Asteroid City, the latest offering from acclaimed American director Wes Anderson, was unveiled for competition on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at the Cannes Film Festival. With a prodigious cast and a star-studded red carpet ascent, the feature film made its grand debut amidst the glamour and glitz of La Croisette.
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With a unique graphic style and a constellation of stars, director Wes Anderson keeps on astonishing his audience. In addition to a selection of renowned actors such as Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Tilda Swinton, a fresh wave of stellar talents has been added to Anderson’s meticulous roster: Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson. Their grand entrance at the Cannes Film Festival was nothing short of spectacular. Arriving together by bus, they ascended the steps of the Palais du Festival amid a blaze of camera flashes and the thunderous cheers of an ecstatic crowd. However, the absence of Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum and Margot Robbie was dearly felt by the applauding audience, who dearly missed their presence.
The director confessed to a degree of anxiety when it came to working with Tom Hanks: “He’s a superb actor, but he’s also a massive star… It’s intimidating. But his approach on set, when you suggest something, is to say, ‘Ah, yes, sorry, I should’ve thought of that.’ It encourages you to elevate your game, you’re reassured by someone with such a profound aura.”
As for Bill Murray, a constant collaborator in all of Anderson’s films since Rushmore in 1998, he was conspicuously absent from Asteroid City. “He contracted Covid three days before filming, so we swiftly replaced him with the remarkable Steve Carell,” the director said.
Anderson’s latest film was inspired by the pandemic itself. The director penned his screenplay during the harshest lockdown measures. The plot culminates in a deserted, fictional American city, where a group of young geniuses convene for an invention contest. Parents and students gather for these intellectual competitions, only to be disrupted by the arrival of an alien, resulting in a city-wide lockdown.
The film was shot in Spain and the narrative intertwines with that of a theater play performed in New York. Both storylines merge on the big screen under the meticulous eye of the director.
“Many of the actors have become my friends, but they’re different on set,” Anderson stated. “Actors share something that regular people rarely encounter: the experience of being the center of attention. It has this peculiar and intriguing effect. It has become part of what the film addresses.”
By Marie-Christine Tayah with AFP.
Instagram : @mariechristine.tayah
