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'Wesley Wales Anderson' (born May 1, 1969) is an American writer, producer, and director of films and commercials. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Contents

Biography

Film Work

Influences

Personnel

Recent work

Acclaim and criticism

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Anderson, the middle child of three brothers, was born in Houston, Texas. His father, Melver Leonard Anderson, was in advertising, and his mother, Texas Ann Burroughs, was an archaeologist. He attended St. John's School, a private school in Houston, later used as a filming location for his second film, ''Rushmore''.
Anderson studied philosophy at the University of Texas, where he met Owen Wilson. After making a short film version of ''Bottle Rocket'', Anderson and Wilson attracted the notice of producer James L. Brooks. With his help they were able to get their short film into Sundance and secure funding for the feature-length version of ''Bottle Rocket''.
Anderson lives in New York City and Los Angeles. He is friends with filmmaker Noah Baumbach, actor/screenwriter Owen Wilson, and Sofia Coppola. His brother, Eric, is a set designer on his films.

Film Work

Wes Anderson has been called an auteur, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou heavily involved in every aspect of his films' production: writing, cinematography, production design, music selection, etc.

Influences

Anderson has acknowledged that French New Wave directors François Truffaut and Louis Malle influenced his penchant for sympathetic tragicomedy, unconventional mis-en-scene, and personal approach to filmmaking. He often cites Mike Nichols' ''The Graduate'' as a recurring inspiration. Anderson is also noted for drawing on famous works of American literature, particularly those of F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger. Fitzgerald's famous quote, "There are no second acts in American lives," applies to many of Anderson's characters, who tend to fall quickly from their initial success and renown (although many of them make limited comebacks). Salinger influences are seen in ''Bottle Rocket'' (Anthony and his sister's relationship parallels Phoebe and Holden Caulfield ''The Catcher in the Rye'') (and both girls have a friend named Bernice) and ''Rushmore'' (Max gets kicked out of his prestigious school as does Caulfield [and as did Owen Wilson, as well]). ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is also allegedly based on J.D. Salinger's Glass family.
Anderson's stylized films also borrow youthful aesthetic qualities from comics such as Charles Schulz's ''Peanuts'' (''The Royal Tenenbaums''/''Rushmore'') and Hergé's ''The Adventures of Tintin'' graphic novels (''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou''). A less known aesthetic influence is the French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue: the name Zissou derives from Lartigue brother's name, and his old photos reveal similarities with Anderson's visuals.

Personnel

Anderson's films feature many of the same actors, crew members, and other collaborators:

★ Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Andrew Wilson

★ Bill Murray

★ Seymour Cassel

★ Anjelica Huston

★ Kumar Pallana

★ Noah Baumbach co-wrote two Anderson films, and wrote/directed his own film, The Squid and the Whale, with Anderson as producer

★ Robert Yeoman, A.S.C., cinematographer

★ Mark Mothersbaugh, composer of original music

★ Friends Stephen Dignan and Brian Tenenbaum (also character name inspirations)

★ Eric Chase Anderson (Wes' brother and set designer)

Recent work

In 2005, Anderson produced ''The Squid and the Whale'', written and directed by ''Life Aquatic'' co-writer Noah Baumbach. It won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006, he directed and starred in a "My Life, My Card" American Express commercial.
Owen Wilson will reunite with Anderson on the 2007 film, ''The Darjeeling Limited''. The script is written by Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. Wilson & Anderson reminisce over a cup of Darjeeling Anderson's stop-motion animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl book, ''Fantastic Mr Fox'' is slated for 2009 release.

Acclaim and criticism

Critical reviews of Anderson's early work were positive, with some exceptions. His second film ''Rushmore'' was a critical darling, and many argued that Anderson would soon become a major artistic voice in American cinema. Many critics 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. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese is a fan of Anderson's, praising ''Bottle Rocket'' and ''Rushmore'' and calling Anderson "the next Scorsese" in an Esquire magazine article. ''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.
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 forthcoming ''The Darjeeling Limited'' film, including lyrics for a title track. Attention Wes Anderson

Filmography

★ ''Bottle Rocket'' (short, 1994)

★ ''Bottle Rocket'' (1996)

★ ''Rushmore'' (1998)

★ ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001)

★ ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' (2004)

★ ''The Darjeeling Limited'' (2007)

★ ''Hotel Chevalier'' (short, 2007)

★ ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' (2009)

References

External links

★ ''Into The Deep'', in-depth Anderson profile at ''The Guardian''

★ "The 'Quirky' New Wave". Alternate Takes

★ "Scorsese Proclaims Wes Anderson the Next Scorsese"

★ Wes Anderson interviews Bill Murray at Interview

★ Announcement of Wes Anderson's new film ''The Darjeeling Limited''.

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