Iconic director of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Rushmore releases trailer for his 10th film The French Dispatch.
Wes Anderson, a beloved staple of American indie cinema, is heading back to the big screen in his latest film since 2018’s Isle of Dogs. Anderson, returning once more to live-action, is bringing his usual suspects back with him in this love letter to journalists. As a long-time reader of The New Yorker, Anderson’s latest film is a tribute to the enduring American magazine.
An American newspaper working out of the fictional French city Ennui-sur-Blasé, The French Dispatch is preparing to publish a memorial edition that highlights the three best stories of the past decade: an imprisoned artist, a student revolution, and a kidnapping.
Anderson’s cast is studded with long-time collaborators and newcomers alike:
Bill Murray as Arthur Howitzer Jr., the editor of The French Dispatch
Tilda Swinton as J. K. L. Berensen, a writer for The French Dispatch and author of “The Concrete Masterpiece” article
Frances McDormand as Lucinda Krementz, a writer for The French Dispatch and author of the “Revisions to a Manifesto” article
Jeffrey Wright as Roebuck Wright, a writer for The French Dispatch and author of the “The Private Dining Room of the Police Comissioner” article
Owen Wilson as Herbsaint Salzerac, a writer for The French Dispatch
Jason Schwartzman as Hermes Jones, a staff member of The French Dispatch
Elizabeth Moss as a staff member of The French Dispatch
Benicio Del Toro as Moses Rosenthaler, the imprisoned artist
Léa Seydoux as Simone, the guard of and muse to Rosenthaler
Adrien Brody as Julien Cadazio, an art dealer
Henry Winkler as one of Cadazio’s “business-partner uncles”
Bob Balaban as one of Cadazio’s “business-partner uncles”
Timothée Chalamet as Zeffirelli, a student revolutionary
Lyna Khoudri as Juliette, a student revolutionary
Mohamed Belhadjine as Mitch Mitch, a student revolutionary
Matthieu Amalric as a policeman and father of the kidnapping victim
Stephen Park as Lieutenant Nescafier, a chef and police officer who solves the kidnapping
Edward Norton as a kidnapper
Christoph Waltz as Boris Schommers
Willem Dafoe as a prisoner
Saoirse Ronan, Tony Revolori, Fisher Stevens, Rupert Friend, Live Schreiber, Anjelica Huston, Kate Winslet, and Alex Lawther have undisclosed parts.
Along with Anderson comes a polished and experienced crew. Alexandre Desplat, Anderson’s composer-of-choice since Fantastic Mr. Fox who won an Oscar for his work on The Grand Budapest Hotel, Andrew Weisblum, his frequent editor since The Darjeeling Limited, and Robert Yeoman, the irreplaceable cinematographer of Anderson’s films since his debut Bottle Rocket (excluding Anderson’s stop-motion ventures) all return, along with Anderson’s team of designers headed by legendary costume designer Milena Canonero and production designer Adam Stockhausen.
Anderson, for the first time in his career, conducted principal photography in France, specifically the southwestern commune Angoulême as the setting for his film. Favouring the quiet town over the hustle-and-bustle of the already commercially overexposed Paris, Anderson could easily convert the cobblestoned streets and older architectural style to suit his unique cinematic style.
The French Dispatch is scheduled for release on July 24, 2020.
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