Wes Anderson has surrounded himself with an incomparable cast of A-listers to help him trumpet his adoration of the outlier journalists passionately creating their art in far flung places and returning with tales found in publications like ‘The New Yorker.’ He presents us with The French Dispatch. This week Anderson sat down with the help of his cast to give us an introduction to his homage, that’s, “3 things- anthology, ‘The New Yorker,’ and a French movie.”
The take on the Wes Anderson film from the actors themselves displays their immersion into Andersonland, and show their unique perspectives on their characters. Anderson freely acknowledges that the film might need a bit of exposition saying, “The story is not easy to explain, (It’s about an) American journalist based in France (who) creates his magazine. It is more a portrait of this man, of this journalist who fights to write what he wants to write. It’s not a movie about freedom of the press, but when you talk about reporters you also talk about what’s going on in the real world.”
Who shall be sharing in the story-telling? Oh just everybody. Benicio Del Toro, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Timothee Chalamet, Lea Seydoux, Owen Wilson, Mathieu Amalric, Lyna Khoudri, Stephen Park and Bill Murray, and that’s not all; that’s just who is being billed as the core cast. Liev Schreiber, Elisabeth Moss, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Lois Smith, Saoirse Ronan, Christoph Waltz, Cecile De France, Guillaume Gallienne, Jason Schwartzman, Tony Revolori, Rupert Friend, Henry Winkler, Bob Balaban, Hippolyte Girardot and Anjelica Huston all star as well.
The film has been described as “a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city”, centering on three stories. It brings to life a collection of tales published in the eponymous The French Dispatch, based in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blas&é. It’s said the film is inspired by Anderson’s love of ‘The New Yorker,’ and some characters and events in the film are based on real-life equivalents from the magazine.
And just as The French Dispatch is hitting theaters after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, Wes Anderson already has a new production underway shooting in Spain. Margot Robbie is the newest addition in Wes Anderson’s upcoming film, following Tom Hanks in the roster for first time collaborations. Regular Anderson players Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, and Adrien Brody have already been cast.
The plot is, as usual, under wraps, but if you are a fan of Anderson, we all know you’re ready to jump into one of his micro-worlds, to where all dogs are banished to an isle of their own or to cheer on a fox family who take on big business to save their furry friends, or even join a sea-film auteur planning to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner. I’ll see you in the theaters on October 22 for The French Dispatch. I’m gonna go catch The Darjeeling Limited, and watch those brothers bond, even if it kills them.