For Wes Anderson, family is at the heart of every film
The prolific American director talks to Q’s Tom Power about his new film The Phoenician Scheme
“Somehow the people you know best keep sneaking into it,” says Anderson
Wes Anderson never intended to write his friends and family into his movies — but it keeps on happening anyways. Max Fischer, the jack-of-all-trades failing student in Rushmore, was a combination of himself and his frequent collaborator Owen Wilson. Now, his new film The Phoenician Scheme is about Zsa-Zsa Korda, a tycoon who is heavily inspired by Anderson's father-in-law. The movie follows Korda as he undertakes a massive construction project, and trains his daughter Liesl to take over his international business.
WATCH | Wes Anderson's full interview with Tom Power:
"When you write a movie, it becomes more personal as it goes along," Anderson tells Q's Tom Power in an interview. "It begins with research, and you think you're going to tell a story that's about historical figures.… But somehow the people you know best keep sneaking into it.
"And that's what happened with my father-in-law, Fouad, who died two years ago. He was an engineer and a businessman. And he had all these different projects, mostly in the Middle East. And there are aspects of his life that found their way into the movie, in particular his organization of his projects into shoe boxes. But also his aura, and his manner. He was a gentle person, very wise… but he also was spectacularly intimidating."
From Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums to Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson's coming-of-age stories have become a hallmark of his unmistakable style. For him, adolescence and early adulthood feel more pure and vivid than other stages of life.
"There's an urgency in the way somebody younger communicates, and how they pursue the things that they want that gets diluted in time," says Anderson. "And maybe that's part of what kind of appeals to me about a character like [Liesl]."
The other theme in common among Anderson's movies is familial relationships. He says it's not intentional: it just naturally comes up when he's creating casts of characters.
"Maybe most stories have something to do with a family dynamic," Anderson says. "Even if it's a metaphorical version of a family dynamic, you still can trace it back to the childhood home a bit. One movie after another, I've had scripts that have to do with families. I mean, it's not like I made a choice."
With so many big movies under his belt, Anderson definitely knows how to run a film set. Mia Threapleton, who plays Liesl in The Phoenician Scheme, described the experience as being like "the best summer camp ever." Anderson recognizes that it's essential to make sure the actors have fun.
WATCH | Official trailer for The Phoenician Scheme:
"They are the ones who you're glued to during the movie, so I am conscious of, 'We've gotta look after these people,'" Anderson explains. "I feel like if we're not having fun doing it, it's not actually gonna turn out that well.… It's hard to make a movie. Especially — we tend to be doing something that's kind of bigger than we even have the means to do. And so I look for ways to make it efficient and fun at the same time.… Things to make it fun to play."
When aspiring and established directors inevitably ask Wes Anderson for his wisdom, he quotes the best advice he got from the filmmakers who came before him. He shares a line that was passed down to him by Paper Moon director Peter Bogdanovich, who got it from the director of the original The Little Shop of Horrors movie, Roger Corman.
"One shot at a time," says Anderson. "Don't try to understand the whole movie at once. Do the preparation, but when it comes time to make the movie, focus on the one thing you're doing."
Wes Anderson also offers a piece of advice based on his own experiences. Over the years, he's seen the difference between going back to the editing room with all the footage he needs, versus trying to put something together with a shot that didn't go the way he wanted. He says it's made him obsessive about what he shoots on set.
"The other thing I would say is, 'Remember that you probably aren't going to have a chance to do it again'," Anderson says. "This is your chance."
The full interview with Wes Anderson is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
WATCH | Wes Anderson's full interview with Tom Power:
"When you write a movie, it becomes more personal as it goes along," Anderson tells Q's Tom Power in an interview. "It begins with research, and you think you're going to tell a story that's about historical figures.… But somehow the people you know best keep sneaking into it.
"And that's what happened with my father-in-law, Fouad, who died two years ago. He was an engineer and a businessman. And he had all these different projects, mostly in the Middle East. And there are aspects of his life that found their way into the movie, in particular his organization of his projects into shoe boxes. But also his aura, and his manner. He was a gentle person, very wise… but he also was spectacularly intimidating."
From Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums to Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson's coming-of-age stories have become a hallmark of his unmistakable style. For him, adolescence and early adulthood feel more pure and vivid than other stages of life.
"There's an urgency in the way somebody younger communicates, and how they pursue the things that they want that gets diluted in time," says Anderson. "And maybe that's part of what kind of appeals to me about a character like [Liesl]."
The other theme in common among Anderson's movies is familial relationships. He says it's not intentional: it just naturally comes up when he's creating casts of characters.
"Maybe most stories have something to do with a family dynamic," Anderson says. "Even if it's a metaphorical version of a family dynamic, you still can trace it back to the childhood home a bit. One movie after another, I've had scripts that have to do with families. I mean, it's not like I made a choice."
With so many big movies under his belt, Anderson definitely knows how to run a film set. Mia Threapleton, who plays Liesl in The Phoenician Scheme, described the experience as being like "the best summer camp ever." Anderson recognizes that it's essential to make sure the actors have fun.
WATCH | Official trailer for The Phoenician Scheme:
"They are the ones who you're glued to during the movie, so I am conscious of, 'We've gotta look after these people,'" Anderson explains. "I feel like if we're not having fun doing it, it's not actually gonna turn out that well.… It's hard to make a movie. Especially — we tend to be doing something that's kind of bigger than we even have the means to do. And so I look for ways to make it efficient and fun at the same time.… Things to make it fun to play."
When aspiring and established directors inevitably ask Wes Anderson for his wisdom, he quotes the best advice he got from the filmmakers who came before him. He shares a line that was passed down to him by Paper Moon director Peter Bogdanovich, who got it from the director of the original The Little Shop of Horrors movie, Roger Corman.
"One shot at a time," says Anderson. "Don't try to understand the whole movie at once. Do the preparation, but when it comes time to make the movie, focus on the one thing you're doing."
Wes Anderson also offers a piece of advice based on his own experiences. Over the years, he's seen the difference between going back to the editing room with all the footage he needs, versus trying to put something together with a shot that didn't go the way he wanted. He says it's made him obsessive about what he shoots on set.
"The other thing I would say is, 'Remember that you probably aren't going to have a chance to do it again'," Anderson says. "This is your chance."
The full interview with Wes Anderson is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Wes Anderson produced by Catherine Stockhausen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
