Speaking of …
We finally have a trailer for Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” via Focus Features. A limited release of May 30 has been set up with a wide expansion on June 6.
If we initially expected Wes Anderson’s next film to have a smaller cast, then we’ve been proven wrong. The ensemble includes Benicio Del Toro, Michael Cera, Bill Murray, Mia Threapleton, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Benedict Cumberbatch. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston and Hope Davis.
The film, which wrapped production in June 2024, is said to be planted in the “espionage” genre, tackling a father-daughter relationship. Del Toro plays Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe and father to Threaplton’s character, Sister Liesl. Cera will portray her tutor, Bjorn Lund, with all three being wrapped up in a globe-trotting conflict involving the family business.
Anderson’s go-to DP, Robert Yeoman was supposed to sit this one out, but it looks like he’s credited as cinematographer. Roman Coppola is being credited as co-writer on the project. This isn’t the first time Coppola has partnered with Anderson — he also co-wrote “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” The script for “The Phoenician Scheme” is said to have been written around the time of those films, in the late aughts.
Anderson is coming off “Asteroid City,” released in 2023. He also won his first Oscar last year for his live-action Netflix short “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.” He’s one of the few directors in Hollywood who doesn’t have to compromise his vision, and continues to get his passion projects funded with A-list actors taking paycuts to star in them.
Anderson’s most notable credits include “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Rushmore,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” His films feature dollhouse-like worlds filled with the smallest of details, in every frame, that second and third viewings are abound with discovery.
