of get pulled over there to approve things. And my reaction was, “Well, we have more stuff.” So we kept adding things. My daughter has lived with a lot of this stuff. The “Fantastic Mr. Fox” puppets have been in our apartment in New York ever since we made the movie in boxes. Over the years, she takes them out and plays with them.
Collaborating with Jason Schwartzman
ANDERSON: (Laughs) Jason, and Bill, have a way of catching you off guard with a turn of phrase. But I like that description. It’s kind of an amazing experience to have had Jason involved in our movies for so long given that he was 17 when I met him. It’s fun and a strange feeling. The decades have to elapse for you to have had that much time together. And it’s quite shocking that they do. But there it is.
Fatherhood and Film
ANDERSON: I didn’t have something I thought I wanted to communicate about what it’s like to be a father. The story really come out of an idea for Benicio and for this character. But I don’t think he would have had a daughter if I didn’t. That’s my hunch. He’s a special kind of a father, in all the worst ways. But nevertheless, there’s something we related to. That’s probably somewhere in the DNA of the movie.
The Importance of Casting
ANDERSON: If I were to say what is the first idea of the movie, it is that face. It’s not an image of the setting, it’s an image of Benicio in a close-up as this character. His face is just so expressive and interesting. It’s a special advantage he has. He’s quite mesmerizing just looking at him on camera, his chemistry with the exposure of film. In “The French Dispatch,” there were electric moments on the set. But the electricity was amplified when we went back into the cutting room. The wheels started turning. When we showed “The French Dispatch” however many years ago in Cannes, I did mention to Benicio there, “Just be aware, there’s something else coming.”
Writing Roles for Specific Actors
ANDERSON: Essentially, you’ve put your finger on the movies that were written for a specific actor, along with Jason in “Asteroid City.” Owen and I were talking about Gene Hackman by the time we had 10 pages of a script. Ralph was the idea for the character in “Grand Budapest” before there was even one page. But I never had one where I thought of someone in such a tight close-up. With this movie, somehow it’s the face and the eyes and the closest close-up.
Working with Gene Hackman
ANDERSON: First of all, Gene Hackman, one of the greatest movie actors ever. He did enjoy the movie, I think, between action and cut. He said, “That’s when I have a good time.” But he really didn’t enjoy the parts in between, which is most of the time. He wasn’t wildly taken with the script in the first place. I don’t think he loved the idea of being that guy. I think he thought: “There’s a lot of things I don’t like about this man and I’m not sure I want to live as him.”
Also, I was very young. He was shy and reserved, though he could also get quite explosive. We didn’t know each other well. Sometimes, when we had conflict, we often had open conversations about what just happened. And I felt like I learned so much about him in those times. And he would often become much more gentle.
I don’t want to assume a great friendship because I don’t think he would have ever have referred to our relationship (laughs) in those terms. But I really liked him. He just carried so much tension and he used in the work, but it was sometimes bordering on a little abusive, especially to me. (Laughs)
On Actors Understanding the Film
ANDERSON: I think that’s the case sometimes. When he saw the movie, he told me, “I didn’t understand what we were making.” But he totally understood it when he saw the movie. It worked for him. He liked it, and I think he liked what he had done it. I later thought: I wish I had paused for three days of shooting, edited some of the scenes carefully and then shown him: Here’s what you’re doing and here’s what we’re doing. I think maybe if I had done that, we might have had a gentler time.
The Changing Landscape of Filmmaking
ANDERSON: The path that I’ve had as a movie director, I don’t know if that’s totally available right now. I don’t know if the kind of movies I started out making would have been made on the same scale or with the same support or with any audience available. To get to the point where I can make the movies I make I now, I just don’t know what route that would take. I think some things have changed fundamentally. But I’m not 25 years younger than myself, so I just do what I do.
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