THE WES ANDERSON FILM FESTIVAL 2011
At the Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds 19-24TH DECEMBER 2011 INFORMATION/BIO BOOKLET
An information guide about The Wes Anderson Film Festival: 19-24th December 2011, at The Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Between the 19th24th December 2011, The Hyde Park Picture House proudly present the filmography of renowned American art house director, Wes Anderson to celebrate fifteen years of feature films from the acclaimed ‘Bottle Rocket’ to the hugely successful adaption of British Novelist Roald Dahl’s 1970’s classic tale, ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’.
THE FILMS THE FILMS TO BE SCREENED INCLUDE: BOTTLE ROCKET (1996, followed after 1994 ‘Bottle Rocket’ short) RUSHMORE (1998) THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001) THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004) THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2007, followed after 2007 ‘Hotel Chevalier short) FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009) BOOK SEATS EARLY TO AVOID POTENTIAL DISAPPOINTMENT
3
THE TIMES BOTTLE ROCKET (15) & BOTTLE ROCKET ‘94
21:00 running time approx 99 minutes RUSHMORE (15) 21:00 running time approx 89 minutes
4
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (15) 21:00 running time approx 123 minutes
THE DARJEELING LIMITED (15) 21:00 running time approx 100 minutes
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (15) 21:00 running time approx 114 minutes
FANTASTIC MR. FOX (PG) 21:00 running time approx 83 minutes
Please note: All films in the Festival start promptly at 21:00 as the films shown are recommended for an adult audience. All film certificates are found alongside the screening times (left), and due to screening guidelines are strict rules upon attendance to the Festival. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience or disappointment this may have caused.
All prices for film screenings can be seen below (right). Prices apply to each individual film in the Festival- the price for each film being priced at the same amount. For information, details, advice, or booking information please contact The Hyde Park Picture House on: E: admin@hydepark picturehouse.co.uk T: 0113 275 2045
THE PRICES FILM PRICES (INCLUDES CHOICE OF STALLS OR BALCONY) CONC BALCONY CONC FHPPH STALLS/ BALCONY CONC STUDENT STALLS CONC SENIOR STALLS CONC DISABLED STALLS CONC LEEDS CARD STALLS ADULT STALLS/BALCONY CONC CHILD STALLS/BALCONY
£5.50 £4.00 £4.50 £4.50 £4.50 £4.50 £5.80/£6.30 £4.00/£4.00
5
THE VENUE In August 1914, during the outbreak of War, the Hyde Park Picture House was built in preparation for it’s opening night on 7th November 1914, named as “The Cosiest in Leeds”
6
the reputation it still lives up to today. The Grade II listed single-screen cinema seats 275 with both stall and balcony seating situated in the vibrant hum of the student area of Leeds’ city centre.
In 1989, The Hyde Park Picture House was threatened with closure (due to the popularisation of home video and cinema chains), but was saved by the Leeds City Council, and is still supported by them today.
Despite the dawn of multiplex cinemas, and mainstream blockbuster movies, the independent picture house is still a thriving landmark of the local communitynow proudly showcasing a variety of genres and styles of film- from art house foreign language, Future Shorts Film Festivals and even Pixar’s Animation‘Toy Story 3’ in 3D.
To get to the Hyde Park Picture House takes around ten minutes by car or taxi (from the Leeds train station/City Centre) and around forty minutes by foot, also, many bus services are available in and around the area. Useful landmark and architectural points to look out for on the trip include Leeds Town Hall,
THE VENUE the Leeds Metropolitan Broadcasting Tower, the Leeds University Parkinson Building and Leeds Makkah Masjid mosque- all useful visual guides to help guide your way to the Film Festival.
Inside the delivered mailshot information pack (“You have been cordially invited� pack) contains a fold-out pocket map with both walking and automobile travel directions,
along with useful information about making your way to The Hyde Park Picture House.
7
Notable points of interest/visual guides when travelling from Leeds City Centre (train station) to The Hyde Park Picture House:
THE MAP
8
Within your mailshot pack, you will find enclosed a pocket-sized foldout map to help guide your way to Wes Anderson Film Festival at The Hyde Park
Picture House. The map contains all information necessary about making your way to Leeds by foot, car, rail or air as well as both an illustrative map and written directions, so you
can ensure that your journey is travelled with ease. For more information and/or direction, please ring the Hyde Park Picture house on: 0113 275 2045
- Leeds Town Hall - Leeds Metropolitan Broadcasting Tower - Leeds University Parkinson Building -Hyde Park -Hyde Park Corner -Makkah Masjid Mosque
Often lovingly referred to as “Little London” and “The Knightsbridge of the North” Leeds has plenty to offer for both it’s residents and visitors alike. When attending the Film Festival why not spend some time in the city to enjoy the shopping, culture and eccentricities of the North with a fantastic range of leisure activities available every day.
THE CITY With twenty-one major hotels to choose from, including Malmaison, Travelodge, Ibis and Hilton you can attend the Film Festival with a good night’s rest. The vast majority of the hotels will be within
walking distance from the city centre and the train station, and the Picture House itselfmany will also offer a private and secure car parking service/facility. Ensure that you
book hotels well in advance to avoid disappointment in booking availability, and research the local area and specific locations with care.
9
THE BIO Born and educated in Texas, USA, Wes studied Philosophy at the University of Texas, however, it was when enrolling onto a playwriting course that his true talents
12
were discovered. Meeting English undergraduate, future life long friend and collaborator, Owen Wilson, in these lessons their career began with a short 1994 film ‘Bottle
Rocket’, also featuring Wilson’s brother and actor, Luke Wilson. On it’s release, it was highly praisedperhaps none more so than Director Martin Scorcese’s compliment in Esquire Magazine,
claiming Anderson to be “The next Martin Scorsese.” Through the following fifteen years, Anderson has continued to reflect on life and experience within his films, attracting audiences with his heartfelt scripts, revolutionary cinematography and balance of style and substance. Anderson now lives in New York for the theatre culture.
Along with many other auteur qualities within his work, Wes Anderson is perhaps best known for his collaboration with particular actors within his filmsstarring in 1994 with his ‘Bottle Rocket’ collaboration with Owen Wilson, he has gone on to work with many great names including Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few.
THE STARS ERIC CHASE ANDERSON (BROTHER) ANJELICA HUSTON BILL MURRAY JASON SCHWARTZMAN LUKE WILSON OWEN WILSON
5/6 4/6 5/6 3/6 3/6 6/6
The table above notes the collaborations that Wes Anderson has undertaken
filmmaking historydocumenting the most notable partnerships.
with various actors, and the number of collaborations throughout their
13
THE SHOTS Along with stunning soundtracks, wonderful acting collaborations, and a key sense of styleone of the cinematic features that Wes Anderson is most recognised for is his
14
use of rostrum shot photographic angles (such as the image featured on his page). The downward-facing, animation rig-like angle provides a unique cut away- often used to highlight
important documents within the films-such as the nostalgic look at Ned Plimpton’s letter he wrote to personal hero, (and, at a later date, a Father figure) Steve Zissou, as a child.
This cinematic device is used consistently throughout Wes’ films and provides the opportunity not only for a unique and rare opportunity within film to see an object glorified or highlighted in such a way, but also to distinguish each of the film as a Wes Anderson filmto notice and distinguish the auteur qualities throughout.
Wes Anderson is well-known for his love for the typeface Futura, often compared to legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for his addition of the Futura family within sets and integral shots within his films. However, no director utilises Futura to the extent that Wes doesdefining characters and families by their typefaces- as found, for example, in ‘The
THE TYPE FUTURA BOLD Futura Bold is commonly found on Wes Anderson film title cards.
Royal Tenenbaumswhere upon the Tenenbaum family are distinguished by
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 varying weights of Futura (Bold , Medium, Italic) whereas outside characters, such
as Henry Sherman are represented by Helvetica.
15 4
THE MUSIC An as an auteur director (a director of consistent and distinctive style, taste, visual and conceptual consistency throughout films, etc, Wes Anderson
16
is well known for his distinctive and memorable soundtracks used for seminal moments within his filmswhether it be the reunion of estranged brother and sister
Margot and Richie in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ to Nico’s ‘These Days’, or a pirate attack played along to Iggy Pop & The Stooges ‘Search and Destroy’ in ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zisssou’.
British Rock music plays a huge influence in his films- The Rolling Stones being a firm fixture throughout. Aside from two films in his filmography, ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ and ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ New Wave musician and lead singer of band ‘Devo’, Mark Mothersbaugh has been a consistent collaborator and composer of the soundtrack in Wes’ films.
On US chat show ‘Charlie Rose’, Wes Anderson once described the typical fan of his films to be “outsiders”, like himself, “...people that feel like misfits”. A recent survey of twenty selfproclaimed Wes Anderson fans has provided an insight into the statistics and data information of the average Wes Anderson film fan.
THE FANS GRADUATES DEGREE/ CAREER AVERAGE: ENGLISH LITERATURE/WRITING
24
19/21/21/21/21/21/ 21/21/22/22/22/23/ 23/25/26/27/27/30/32/35 9 FEMALE/11 MALE
AGES: 19-35/AVERAGE: 24
1
1
1 12
FANS: USA:12 CANADA: 1 UK:1 SWEDEN:1
17
A brief summary of just a select few of the peaks and notable achievements of Wes Anderson’s career and filmmaking history to date.
THE FACTS HIS FIVE FEATURE FILMS POST ‘BOTTLE ROCKET’ (1996- DATA NOT FOUND) TOOK A COMBINED TOTAL OF £3,224,279 AT THE UK BOX OFFICE ON OPENING WEEKENDS ALONE.
18
1
DURING HIS SHORT CAREER SPANNING FIFTEEN YEARS, (THROUGH SIX FEATURE FILMS, AND TWO SHORT FILMS) WES HAS RECEIVED THIRTY SEVEN FILM AWARD NOMINATIONS.
2
AFTER READING THE SCRIPT FOR WES ANDERSON’S ‘RUSHMORE’ (1998) FOR THE FIRST TIME, BILL MURRAY OFFERED TO PLAY THE SUPPORTING ROLE OF HERMAN BLUME FOR FREE BECAUSE “HE WANTED TO DO IT SO BADLY.”
3
IN 2009 WES WAS NOMINATED IN THE OSCAR’S BEST ANIMATION CATEGORY FOR HIS FIRST VENTURE IN STOP MOTION, ‘FANTASTIC MR. FOX’ONLY TO BE BEATEN BY PIXAR’S ‘UP’.
4