The latest edition of the IFC News Film Podcast tells the story of the brothers Wilson.

(thread at the Yankee Racers)

(link)

‘One does feel misunderstood’

For Wes Anderson, real life and films get very mixed up. He talks to Xan Brooks about his Indian odyssey, confusing critics, and the problem with Owen Wilson.

Wes Anderson likes to live his movies before he shoots them. It is a neat way of working, he says; it helps the creative process. So if, for instance, he is making a film about life at a private school, it is only natural to cast his alma mater in the title role. Or if he makes a film about a dysfunctional New York family he’ll have Anjelica Huston wear his mother’s glasses to play the matriarch. His most recent work, The Darjeeling Limited, features a trio of squabbling American brothers on a train ride across India. In preparation, Anderson embarked on the exact same trip alongside his writing partners Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The three of them, he explains, were acting out the plot as they went along. They were, in effect, being the movie before the movie existed.

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MySpaceTV’s “Artist on Artist” with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson

(Yankee Racers thread)

Wes’ interview with Charlie Rose from Friday (link):

Wes Anderson will be on Charlie Rose (PBS) this Friday, October 26th (link).

USA Today is reporting that Wes Anderson has interviewed Owen Wilson and that the video will be released tomorrow (Friday) at midnight on MySpace. Thanks to SugarMagnolia for the information. (link) (thread)

The interview will be posted online at midnight Friday as part of MySpace.com’s Artist on Artist series, according to Fox Searchlight, the studio that released the pair’s most recent film, The Darjeeling Limited. Anderson and Wilson have worked together on all of Anderson’s movies — Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It’s unclear how far the interview, recorded today, will delve into Wilson’s recent personal struggles –- if at all.

Wes and Jason were interviewed at Borders store #01 in Ann Arbor, Michigan (video) Watch, if nothing else, the last video of Wes and Jason wandering the aisles of Borders. “How long is it?”

Wes’ previous appearances on Charlie Rose:

Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody will be on AMC’s Shootout Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 11.00 a.m.

A few clips:

We have been rightfully caught up in the excitement over Hotel Chevalier, The Darjeeling Limited, and the Criterion version of Bottle Rocket, BUT… The Wendell Baker Story (2005) — a film co-directed by, written by, and co-starring Luke Wilson — will be available on DVD October 30th. Andrew Wilson co-directed, Owen co-stars. From Stephen Holden’s New York Times review piece:

This shambling, good-natured comedy is a Wilson family affair. Written by Luke Wilson, who directed with his older brother Andrew, it also stars a third brother, Owen, as Wendell’s nemesis. The appeal of “The Wendell Baker Story” depends on how charming you find the Wilson brothers, with their chipmunk grins and hip smart-aleck attitude. For my taste, a little goes a long way (more reviews).

To pre-order, click here.

It’s Sunday afternoon. Why not go see The Darjeeling Limited this afternoon at one of these 19 theatres?

P.S. If you went this weekend, e-mail us your experience (edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org, no spaces), and we may post it here!

News and Media Alerts

• Owen Wilson made a surprise apperance at The Darjeeling Limited’s Thursday premiere in Los Angeles (Reuters). Wes said, “He’s my best friend…. I’ve never made a movie without him and I hope to never have to.” Anjelica Huston apparently joked about having a crush on Owen, while Jason Schwartzman said, “Owen is doing very well and he is with us tonight, and I love him” (imdb). We do, too.
• There is a really great interview with Waris in the New York Press. Some highlights:

I met [Wes Anderson] at a peace rally through mutual friends four years ago. We became friends, saw each other at dinner, this and that. One day, he just asked me what I was doing for the second half of the year….

After Life Aquatic, the Sikh community reached out to me. They started writing, sending e-mails, just thanking me. What did I do? I worked for a friend. I’m not trying to be a role model. I wasn’t involved with my community that much, so it was a strange turnaround to go down to Capitol Hill to get awarded by Hillary Clinton for my positive portrayal of Sikhs in the media….

Wes treated the country beautifully, in terms of how he shot it. It’s earnest and honest. The films of Satyajit Ray are something that he loves. He got really into it. So why is it fetishistic in a bad way? We all fetishize things. Maybe he did….

He’s curious about cultures and experiences, and he was drawn in by those films he saw—the magic of them. Everyone has a tendency–not just this writer from Slate, god bless him—we look at everything through our own eyes. Sure, it could be construed as racist. I won’t argue with you there. You can look at anything out of context, and it’s going to be racist. I think there might be racist things in Spike’s movie, but I’m not sure. [laughs] Someone needed a good angle for their story. And that’s a good angle! I commend him on his story. These are good things to explore. That’s fine. It’s an opinion. But he’s talking about someone who I know and have spent a great deal of time with over five years—I know that’s not him.

(Editor’s note: We heart Waris. Isn’t this post turning into quite the love fest…?)

• Box Office Mojo projects that The Darjeeling Limited will come in 24th at the box office this weekend — showing on only 19 theatres across North America and adding $553,000 to its total gross.

