From the Onion:
New Wes Anderson Film Features Deadpan Delivery, Meticulous Art Direction, Characters With Father Issues
September 24, 2007 | Issue 43•39
LOS ANGELES—Fans who attended a sneak preview Monday of critically acclaimed director Wes Anderson's newest project, The Darjeeling Limited, were surprised to learn that the film features a deadpan comedic tone, highly stylized production design, and a plot centering around unresolved family issues.
"What will he think of next?" audience member Michael Cauley said. "And who could have foreseen the elaborately crafted '60s-era aesthetic, melancholy subtext, and quirky nomenclature—to say nothing of the unexpected curveball of casting Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray?"
In a recent review, New York Times film critic A.O. Scott also expressed surprise at the film's cutting-edge soundtrack, which features a Rolling Stones song and three different tracks by the Kinks.
Classic! I think I told you at work, I love his first two films, but his next two make me feel like a fish in a barrel. They're good... I just wish he'd knock us 20-something indie rockers off our high horse a little, instead of giving us exactly what we want.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I heard his real next movie is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," so it looks like the joke's on The Onion.
The reviewer at Slate would be pleased:
ReplyDelete"Together, these well-curated accoutrements conjure the feeling of visiting a friend's impeccable apartment and wondering where to set down your glass. The surfaces shimmer, but they don't invite you in. Maybe Anderson needs to shoot someone else's screenplay, to get outside his own head for a while and into another's sensibility."
Stanley Kubrick's new film to feature hazy, diffuse lighting, closeups of various body parts, and socially alienated protagonists!
ReplyDeleteMartin Scorsese's new film to feature crime, white minority groups, and obnoxious character actors!
Micheal Mann's new film to feature grainy outdoors traveling shots, gruff explanations of underworld conventions, and people who take themselves too seriously!
Peter Jackson's new film to feature him eating, digesting, and passing a small cat!
... little earl's next post to feature his top ten favorite German show tunes from the '40's.
ReplyDelete10. Zarah Leander: "Er heißt Waldemar" (Music: Michael Jary; lyrics: Bruno Balz). Rec. 21 Nov 1940.
ReplyDelete9. Marika Rökk: "Für eine Nacht voller Seligkeit", from the movie "Kora Terry" (Music: Peter Kreuder; lyrics: Günther Schwenn). Rec. 1940.
8. Rudi Schuricke Terzett: "Ganz leis' erklingt Musik" (Music: Kurt
Dörflinger; lyrics: Kurt Feltz/Erik Wallnau). Rec. 1940.
7. Wilhelm Strienz: "Heimat deine Sterne", from the movie "Quax, der
Bruchpilot" (Music: Werner Bochmann; lyrics: Erich Knauf). Rec. Sep
1941.
6. Johannes Heesters: "Man müßte Klavier spielen können", from the movie "Immer nur du" (Music: Friedrich Schröder; lyrics: Hans Fritz Beckmann). Rec. 1941.
5. Ilse Werner: "Sing ein Lied wenn du mal traurig bist" (Music and
lyrics: Ralph Maria Siegel). Rec 25 Feb 1941.
4. Sven Olof Sandberg: "Unter der roten Laterne von St. Pauli" (Music: Ralph Maria Siegel; lyrics: Peter Schaeffers/Günther Schwenn). Rec. 9
Oct 1941.
3. Zarah Leander: "Davon geht die Welt nicht unter", from the movie "Die große Liebe" (Music: Michael Jary; lyrics: Bruno Balz). Rec. 1942.
2. Marlene Mathan: "Es klopft mein Herz bum-bum" (Music: Frank Fux/Otto Toldi; lyrics: Erich Meder/Aldo von Pinelli). Rec. 30 Nov 1942.
1. Evelyn Künnecke: "Haben Sie schon mal im Dunkeln geküßt?", from the movie "Karneval der Liebe" (Music: Michael Jary; lyrics: Hans Fritz Beckmann). Rec. 30 Sep 1942.
Evelyn Künnecke is overrated.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, I just checked the imdb and saw that "Darjeeling Limited" really is his next movie (Mr. Fox is next next). And here I was congratulating the Onion on making up such a good fake Wes Anderson title.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see this.
ps: Gus Van Sant's new film to feature teenagers, Portland, slow paced scenes paired with sped up shots of clouds, and gay subtext.