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Wesley Wales Anderson was born on May 1st 1969 Houston, Texas. His mother Taxes Ann was an archaeologist turned real estate agent and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and public relations. As a kid, he had two brothers, Eric and Mel. His film, Rushmore, was an inspiration from his time at St. Johns Preparatory School in Houston. Wes Anderson is the middle child in the photograph. -
At eight years old, Anderson's parents Texas Ann and Leonard Anderson got divorced, an event he said was most important moment in his childhood for him and his brothers. Anderson would misbehave in school because that was his way to cope with the disintegration of his parent’s marriage. -
Anderson went to the University of Texas where he graduated with a degree in philosophy. It was there he met Owen Wilson. The two became friends and started making short films together. One of them was Bottle Rocket, starring Owen and his brother Luke Wilson. The short premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993, and it received with great success. Life changed for 23-year-old Wes Anderson as he was given the budget to make a full length movie of Bottle Rocket in 1996. -
Co-written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, the film is about a student at Rushmore Academy falling in love with a teacher and then later finding out his friend is having an affair with her. Despite the strange plot, the film was a commercial success. Wes Anderson later won Best Director at the Spirit Awards. This movie was the first of eight movies Anderson made with Bill Murray and first of 6 movies with Jason Schwartzman. -
Having gained cult-like fans, including famous director Martin Scorsese, Anderson decided to focus his next film around a dysfunctional family. Following a divorce, the Tenenbaum children were separated from each other for decades, but they're suddenly reunited for various reasons. While its not proven if Anderson took inspiration from his personal life, it does seem plausible. In addition, Wes Anderson was inspired by Orson Wells and J.D. Salinger to shape this film and his craft. -
The film follows world renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou and other members of his crew as he attempts to find and seek revenge on a rare shark that devoured a previous crew member of his years ago. Despite the film featuring A-list stars, it underperformed at the box office. The movie is notable for having the most inconsistent reviews in Wes Anderson's film catalogue. Critics labeled the film as smug and artificial but it has become a cult classic with fans defending it. -
By this point in his career Wes Anderson began to be interested in directing internationally. In addition, he had purchased an apartment in Paris. In an interview with New York magazine Anderson stated Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou film was shot in parts of Greece. In addition his next film, The Darjeeling Limited, was shot in India. Anderson would continue making movies across the globe in the 2010's and for his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme. -
Despite its underperformance at the box office, Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of Wes Anderson's most well-regarded works, described as charming and captivating. The movie follows an interesting plot with a heart warming message that proved not only Pixar has the cards to make a fantastic animated feature film. It featuring Anderson's most star-studded cast with George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and more. It was during this time he met Juman Malouf, and they started dating. -
For his biggest and most ambitious film, Anderson decides to travel back in time to 1932. The film is historically influenced the costumes and references to the rise fascism in europe. Gustave (Ralph Feinnes) is suspected of being murder and it is up to his lobby boy, Zero (Tony Revolri) to help him. The movie is widely considered to be his most popular and successful film. Anderson and the production team got Oscar recognition, winning three technical Oscars. -
To reiterate, Wes Anderson was dating Juman Malouf. Juman Malouf is a writer, illustrator, costume designer, and voice actress. In fact, she played the role of Anges in Fantastic Mr. Fox. However nearly all the details of their relationship where kept private. We, the general public only know they got married in the early 2010's. In 2016, Anderson and Malouf had a child. Her name is Freya, and for unknown reasons the couple got a divorce that same year. -
Anderson was influenced by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa to create Isle of Dogs, his second stop motion film. The film serves as a critique of Japan and their government. In the film, dogs are shipped away to island due to a "canine flu". The island itself is also overrun with trash, evoking a dystopian future. In the real world, there are examples of this, such as the main island of Japan, Honshu, contains a huge number of cats. -
Wes Anderson was forced to delay his latest film, The French Dispatch, as the it was set to premiere at the Cannas Film Festival because of Covid and delays in production. The film was put on hold for more than a year. Later, Anderson used the pandemic as inspiration for his next film, Asteroid City. -
On March 10th, Anderson won an Oscar for Best Short Film for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Even though he wasn't there to except the award in person, he later stated, "If I could have been there, I (along with [producer] Steven Rales) would have said ‘Thank You’ to: the family of Roald Dahl; the team at Netflix; Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Ralph [Fiennes] and Ben Kingsley and Dev [Patel] … and more [of the cast and crew]." -
Although Anderson's exact political beliefs are unclear, he has recently confirmed his dislike for Trump tariffs. "So, OK: 100 percent tariff? Does he plan to take all of a movie’s money? Or, what, your movie will be held in customs? How exactly do you do that? I get his impulse. Why does everyone have to make films someplace else? It’s because it’s too expensive in America" said Anderson. Also, he felt the comparison between Elon Musk and Zsa-Zsa Korda (The Phoencian Scheme), was valid. -
Although critics and audiences dismissed The Phoenician Scheme as more of Anderson's standard fanfare, the film offers much more to enjoy. Held together by a unique cast of characters and witty dialogue, the stage is set in the 1950's as wealthy business man Zsa-Zsa Korda is on the run from governments and assassins while he attempts to complete his life's work.