You may not recognize his name, but Wes Anderson’s made a name for himself with infectiously likable, quirky-character laden independent films. His first underground hit, Bottle Rocket (1996) was followed not long after by Rushmore (1998), then The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjelling Limited, the animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and last years Moonrise Kingdom.
His writing’s so strong, just the mention of his name is enough to sway even the most finicky of actors, and it’s no surprise that this year’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood’s thespian elite:
Saoirshe Ronan (/seer’shah/ if you’re not Irish), Ralph Fiennes (he who must not be named), Lea Seydoux (Gabrielle from Midnight in Paris), Jude Law, Edward Norton, the often associated, but otherwise reclusive Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Wilkinson (who’s been in every movie made since 1983), F. Murray Abraham, Harvey Keitel, French actor Mathieu Amalric (always busy and occasionally borrowed for big Hollywood films(e.g.: Quantum of Solace, Munich, etc.)), Bob Balaban (you’ll know him when you see him), perpetually employed German actress Keike Hanold-Lynch and actor Florian Lukas, and Austrian Karl Markovics, along with Moonrise alum Gabriel Rush accompany Tony Revolori, playing Zero Moustafa, the newly employed lobby boy who retells the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at the famous European hotel between the wars, where Zero becomes his most trusted friend.
Checkout these trailers and the just released clips from Wes Anderson’s latest cinematic feast:
If you don’t know what a Wes Anderson film is, the main trailer is a great introduction:
Here’s the promotional character index.
Gustav meets Zero for the first time.
The game’s afoot, when murder is discovered!
Anderson’s latest evokes the playfulness of another who’s who ensemble, the 1976 satire Murder By Death. If you like quirky independent films, classic murder mysteries, ensemble casts, stage plays, or Bill Murray, this is not to be missed, and thankfully, there’s not long to wait! The Grand Budapest Hotel opens March 7th.
Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight.