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PLATINUM PRODUCTION / PLATINUMPRODUCTION.NET / FILMS / ANIMATIONS / DIRECTORS / PRODUCERS / WRITERS / MANAGEMENT / PR
BIOGRAPHY
WES ANDERSON
Wes Anderson Writer | Director | Producer
Date of Birth 1 May 1969, Houston, Texas, USA Birth Name Wesley Wales Anderson Height 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Wesley Wales Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Texas Ann (Burroughs), is an archaeologist turned real estate agent, and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and PR. He has two brothers, Eric and Mel. Anderson's parents divorced when he was a young child, an event that he described as the most crucial event of his brothers and his growing up. During childhood, Anderson also began writing plays and making super-8 movies. He was educated at Westchester High School and then St. John's, a private prep school in Houston, Texas, which was later to prove an inspiration for the film Rushmore (1998).
Anderson attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he majored in philosophy. It was there that he met Owen Wilson. They became friends and began making short films, some of which aired on a local cable-access station. One of their shorts was Bottle Rocket (1994), which starred Owen and his brother Luke Wilson. The short was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was successfully received, so much so that they received funding to make a feature-length version. Bottle Rocket (1996) was not a commercial hit, but it gained a cult audience and high-profile fans, which included Martin Scorsese.
Success followed with films such as Rushmore (1998), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and an animated feature, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). The latter two films earned Anderson Oscar nominations.
Makes obsessive and comedic use of rostrum camera insert shots, foregrounding the minutiae of books and other documents. Has ended all his movies with a slow-motion shot, with the exception of The Darjeeling Limited (2007). Just about the entire score of all of his movies, with the exception of The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), were composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Frequently casts Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Andrew Wilson, Bill Murray, Kumar Pallana, Dipak Pallana, Brian Tenenbaum, Stephen Dignan, Bob Balaban, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, and Anjelica Huston. Likes to shoot with extremely wide-angle anamorphic lenses that exhibit considerable barrel distortion. Frequently uses a take/double take technique where he will show a character/action, quickly pan to another character/action, then pan back, usually with handheld camera. Movies often focus around a broken or unorthodox family circle At least one of his characters is usually a grown man seeking the approval of a parent or parent figure. Often includes songs by The Rolling Stones on the soundtracks of his films The titlecards are almost always in the font Futura Bold, most commonly in yellow color. A character giving a complex, lengthy explanation for humor Unique ways of introducing a large cast of characters Characters who are heavy on body language Quirky themes of white middle-class and upper-class issues Shots of the characters standing still and facing toward the screen with little to no emotion. Features many precisely centered, straight-on shots
Some of the character names in his movies, most notably in Rushmore (1998), were actually the names of his St. John's classmates. Martin Scorsese is a big fan of his movies, even choosing him as the next Martin Scorsese in an Esquire magazine article. While shooting The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) the once pasty and bookish Anderson got a tan, grew his hair long, and got into better shape. His frequent star, Anjelica Huston, noted that Wes had suddenly become handsome. Wrote Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) with Owen Wilson, whose brother, Luke Wilson, appears in all three movies. Wrote The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012) with Roman Coppola. Coppola's cousin Jason Schwartzman co-wrote the former film, and appeared in both, as well as in Rushmore (1998). Rosemary's Baby (1968) is his favorite film. Has an Italian song about him called "Wes Anderson" by I Cani. The music video is a tribute to the director and his movies. Many of his cast members have connections to The Godfather (1972). His first film, Bottle Rocket (1994), featured James Caan. Rushmore (1998) starred Jason Schwartzman, son of Talia Shire, and he has become a regular in Anderson's films. That film also featured numerous Godfather references. Roman Coppola, son of director Francis Ford Coppola and cousin to Schwartzman, has also co-written several of his films. His father is of Swedish and Norwegian descent, and his mother has English, Scots-Irish, and German ancestry. Six of his films, Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) are in the Criterion Collection. All of his films since The Royal Tenenbaums have featured a type of shot composition called "planimetric staging" which involves placing the camera at a 90 degree angle with the subject of the shot. This type of shot is one of the main reasons Anderson's films are said to have a unique visual style. Other directors who have used this technique include Buster Keaton, Jean-Luc Godard, Stanley Kubrick, and Yasujiro Ozu, although almost none have used at as frequently as Anderson has (almost every shot). Currently expecting his first child with partner, Juman Malouf (as of October, 2015).