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May 27, 2009 10:07 AM   Subscribe

Hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival materials. (via coudal partners)
posted by lucia__is__dada (51 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Is this something I have to be a hipster to understand?
posted by jbickers at 10:13 AM on May 27, 2009


I wish I was famous enough to have a spiritual monopoly on a typeface.
posted by I Foody at 10:18 AM on May 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


jbickers, this Onion Article might help.
posted by alzi at 10:20 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


jbickers - apparently they'd invite you all the same, if their bus stop advert isn't a lie.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:22 AM on May 27, 2009


Is this something I have to be a hipster to understand?

Actually no, you just have to like good movies.

Or you can live your life missing out on great art over the imagined exclusionary snobbery of a "hipster" Straw Man. Either way.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:22 AM on May 27, 2009 [6 favorites]


nb: "Rushmore" and "Royal Tennenbaums" are great movies. The others ones, not so much.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:23 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


This is why we can't have a nice GDP.
posted by one_bean at 10:30 AM on May 27, 2009


drjimmy11 - I loved Rushmore and Tennenbaums... but I also found the site to be very hipper-than-thou.
It's like the whole "I like Jesus, but not his fan club" kind of deal.
See also - Tarantino.
posted by Tbola at 10:31 AM on May 27, 2009


I wasn't reading MeFi when the The Royal Tennenbaums came out. But if I had been, I would have told Mr. Anderson, "This is a bad movie and you should feel bad for having made it."

Actually, I probably would have just told him to die in fire... because I hated it that much.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:41 AM on May 27, 2009


I must say that no matter if the movie is good or bad, the soundtracks (almost) always rock. Never have bought the one from Darjeeling Limited, without Mark Mothersbaugh, it doesn't really seem like it counts.

I did love the Royal Darjeeling movie, so put me in the minority camp on that one.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 10:42 AM on May 27, 2009


You have to understand that Coudal is to design what Anderson is to film. Except they use more typefaces.
posted by dhartung at 10:43 AM on May 27, 2009


You have to understand that Coudal is to design what Anderson is to film.

By that, you mean they use their chosen medium to sneer derisively at their audience?
posted by jbickers at 10:45 AM on May 27, 2009


I generally like all things Wes Anderson, but this I don't get.
posted by diogenes at 10:45 AM on May 27, 2009


I really liked Life Aquatic but then I just like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and deadpan delivery.
posted by DU at 10:46 AM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you don't enjoy watching Bill Murray shoot at pirates while wearing a speedo and bathrobe, there's something wrong with you and I don't want to be your friend.
posted by diogenes at 10:50 AM on May 27, 2009 [16 favorites]


I always hate opening threads like this because I like Wes Anderson and the ratio of 'I like Wes Anderson' comments to 'I hate Wes Anderson' comments is almost always about 1:1. Hey, everyone who doesn't like Wes Anderson: That's cool. We like different things. Maybe I even like some things that are pretty shitty. But please leave me alone and let me like them now, okay?
posted by shakespeherian at 10:53 AM on May 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


It's too literal -- like him or not, there's a lot more to Wes Anderson than being "uncool".

Also, tilt-shift is annoying
posted by rottytooth at 10:53 AM on May 27, 2009


Is this what happens when advertising firms can't get real work?
posted by doctor_negative at 11:03 AM on May 27, 2009


I personally sort of enjoy that one film that he's made five or so times.
posted by gcbv at 11:13 AM on May 27, 2009


Slate had a thorough slideshow (will resize browser) on Anderson's career and followers just a few days ago.
posted by christonabike at 11:17 AM on May 27, 2009


I'm also a fan of Wes Anderson (his movies - not the person himself, who is a raging asshole) and also don't quite get this. Whatever.

Can anyone remember that deal from a few years ago when somebody studies Amazon or Netflix reviews and determined Royal Tennenbaums to be the most contentious movie ever?
posted by Navelgazer at 11:18 AM on May 27, 2009


I wasn't reading MeFi when the The Royal Tennenbaums came out. But if I had been, I would have told Mr. Anderson, "This is a bad movie and you should feel bad for having made it."

I guess that's just our loss.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 11:24 AM on May 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


Wow. While I admire the craftsmanship and the obvious effort it took to pull this off, it's incredibly fucking annoying, isn't it? And I've really liked all of Wes Anderson's films.
posted by ghastlyfop at 11:33 AM on May 27, 2009


I'm with you DU, I'll pretty much watch anything will Bill Murray in it because I love his style.
posted by Sargas at 11:34 AM on May 27, 2009


One more for "I don't get it."
posted by Sys Rq at 11:34 AM on May 27, 2009


(Which is to say, "I don't think the designer gets it.")
posted by Sys Rq at 11:37 AM on May 27, 2009


I look forward to seeing this young man's work linked to again when the presentation box ("This box is filled with dynamite. It will blow up.") receives a visit from some local bomb squad.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:39 AM on May 27, 2009


I can't fathom how anyone could possibly hate The Royal Tennenbaums. That movie is sheer genius. Did you miss the part where Owen Wilson was totally fucked up drugs the whole movie?! He peed on his carpet!

*shakes head*
posted by Bageena at 11:44 AM on May 27, 2009


totally fucked up drugs the whole movie?! He peed on his carpet!

That rug really tied the room together, did it not?
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 12:01 PM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Bottle Rocket! Somebody mention Bottle Rocket!
posted by steef at 12:05 PM on May 27, 2009


steef... Why is there tape on your nose?
posted by educatedslacker at 12:13 PM on May 27, 2009


I have to say, I love Wes Anderson's movies (a lot), though I haven't seen his latest, but I was still left wondering what Wes Anderson had to do with tiltshift photography, which is what this appeared to be about.

Well, that and pithiness.


And for steef, I will happily mention Bottle Rocket, which I loved. Dignan is just a fantastically bizarre and fucked up creation (and so wonderfully named), but Rushmore (which I have said previously on the blue is one of the most beautifully shot long-lens films ever) and Life Aquatic (and Tennenbaums I think) are my favourites.
posted by opsin at 12:15 PM on May 27, 2009


Oh, and my point was that while I love his movies, this appeared to be more about tilt-shift photgraphy, which being an internet meme from a year or two ago, came across as perhaps slightly hipstery. Thus propelling the discussion of Wes Anderson movies into a realm I am not wholly comfortable with.
posted by opsin at 12:16 PM on May 27, 2009


Bottle Rocket is my favorite Anderson movie. Anthony's speech about why he checked himself into a mental hospital was uncannily similar to how I felt about the people in my high school as we approached graduation:

One morning, over at Elizabeth's beach house, she asked me if I'd rather go water-skiing or lay out. And I realized that not only did I not want to answer THAT question, but I never wanted to answer another water-sports question, or see any of these people again for the rest of my life.
posted by educatedslacker at 12:21 PM on May 27, 2009


I thought Darjeeling was ultimately very moving and beautiful. He sets himself up for criticism in much the same way John Irving did - wrestling? check. Bears? check. neurotic male with sexuality issues? yep. But he was/is a damn fine writer and Wes Anderson hasn't made a movie yet that on most levels wasn't 100 x more interesting than most of the shit Hollywood greenlights in a given year.
posted by docpops at 12:30 PM on May 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


I did love the Royal Darjeeling movie, so put me in the minority camp on that one.

Me, too. But maybe because I thought they got westerner travel in India just right, albeit mine was without personal manservant and portable laminater.

OTOH, I hated both Bottle Rocket and Life Aquatic. The first I will give another view sometime soon, just to be sure. The second I did give a second shot. Never again.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 12:41 PM on May 27, 2009


He sets himself up for criticism in much the same way John Irving did - wrestling? check. Bears? check. neurotic male with sexuality issues? yep.

For easy reference, Wikipedia has even set up a John Irving checklist, which has continually amused me ever since I discovered it.

And I've enjoyed most of Wes Anderson's films, including Darjeeling and folks can roll their eyes at the "literal shedding of baggage" all they want, but I thought it was pretty awesome.
posted by Spatch at 12:49 PM on May 27, 2009 [5 favorites]


Oh snap.

I asked Irving about this when he spoke at Duke in the 80's and he was very transparent in his umbrage. Christ, that Wikipedia table is genius.
posted by docpops at 12:54 PM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


I think the Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack is very good. But totally worth it just for the Typewriter song alone.
posted by sweetmarie at 12:55 PM on May 27, 2009


I've often thought there would be a fair amount of crossover between John Irving and Wes Anderson fans. Looking at the Irving table, I'm at 6 for 11 read. No idea what that means, if anything.

