Wes Anderson says Roald Dahl’s Works Shouldn’t be Edited: “He’s Dead”

Wes Anderson’s 37-minute “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on Roald Dahl’s story, is getting praised at Venice. In it, the actors frequently speak to the camera. It’s said to be an unusual film from Anderson, but it’s seems to have been worth the wait.

At the film’s press conference, Anderson was asked about the recent controversy of Dahl’s books being edited, purified, if you will, by its publishing company for today’s more sensitive minds.

Anderson says that finished works of art should not be touched up or modified.

I’m probably the worst person to ask about this because if you ask me if Renoir should be allowed to touch up one of his pictures, I would say no. It’s done.

I don’t even want the artist to modify their work. I understand the motivation for it, but I’m in the school where when the piece of work is done we participate in it. We know it. So I think when it’s done, it’s done.

And certainly, no one who is not an author should be modifying somebody’s book. He’s dead.

Fun times we live in. My recommendation to all of you is to buy as much physical media as possible (books, buy-rays etc) before an inevitable purging of more classics becomes the norm.

Earlier this year, hundreds of changes had been made to Dahl’s original texts, including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Twits, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This enraged fans of the author who demanded the modifications be annulled.

Anderson also confirmed that his ‘Henry Sugar’ anthology would eventually include three more short films he’s already directed, all of them based on Dahl’s stories. They are “The Swan,” “Ratcatcher,” and “Poison.”

‘Henry Sugar’ was partly shot on a stage in 16mm. There’s also stop motion animation. It does sound very different to previous Andersons. He might not be completely repeating his usual stylizations this time around.

We also have some new images to share of the film, which is next going to screen at the New York Film Festival.