Wes Anderson Issue from Texas Studies in Literature and Language

Please enjoy this interview about the work and study of director Wes Anderson and his films. The interview was conducted with Donna Kornhaber, guest editor, special issue: Wes Anderson TSLL 60.2 (2018): 1-227. 

Contents: Donna Kornhaber, “Wes Anderson, Austin Auteur”; Tom Hertweck, “The Great Frame-Up: Wes Anderson and Twee Narrative Contrivance”; Kim Wilkins, “Assembled Worlds: Intertextuality and Sincerity in the Films of Wes Anderson”; Kevin Henderson, “Failed Comportment and Fits of Discomposure in the Films of Wes Anderson”; Rachel McLennan, “‘That’s not enough’: Aging in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Rushmore"; Rachel Joseph, “Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums: Writing and Forgiveness”; Alissa Burger, “Beyond the Sea: Echoes of Jules Verne in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”; Peter Sloane, “Kinetic Iconography: Wes Anderson, Sergei Parajanov, and the Illusion of Motion” 

Set from the film Isle of Dogs. Source: Isle of Dogs. Author: Paul Hudson

Could you share with us a ranking of Anderson’s films, starting with your favorite?

This is very hard, but here’s an attempt:

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 
2. Moonrise Kingdom 
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox 
4. The Royal Tenenbaums 
5. Rushmore 
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 
7. The Darjeeling Limited 
8. Bottle Rocket 

You’ll notice I haven’t included Isle of Dogs in the list; I’m still thinking it through.

What aspects of The Grand Budapest Hotel lead you to place it at the top of this list?

I think it’s the film where Anderson’s stylistics and thematics finally reach scale, so to speak—where he is able to build what is arguably his most complete and complex universe (his own country, quite literally) and tell one of his most narratively complicated stories, all without losing the thread of stylistic idiosyncrasy or repeated thematic concerns that mark all of his works. It is an epic Wes Anderson film, which for years seemed like an obvious contradiction in terms; though still invested in the fate of individuals, it operates on a world-historical plane. It is also the first film, I would argue, where Anderson gets serious about politics (something he continues in Isle of Dogs), which likewise seemed an impossibility from a certain view of his earlier works. Grand Budapest shows him taking his manner of filmmaking in directions that previously seemed unfeasible. 

Watch Rare Texas-made Indies at the Bullock Museum

The Bullock Texas State History Museum will screen six rare Texas-made indie films as part of their Texas Focus Film Series this Thursday, January 14 at 7pm. Created by UT Austin film students, these short films were first compiled and screened in 1981

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when director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) introduced them at the Collective for Living Cinema in New York City. Under the guidance of SXSW and The Austin Chronicle co-founder Louis Black, these films have been newly restored and are now being presented together as a package for the first time in Jonathan Demme Presents Made in Texas. UT Press is distributing the DVD.
Following this Thursday's screening, Louis Black will moderate a Q&A with Tom Huckabee (The Death of a Rock Star), Sandy Boone (Invasion of the Aluminum People), Paul Collum (Speed of Light) and other talent. We asked Rachel Manning, the Film & Theater Coordinator at the Bullock Museum, to introduce their Texas Focus film series and explain the significance of these films and local filmmaking.

Don't miss this! An opening reception with a cash bar starts at 6pm. Get your tickets here: Texas Focus: Jonathan Demme Presents MADE IN TEXAS

What is the mission of the Texas Focus Film Series?

Texas Focus aims to highlight the creative energy and wide-ranging, unique qualities of Texas through the art of cinema. This selection of films will bring Texas to the world through many lenses and visions of this great state.

Still from Fair Sisters
In this homage to Demme’s Caged Heat, things go awry when a rough girl gang busts in on a back room poker game.

Why are regional films like these important?

Regional film is important because it not only highlights aspects about a location that are often unseen in Hollywood films, but they also explore the creative nature and outlook of filmmakers from that region, which is unique in itself. 

Still from The Death of a Rock Star
Real life events of The Doors ethereal frontman, Jim Morrison, frame this experimental short film.

How do the Whole Shootin’ Match and the short films in Made in Texas characterize or capture our region — what makes them Texas? 

There is nothing in each of the films to signify Texas per se, except for a city street or skyline in a shot or two. What these films do is capture the aesthetic and spirit of early independent filmmaking, which was happening in and around Austin during this time. These films are not connected to a studio and do not have the look and feel of a studio production, but rather reflect the environs and locations that were available to the filmmakers. They are homegrown in that sense, and the DIY nature of how these films were made comes across. 

Still from Leonardo, Jr.
A tribute to the silent comedy master, Buster Keaton.

What is the legacy of these films; how have more mainstream filmmakers been influenced by these films?

Filmmakers such as Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez have been influenced by these films and their unique take on Texas filmmaking. Jonathan Demme of course was endeared to these films to point of curating them for the Collective for Living Cinema in 1981.

Still from Speed of Light
Reminiscent of Demme’s Crazy Mama, this story of an outsider searching Central Texas for her lost child is permeated by Cold War anxieties.

What’s the best way for local film enthusiasts to get involved and hear about screenings?

Great question! Film fans that want to follow what's going on in the world of cinema at the Bullock should keep an eye on the Bullock's Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page, along with our Facebook film fan page. Additionally, film enthusiasts can follow us by signing up for email newsletters specific to the topic they're interested in, whether it be a specific film or everything we have to offer!

