Running Head: THE KING OF UNIQUE

The King of Unique

Andrew Mega
New England Institute of Technology

Running Head: THE KING OF UNIQUE

THE KING OF UNIQUE

Abstract
This essay is about the life and film career of Wesley Anderson. From the
childhood that made him who he is today to the college experience that change his life
forever. I dive into all his accomplishments in the film industry and explain what makes
them so great. The essay looks deeper into the question of why Wes Anderson is one of
the greatest young film directors in the country. Also we look at some of his signature
filming choices like tracking shots and symmetry and why they are so different from any
other directors signature. His first movie apply named Bottle Rocket to his box office hits
like Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel, by the end of this paper you too
will realize what makes Wes Anderson one of the most sought after directors.

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The greatness of art is not to find what is common but what is
unique(Bashevis,I). When you think of movies, what do you think of? One might say
famous actors/actresses, gooey romances, or action packed multi million dollar budgets,
and blockbuster directors. These are the kind of ingredients necessary for a movie
looking to rack in the money. Occasional though you might find one person interested in
Indie films. Movies that are hardly heard about. They are built out of budding actors and
actresses, low budgets and high quality scripts. The kind of film that you get something
more out of when you see it. Unlike walking away from most of todays block busters
where you leave the theater with an empty wallet and hot tube sized popcorn, these
kinds of movies leave you with a meaning. An artistic expression of both video and
audio meaning that make up an indie film. One such master of this film style is Wes
Anderson. His unique still is unlike any other in Hollywood. Movies of the likes of which
include Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Motel prove that he is a
powerful force on the industry that is like no other.
Wesley "Wes" Wales Anderson was born on May 1, 1969, in Houston,
Texas(Wes Anderson Bio) to a middle class family. Life was fairly normal for the young
boy until age eight. A bitter divorce shook up Anderson and his two older brothers, Eric
and Mel. It was at this time Wes became a bit of a trouble maker While trying to cope
with the disintegration of his parent's marriage(Wes Anderson Bio). As a present for his
birthday one year his father bought him a super eight camera. It was with his one
present that Andersons life began to turn around. He started making little one-reel
shorts(Fienberg, S) and began devoting his attention to creativity rather than
disobedience. Along with his brothers, Wes began developing his skills with the short
films and taking note of great directors like Hitchcock and Spielberg(Fienberg, S). His
talent spilled over into large and complex play productions(Wes Anderson Biography)
put on by the school he attended, St. Johns. He graduated high school with an ambition
to work with people.
After graduating in 1987, Wes enrolled as a philosophy student at the University
of Texas at Austin(Hastings,M). Anderson wanted to turn his love for working with
people into a job. He had a unique ability of understanding what people liked. He
analyzed them and was very interested in what entertained them. While attending a
playwriting class(Wang,J) he met a kindred spirt in classmate Owen
Wilson(Hastings,M). The two hit it off immediately and were both very interested in both
plays and film. Through the semester the two became buddies. Discussing film, writers,
and the future, the two aspiring writers quickly found they had similar eclectic tastes in
media. The two eventually became roommates(Wes Anderson BIO) and began writing
plays together. Wilson played the lead in Wess first student play, a comedy called A

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Night in Tunisia(Wang,J). The spoof of True West did very well on campus and gained
both Anderson and Wilson some credit as possible future super powers in Hollywood.
The two friends complemented each others styles and continued working together
throughput their college experience. After graduating in 1990 the duo rented an
apartment in Dallas(NewYorker) and began working on small projects together.
The Wilson, Anderson team eventually pumped out their first film together. In
1996 the short film Bottle Rocket was released at the Sundance film festival. Written by
Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson and starring Owen and his brother Luke. The crime
caper created splashes at the festival with its outlooks on coincidences and
conversations of every day life(Ebert,R) and its quirky feeling. The film put the foot in
the door for Andersons career in Hollywood. Originally released at the festival as a short
film, its good reception brought attention to it and it was picked up later that summer as
a full movie. Although its approval by film festival on lookers did not transition to the big
screen market with Bottle Rocket getting mixed reviews. Even after its flop in the box
office later that year Anderson received the Best New Filmmaker award from MTV for
his work on the film. To continue his success he turned to his longtime friend Owen
Wilson once more. The two wrote and directed Rushmore together in 1997. Rushmore
was released in 1998 to a large audience with great critic reviews. Starring Bill Murray
who plays a mentor to Jason schwartsmans character Max. Max, a fifteen year old
aspiring millionaire is soon turned against Herman Bloom, a self made industrialist, as
the two fight over the affection of a school teacher. This odd love triangle(Dickerson,G)
has you laughing and rooting for your favorite character. This film really cemented Wes
Anderson as the next big thing in Hollywood. This fact being backed by the famous
director Martin Scorsese who stated in an article that Andreson has a very special kind
of talent(Scorsese,M) that will soon make him a very famous director in the
entertainment industry.
Andersons career continued on into the 2000s at a pretty steady rate. With the
release of three movies between 2001- 2007, Wes stayed busy directing The Royal
Tenenbaums , The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited. All three
films did ok in the box office but reviews were not nearly as high as his first two films. He
was quickly establishing himself in Hollywood and amongst the actors and directors that
he grew up aspiring to be. What quickly became apparent was that Wes Anderson liked
to take chances. He often shot his films on location which is a very challenging style of
filming that requires dedication from both the cast and crew. The Life Aquatic was shot
at sea in a Second World War era minesweeper(Wild,Wild Wes) while The Darjeeling
Limited was shot on a moving train in India(Wild,Wild Wes). The effect of shooting a
film on location is a more realistic look that makes the audience feel like part of the film.

