Wednesday, August 16, 2006

A new Wes Anderson movie!

It's a mix of good and bad news this Wednesday morning, but I'll start with the good. That's just how I roll.

After what seems like about 10 years (OK, I know I'm exaggerating), we're finally gonna get a new Wes Anderson movie. If you're like me, this is certainly something to be hailed heartily.

According to the trades, Fox Searchlight has picked up Anderson's next flick called "The Darjeeling Limited," a script he wrote with Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola (why not Owen Wilson?). Schwartzman will star along with Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody.

The three play brothers who are on a spiritual journey through India after the death of their father, and the flick will start shooting before the end of the year. Huzzah!

A Wes Anderson road movie in India? Sounds great to me. Sounds like a return to "Bottle Rocket"-style fun but on a much grander scale.

And the casting should be perfect. Schwartzman and Wilson have done their best work for Mr. Anderson, and Adrien Brody can be a very funny guy. (An aside to Mr. Schwartzman, if I may: Aside from your short stint on "Freaks and Geeks," I haven't much liked you in a movie since the sublime "Rushmore." Please understand that one great movie doesn't allow you be so damn smug.)

This great news does beg a question, however. Wasn't Wes Anderson doing some kind of crazy animated flick of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox"? It's still listed as being in preproduction at the IMDB, so maybe he's given up on that fantasy. If anyone knows the skinny on this, please share.

R.I.P. Bruno Kirby

I'm not sure exactly why this news depressed me so much when I saw it this morning. It seems Bruno Kirby had recently been diagnosed with leukemia, and he died Monday at the age of 57.

To be honest, Mr. Kirby annoyed me as often as entertained me, mostly as the sidekick to people who annoy me even more (Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam," Billy Crystal in all kinds of crap flicks.) No one deserves to die that young, however, and a quick look as his filmography reveals some true highlights.

His most memorable turn for me was definitely as the young Clemenza in "The Godfather, Part II.") The scenes with Robert De Niro remain my favorite parts of the "Godfather" saga. Mr. Kirby also held his own with some very funny people as the cabbie Tommy Pischedda in "This is Spinal Tap," and even directed and starred in an episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" titled "The Gas Man."

So rest in peace indeed, Mr. Kirby. You will be missed.

13 comments:

jeremy said...

I don't know--if Bottle Rocket is a return to form, then I hope he Wes and crew doesn't return. (BR feels like *so* many student films). But if its more in the Rushmore / Tennenbaum vein, I'll prolly see it--even if Adrien Brody's nose is the most disgusting sight to behold in modern cinema.

Reel Fanatic said...

I liked "Bottle Rocket" quite a bit myself, Jeremy, but concede it is an acquired taste

Unknown said...

I totally agree that Schwartzman has a bit of an ego for someone who's been on the map for such a short while. I will admit to really loving Rushmore. It'll be nice to see what else he's got.

Reel Fanatic said...

For about a month or so, Marina, I was thoroughly convinced that Rushmore was the single best movie in the entire world .. i know it's not that, by any stretch, but it is extremely funny and still one of my true favorites

Mike Belding said...

tenenbaums and rushmore are both in my top ten, and i also loved bottle rocket and life aquatic, though it borrowed heavily from ideas anderson had already exhausted. i know anderson loves schwartzman's taste in music, so maybe they also have a similar taste in writing.
also, i'm assuming since this has just been announced, and wilson and brody already have many films on the go, that filming wont likely be until 2007 at the earliest, which means the fantastic mr. fox is most definitely still a go.

Reel Fanatic said...

I hope youre right Get Up Kid ... Fantastic Mr. Fox could be an epic disaster, but I'm definitely intrigued by it

Passion of the Weiss said...

I just hope Kumar is in this one...and I think Bottle Rocket and Rushmore are certified cinematic classics..everything since...not so much.

Reel Fanatic said...

Kumar would be a definite plus, Mr. Weiss ... The only Anderson movie I haven't liked so far was "Zissou" ... I think he got better each time through "Tenenbaums," in which Kumar was fantastic

Terence Towles Canote said...

I was saddened by Kirby's death as well. I remember him best from This is Spinal Tap--I think Tommy Pischedda may have been the best role he ever played. Of course, I must confess that I am a bit of a Billy Crystal fan (call his movies a guilty pleasure for me), so I also remember him fairly well from When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers (although the latter film can wear thin on me). It is sad that he had to go at such a young age.

Des said...

Not an Owen Wilson fan but more Wes Anderson can't be a bad thing.

Reel Fanatic said...

Not sure why, Mercurie, but Billy Crystal has always rubbed me the wrong way .. maybe it's just that he seems so desperate to be liked

Carrie Lofty said...

We disagree on two major points today! I loved Zissou and Burton's Charlie, hated Tennenbaums and Corpse Bride. Such is life. Kirby was a fantastic character actor, with a humor that was as self-deprecating as it was ocassionally over-the-top. I loved his turn as Princess Leia's hubby in When Harry Met Sally. And Adrian Brody has long-since joined Christopher Eccleson on my extensive list of strange men I find particularly attractive.

Reel Fanatic said...

It's certainly ok for us to disagree Salome .. civilly of course! I know a lot of people who love Burton's Charlie, but I just felt all the soul dropped out of it the minute the factory opened .. I do have to admit, though, that those squirrels were just plain cool!