if he casts bill murray as the main guy, and owen wilson as the cab driver this could be amazing.
hmm. I should see “My best friend” before i comment on this board.
Wes never fails me though.
I dig Patrice Leconte and Wes Anderson, remakes can work although rarely seem to, then again, writing jobs are sometimes far removed from what actually gets made… we’ll see.
I’m also a little leary of a remake, especially one so recent, but I have loved every film he’s made so far.
THE LIFE AQUATIC, which alot of people seem to consider Wes’ drop off, I think was a step forward for him. His most ambitious work up to that point. I think he’s trying to stretch himself into new areas, like animation, and people that think he is a one note filmmaker aren’t looking very hard.
This makes sense. He wants to be a European art film director so bad, I guess he had to just go make a real one.
I really like all his movies (Darjeeling Limited the least though). But this might be too much.
The overall remaking of recent foreign films for American studios is an awful trend
I love Wes Anderson’s movies as well as My Best Friend by Patrice Leconte. Danny Boon was amazing in the role and I love Daniel Auteuil. I of course love all of Wes Anderson’s actors too, so this could be good. But there were some unavoidably weak things about the movie, so it would be great to see W.A. do something different than this. Either way, I’ll see whatever he does next.
I’m gonna see it regardless, but i’m not sure why this is even happening.
I would like to see Wes remake something, hes never done it before. The only problem I have is why would you remake it? Its not an old film, I just watched the trailer and I didn’t see any themes or ideas that Americans would not get or relate with.
I’d like to challenge Anderson to write his own film for once. Sure, he has writing credits on all his films, but it’s always shared with someone else. When is he finally going to come up with his own idea from scratch?
Don’t get me wrong—I really like his work. I admire how he has become an auteur and never had to work his way up in Holllywood. But I just think by now he should have written at least one of his films without anyone else’s help.
jonathan – i disagree about the writing angle, co-writing is enough. martin scorsese for one hasnt written a feature alone, nor did kubrick, so its hardly out of the ordinary. the point about him not having to work his way up is true, just watch the bottle rocket making of on the new criterion release.
Hmm. That’s true—you make a solid point. I guess it just seems like he’s been running out of ideas, and I’d be curious to see what he could write on his own, that’s all.
Wes Anderson; should be an auteur by now. If not now at least in the near future.
It’s time he stepped out of his idiosyncrasies, even if for a short time. A book adaptation and a remake should refresh him a little. As long as it’s a French film he’s adapting into English everything’s going to be fine. Oh, but I hope the studio lets him direct it too. As of now he’s only assigned the writing duty if I’m not wrong.
Yeah it’s official that he is writing but whether or not he’s directing is not absolute. A few other articles said he had an interest in directing but nothing is official.
I can’t understand why Anderson would find this story/film interesting or necessary to remake. It was one of the most contrived moronic falsely constructed films I’ve seen in years. And do we need another WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE sequences in cinema?
I really hope not, the film just looks like an uplifting cheesy comedy, not sure why he is attracted to it. I think he should do a war film, i think that’d be great.
“I’d like to challenge Anderson to write his own film for once. Sure, he has writing credits on all his films, but it’s always shared with someone else. When is he finally going to come up with his own idea from scratch?”
Well, in the broader scheme of things, movies are collaborative. The only ones that aren’t are stuff like Serene Velocity, formal experimental films. Many people believe that directors should not edit their own work, because they need an outside voice to keep focus; I disagree with that sentiment, especially since the only thing I want out of movies I direct is to have final cut, but I do honor and value co-writing and collaboration in order that I know that my ideas are made clear outside my own consciousness—for now. As I get more comfortable, I might want to go more independent and more in control of as many levels of production as possible.
But so and anyway however, Wes Anderson seems to write from a direction of having a broader, general idea, and then allows his actors and co-writers to take the characters specifically and form how the movies will be made around them. It works very well for him and I think he does a good job with it, and the subtle variations between narratives can quite commonly be attributed to the new co-writing credit for each film. But they ARE his own films. They ARE from scratch, except now with Fantastic Mr. Fox and this proposed remake. I think expecting him to pen every word himself as a code of conduct is a little strict, don’t you?
As for this remake, I don’t know much about this movie so I guess I should check it out beforehand. I’d be interested in trying to see what Anderson sees in it.
—PolarisDiB
“I’d like to challenge Anderson to write his own film for once. Sure, he has writing credits on all his films, but it’s always shared with someone else. When is he finally going to come up with his own idea from scratch?”
Anderson wrote “Hotel Chevalier” alone and even his biggest detractors count that as some of the strongest 15 minutes he’s filmed.
Also if you look into it, Owen Wilson basically says that Anderson mostly wrote The Royal Tenenbaums, and that the ideas for all of the films he’s done have stemmed from him.
I think he, like so many directors and writers, thrives with collaboration. Nothing wrong with that.
Wes Anderson is one of the most talented filmmaker of the U.S. theses years. A thing that is specific with his film is the character and the dialogue and I am sure that he will do a great job with this remake especially if he brings his habitual cast. The original movie is good but with the Anderson’s touch it will surely be excellent.
“Anderson wrote “Hotel Chevalier” alone and even his biggest detractors count that as some of the strongest 15 minutes he’s filmed.”
Haha, that’s funny, I really don’t like Hotel Chevalier very much at all. It’s always fascinating how two people defending the same artist can disagree on a specific point.
—PolarisDiB
The original is awesome, but without a doubt it will have a completely different feel to it with Anderson at the helm, as did Fantastic Mr. Fox from its source material. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. In all likelihood the two films will be very different, but won’t detract from each other. Though it’s not uncommon, it is always a bit odd when America remakes foreign films so close to the original’s release. But for me it’s less a question of why it NEEDS TO happen than why SHOULDN’T it happen? Now this excellent story will reach a far wider audience and there will be lots of people (like myself) who view the original as a result.
I guess this is not happening anymore? At least, not until after Moon Rise Kingdom?
I guess that’s what living in Paris has done to him.
It seems like an obvious choice between doing a remake and filming his own script.
Whatever happened to that script he wrote for George Clooney about the art dealer in new york, Rostehamm Suite?
In Anderson’s first draft of his “My Best Friend” adaptation he changes the protagonist into an art dealer, so you’re talking about the same script that the rest of the thread is about.
HAHHA awesome!
Have you read that draft?
As much as I admire Anderson, I wish he would direct a film that couldn’t be called “precious.”
@ Rudy
Yes, The Rosenthaler Suite is the My Best Friend remake. However, it sounds like Anderson won’t be directing the film himself when/if it gets made.
Hans Lucas
The french film made in 2006. Wes Anderson is said to be writing a remake of this film for american production (Variety Magazine). I love Wes Anderson and I await excitedly for The Fantastic Mr. Fox. But a remake?