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For this reason Andersons films were becoming very recognizable from the moment the
opening credits start.
Wes Andersons popularity quickly grew with the release of Fantastic Mr. Fox in
2009. An adaption of Roald Dahls slender anti-fable(Scott,A), the story is based
around a stealthy fox that steals farmers chickens and has to deal with the
consequences of doing so. The film was done entirely utilizing classic handmade stop
motion(Foxsearchlight) filming style. This jumpy style of filming made for a distinct look
and next to the three dimensional, computer generated(Scott,A) movies of today, made
Fantastic Mr. Fox stand out. With a rockstar cast that included George Clooney and
Meryl Streep, the movie did very well in the box office making 46 million world wide.
Andersons string of outstanding movies grew in 2012 with Moonrise Kingdom. Growing
in confidence and maturity(Travers,P), Wess style became more apparent then ever in
this quirky love story. Immaculately designed(Travers,P) scenes and emotionally
charged(Travers,P) plot create a spectacular movie that can be viewed and enjoyed by
anyone. The story of a pair of young lovers [that] flee their New England
town(MoonriseKingdom) to escape the judgmental people in their lives. Starring a mix
of hollywood heavy weights like Bill Murray and Bruce Willis along side the
inexperienced Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, the cast will have you laughing and
loving every moment of the film. What could be Wes Andersons career defining film is
2014s, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Racking up an 88 on metacritc and a career high
175 million in box office, the film is by far Wess biggest work. The film even has four
oscars under its belt and 56 other various smaller accolades. The adventures of
Gustave H, a famous concierge at a famous hotel(IMBD) and his lobby boy and best
friend, Zero capture the audience in its quirky antics and fantastic story telling. An
elegant mousetrap of stories within stories(Washington post) combined with
"meticulously composed and designed shots with precise and very constricted camera
movements(Ebert,R) allow for Wes Andersons true brilliance to shine through. These
three movies really displayed how Wes Anderson was becoming his own style.
Wes Anderson is known more for his specific filming style than any other director
in Hollywood. The minute one of his films start you can recognize it. His unmistakable
tracking shots, like that in Rushmore, and his choppy filming style are unlike any other
director. Anderson sharp eye for patterning(Crump,A) of common color palettes create
visual master pieces. Like that of The Grand Budapest Hotel, in which a majority of the
scenes in the hotel use all different shades of purples and pinks and other colors that
compliment them. His most distinct feature is his use of symmetry. The reciprocal
arrangement of props and characters in(Crump,A) in every shot produce a
mesmerizing style of filming that has become a very necessary piece of his

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signature(Crump,A) . It can be seen in ever one of his films and is what makes a Wes
Anderson film, well, a Wes Anderson film. It is also the reason that he is now one of the
greatest young directors working in film. He has placed himself within the likes of
Spielberg, Lucas, Howard and many more unforgettable directors in history. With his
stable of recurring cast, we should all expect many more works of art from the mind of
Wes Anderson.

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Citations

Crump, A. (2014, March 14). A Beginners Guide to Wes Anderson Movies. Retrieved
June 5, 2015, from http://screenrant.com/wes-anderson-movie-guide/
Dickerson, G. (n.d.). Rushmore. Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://www.imdb.com/
title/tt0128445/
Ebert, R. (1996, February 21). Bottle Rocket Movie Review & Film Summary (1996) |
Roger Ebert. Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://www.rogerebert.com/
reviews/bottle-rocket-1996
Ebert, R. (2014, March 7). The Grand Budapest Hotel Movie Review (2014) | Roger
Ebert. Retrieved June 5, 2015, from
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/thegrand-budapest-hotel-2014
Fantastic Mr. Fox. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.foxsearchlight.com/
fantasticmrfox/
Fienberg, S. (2012, December 25). Wes Anderson on His Life, Career and Biggest
Success Yet, 'Moonrise Kingdom' (Q&A). Retrieved May 11, 2015, from
http://
www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/wes-anderson-his-life-career406295
Hastings, M. (n.d.). Wes Anderson | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie.
Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://www.allmovie.com/artist/p263477
Isaac Bashevis Singer quote. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2015, from http://
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/i/isaacbashe155876.html?
src=t_greatness
Moonrise Kingdom. (2012, June 29). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://
www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/

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Scorsese, M. (2007, January 29). Wes Anderson. Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://
www.esquire.com/news-politics/a1608/wes-anderson-0300/

Scott, A. (2009, November 12). Dont Count Your Chickens. Retrieved June 1, 2015,
from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/movies/13fantastic.html?
_r=0

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is an antic, visually sumptuous comedy set in Europe
between the wars. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2015, from http://
www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-grandbudapesthotel-movie-review/2014/03/12/d06043e0-a9e4-11e3
b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html
Wang, J. (n.d.). Owen Wilson. Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://www.people.com/
people/owen_wilson/biography/
Wes Anderson Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2015, from http://
www.biography.com/people/wes-anderson-20617561#early-life
Wild, Wild Wes - The New Yorker. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2015, from http://
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/02/wild-wild-wes

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