Seconding the wikipedia table as awesome.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 12:59 PM on May 27, 2009


Just because it's a front doesn't mean someone doesn't have to do the actual landscaping.
posted by stifford at 1:33 PM on May 27, 2009


The aesthetic is right, but I don't think Wes Anderson is quite so... acerbic. The whole "In case your an idiot" vein just doesn't fit with Anderson to me. His schedule would more likely be labeled "Schedule" followed by the word "Schedule" in 14 different languages than "Duh, you dummies, it's a schedule."
posted by grapefruitmoon at 2:07 PM on May 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


[derail] Fwiw, I thought the Wes Anderson schtick was interesting for the first few films, but as a style it has become (for me at least) a parody of itself. Just too twee, too precious, too cloying. I think this happens to a lot of promising directors: what seems inventive at first begins to run out of gas, and the style starts to reveal its weaknesses. This is how I feel about Tarantino and Jarmusch too: for me, there is a hyper-stylized self-consciousness to the work of all three of these directors (QT, JJ, WA) that gets in the way of the storytelling. All three of them leave me a little cold.

I think Charlie Kauffman's work is also hyper-stylized, but it seems to be getting more human (for me, Synechdoche, New York was a brilliant, incredibly human film), rather than less. Likewise with the Coen Brothers: No Country for Old Men was also very stylized (all their films are), but the human element was allowed to shine through. In my opinion, Wes Anderson and crew need to worry less about being clever. Not that you asked for my opinion. [/derail]

posted by ornate insect at 2:52 PM on May 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


They spelled Zilker Park wrong.
posted by MrChowWow at 3:28 PM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


I don't know what this says about me, but that John Irving checklist made me want to reread a bunch of his novels.
posted by diogenes at 5:05 PM on May 27, 2009


This is how I feel about Tarantino and Jarmusch too: for me, there is a hyper-stylized self-consciousness to the work of all three of these directors (QT, JJ, WA) that gets in the way of the storytelling. All three of them leave me a little cold.

Your comment got me thinking a lot. One thing I really admire about Jarmusch (and, to a much lesser extent, Tarantino) is his willingness to make a movie that's just about one thing. A movie that doesn't have something for everyone, does not want you to both laugh and cry, and might not even want you to do either.

The Limits of Control is startling in that it was seemingly created expressly to generate bad reviews. There's nothing in that movie you could really point to and call the human element. Even the final scene with Bill Murray really feels completely beside the point. But for me, it has a lot more rewatch value than something like Broken Flowers, which is a fine movie, but ultimately feels like a compromise among three or four different ideas.

I think of Anderson in a slightly different category. He casts actors based on their ability to be charming, and I think that charm will more-or-less sell a movie regardless of anything else he puts into it.
posted by roll truck roll at 5:22 PM on May 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


The most contentious Netflix movies. Royal Tenenbaums is #1.

I have this in my bookmarks. I thought about rating them to get better predicted ratings, but Netflix predicted my takes on them fairly well. Or should I disregard that? I dunno.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:33 AM on May 28, 2009


I agree that that the text seems a bit off - the tone seemed more like pretentious-teenage-hipster than Wes Anderson, whose tone I think tends to be a bit more wistful and sincere. I did think the graphics were pretty much right on the mark, which I guess makes sense, since it's a graphic design project.

thought they got westerner travel in India just right, albeit mine was without personal manservant and portable laminater.

Yes! I wasn't crazy about the film, but they did capture the experience of being an American in India pretty much perfectly. You know that scene at the end where one of the characters says something like "I like how India smells...it smells spicy"? Some critic called that racist and naive, and I just thought "well, clearly you've never been to India." India actually does smell "spicy" to Western noses.
posted by lunasol at 1:12 PM on May 28, 2009 [1 favorite]


Your comment got me thinking a lot. One thing I really admire about Jarmusch (and, to a much lesser extent, Tarantino) is his willingness to make a movie that's just about one thing. A movie that doesn't have something for everyone, does not want you to both laugh and cry, and might not even want you to do either.

I like the way you articulate this. It tends to give the filmmaker a more expansive range, which seems slightly paradoxical. I personally have found this quality to be very strong in the films of Soderbergh-- I really like the way that he can make both Ocean's 173 and Bubble, both The Limey and Erin Brokovich, both Full Frontal and Traffic. It has something to do with self-control and acknowledging that nothing one does will ever be perfect, and thus will never encompass everything you think and desire, and being content to think one thing at a time.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:38 PM on May 28, 2009 [2 favorites]


I love these materials, Wes Anderson films, and I invite all of you who also do to my house for an impromptu WA Film Festival.

And may I do so in FUTURA? I shall.

-Kane GRUBER
posted by grubi at 8:24 AM on May 29, 2009


Bottle Rocket is to date the only Wes Anderson movie I've liked. Though I vowed to never give him money after paying to snore through the Royal Tennenbaums. Really, that's it?

He's like the Spike Lee of people who only think they have actual problems.
posted by Eideteker at 12:50 PM on June 5, 2009


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