More soon…

Just a quick update for now…

From Hans:

Tea Gschwendner in Chicago is throwing a release party for The Darjeeling Limited, complete with Sitar music, Indian finger foods and darjeeling tea. There will be a $5 cover, although you can get in for free if you can find and bring the ad in the Columbia Chronicle for the event. There will also be raffle prizes which will be given out every 15 minutes (Fox Searchlight Studios is providing a variety of movie goodies to give away). Also, everyone that comes to this party will receive a free ticket to the pre-screening on Oct. 1, at the AMC theater on Illinois St. Dress like your favorite Wes Anderson character. Sat Sept 29th 2007 6-9pm

Men’s Vogue has a great article called “Wonder Boys,” about Owen and Wes. We will post some pictures and text soon.

There are also some new pictures of the new one, which we will also post soon.

Glenn Kenny, at Premiere, positively reviewed The Darjeeling Limited:

A riotously colorful journey . . .

Those who complain about the emotional indirectness of the film, or that
its carefully controlled visual style sterilizes material that would be
better served raw, kind of miss the point. Withholding the prospect of a
direct connection between the viewer and the brothers is evidence of
Anderson’s larger purpose—this movie is as much, if not more, about the
construction of fictions as it is about its ostensible plot.

Last, but certainly not least, The Playlist blog has a great feature called, “If I Were a Wes Anderson Soundtrack.”

Update (9.50 am, September 21): The Louis Vuitton luggage from The Darjeeling Limited is on display at Louis Vuitton on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue through the weekend.

More details soon… !!!

Yesterday, I was moaning over on the Yankee Racers about the initial reviews I had read. However, I responded to an e-mail this morning a bit differently, arguing that the negative reviews of TDL are rather formulaic and that all of Wes’ films have received mixed reviews. So what? However, good ol’ leeroy offered an even better perspective:

The negative review from Hollywood Reporter, and the positive review from Variety have been posted in the non-spoiler thread. Here’s a positive review from Premiere.com:

“The performances are spot-on (Brody slips into this world effortlessly); the colors rich and lush; the soundtrack again cool and eclectic; the cinematic language deliberate and formal, despite Anderson filming on a moving train.”

Rolling Stone loves it:

“Confession: I love this movie. It’s the most assured, mature work yet from director Wes Anderson . . .it’s Brody who is the revelation. Touched by tragedy, his character doesn’t talk but asks “to hold this in for a while.” The Darjeeling Limited is more than one of the best movies of the year. It’s a movie you want to hold in.”

Another good review, from TimeOut London:

“Darjeeling’ is lighter on its feet than ‘The Life Aquatic’ because of its speedy pace and the relative simplicity of its camerawork . . . there’s less of the intricate background and layering of some of Anderson’s other films, particularly ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, which delighted in the complexity of its biographies. Instead, much is left to the moment and the landscape: Anderson sucks in the sights, colours, oddities and details of India, from the way that tickets are checked on the train to visits to a shoe-shiner and a holy temple.”

And a report on the Darjeeling press conference:

“The press briefing for “Darjeeling” was lighthearted even though the film screened under a pall after Owen Wilson, one of the film’s three main stars, was hospitalized last week. Anderson began the briefing by telling the packed press room that Wilson was recovering fine and cracking jokes at home; soon, the rest of the cast began cracking their own jokes.

Bill Murray stole the show, telling people that his two minutes of screen time in “Darjeeling” was “the role he always wanted.”

“I fly to a fascinating place like India for a week, work one day and spend the rest of the time shopping and sightseeing, then I fly home, rest, relax and then fly to beautiful Venice for a week to spend my time eating and drinking and resting, interrupted by work for just one hour,” Murray joked. “Not bad, right?”

Anderson was asked whether he had plans to expand Murray’s cameo role in any possible sequel to the film. The director said there were no such plans, to which Murray pounded his fist on the table, feigning an angry “Damn it!”

Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited screened this evening at the Venice International Film Festival. We excitedly await photos and reactions. While Owen Wilson sadly could not attend the festivities, Wes had positive news about Owen at Venice:

Obviously he has been through quite a lot this week. I can tell you he has been doing very well, he has been making us laugh. When he’s ready he’s going to speak for himself much better than any of us could. He has got a very good way with words. (Times)

Ed Hardy, Jr’s “Shoot the Projectionist” blog is sponsoring a month-long Wes Anderson “blog-a-thon”:

Each week I’ll be unveiling a new essay about Wes Anderson, and Darren, our Opinion-at-Large, will contribute a list of his favorite moments in each Wes Anderson film. I’ll also be posting a new image from Darjeeling Limited everyday.

Ed’s current essay is titled “Wes Anderson, Nostalgia, and the 11 Year Old Point-of-View.” It’s worth checking out (be sure to read the comments, too).

Finally, we offer you some early photos of the gang from The Darjeeling Limited at Venice. Please send reactions, leads, and photos to edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org (no spaces).

(special thanks to Yankee Racers ‘SugarMagnolia’ and ‘Loraxaeon’ for the leads)