Still from Invasion of the Aluminum People
A contemporary and surreal take on science fiction horror of the 1950s.

www.utexaspress.com

5 Things You Need to Know about "Boyhood"

**Update: Congratulations to the entire Boyhood team for the three Golden Globe wins! **

To celebrate Boyhood's five Golden Globe nominations, here are five very important things that you need to know about Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Congratulations to Rick Linklater (nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay), Patricia Arquette (nominated for Best Supporting Actress), Ethan Hawke (nominated for Best Supporting Actor), and to the entire cast and crew for the Best Motion Picture, Drama nomination. We'll be watching on January 11!

1

The Beatles' The Black Album is real. Late in the film, Ethan Hawke’s father character presents Mason (Ellar Coltrane) with “a family heirloom that money couldn’t buy,” The Beatles’ The Black Album. A three-volume mega mix-tape that collects the best of McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, and Starr from their solo careers. Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater collaborated on making the track list of The Black Album a reality. Here’s a sample of the first few songs:

     Disc 1: 

1. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Band on the Run” 

2. George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord” 

3. John Lennon feat. The Flux Fiddlers & the Plastic Ono Band, “Jealous Guy” 

4. Ringo Starr, “Photograph”

For the complete list check out Indiewire’s full write up on The Black Album: The Post-Beatles Black Album From Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Follow us on Spotify for our 3-part playlist! 

2

There's more to the haircut scene than you might think. In preparation for a scene midway through the movie, Richard Linklater asked Ellar Coltrane to refrain from cutting his hair for a year.

UT Press at the 2014 Texas Book Festival

This weekend, the University of Texas Press and 13 of our authors will enjoy the 19th annual Texas Book Festival on the Capitol grounds in downtown Austin and environs. We're still pinching ourselves that Richard Linklater will be part of a panel for one of our books, Boyhood: Twelve Years on Film. We'll have a booth on Colorado Street with tons of titles for sale at a great discount, so please stop by. There are a lot of great authors in attendance this year, so we’ve distilled our authors' appearances into a single UT Press schedule (browse the full schedule here):

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Saturday

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Surf Texas

Author: Kenny Braun

Location: The Contemporary

Where to find the author online:
@KennyBraunPhoto | Facebook | Website

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11:45 AM - 12:45 PM

Olveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist
Author: Debra Winegarten

Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.016

Where to find the author online:
Author Guest Blog | @Winegarten | Website

1:00 - 2:00 PM

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The Devil’s Backbone
Author: Bill Wittliff
Location: Texas Tent

"This lively story, part novel and part yarn, is a fine read!"     ―Larry McMurtry

"Bill Wittliff’s The Devil’s Backbone is a wonderful tale that does honor to the ancient art of storytelling. It is destined to be an American classic."     ―Jim Harrison

"It’s mythic. It’s historic. It’s folk wisdom and wit. Best of all, it’s a master storyteller at the top of his game practicing the ancient art he heard as a kid growing up in Edna in the 1940s."     ―Jane Sumner, Austin American-Statesman

Kevin Smith, John Pierson on Linklater's Influence

We're knee-deep in South By Southwest here in Austin. With the film festival in full swing, this week's blog features an excerpt from UT film professor John Pierson's classic book Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema — back in print this spring! Here, Pierson sits down with Kevin Smith to talk about one of his biggest influences as a filmmaker, Richard Linklater. Linklater screened his film Boyhood at this year's gamut of film festivals, including SXSW, was nominated for an Oscar for Before Midnight, and continues to nourish the Austin film scene through the Austin Film Society.

Read the truncated conversation below to get a sense of Linklater's cultural influence. Get the book to delve even deeper into a pivotal era in indie film.

John Pierson: So you saw Slacker on your twenty-first birthday at the Angelika. That theater opened in late 1989. Was that the first time you went there?

Kevin Smith: No, the first film I've ever seen outside of New Jersey, unless I'm on vacation with my parents somewhere and then it's still a mainstream film, the film I travel to New York to the Angelika to see is—let me back up a minute....

We're on the cutting edge, The Dark Backward, nobody knows about this and he'll be the one to make Planet of the Apes. At the bottom of the Village Voice ad, it said come to the midnight screening and receive free pig newtons-which of course were fig newtons with a sticker on them.

The Dark Backward, which was not good at all, was our first independent movie. That was the first thing we ever went to see outside New Jersey, at the Angelika. The first time we see the Angelika we're like "there's an escalator in this movie place. Look at this, it's hip man, you can get coffee," not that we're coffee drinkers, but we buy like a ham croissant sandwich at the cafe. The lobby's all different from the usual multiplex lobby we go to because they hang up these huge reviews of films and suddenly we feel, "Oh, my God there's a whole different subculture here." We're seeing people who're there. I mean this theater's packed....

The The Dark Backward is just a footnote because it gets me out of Jersey to New York. And then I have enough courage to see Slacker in New York at a midnight screening.

JP: What attracted you since there were no pig newtons?

KS: The Voice review and the image of the Madonna Pap smear girl; it just sounded great. I know it opened in July [1991]. I went on my birthday, August 2nd. And that's the movie that pushed me. It was like "Oh, my God," The whole ride home I'm like "look how simple it is. It's like there's nothing going on, it's dialogue, I can do this." This is the movie because this is approachable. I can do this.