Another day, another trinket from the toy chest that is Wes Anderson‘s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (our review). As you might imagine, the filmmaker has an exacting vision, one that requires a commitment from the cast to stick to the script as it is on the page, and deliver exactly what he’s looking for. And the process can be trying.
“There was one shot… It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Saoirse Ronan told The Daily Beast. “It took 35 takes or something. We just did it over, and over, and over, and over again.” But when that vision is in service of a final product as delightful and rewarding as Anderson’s films turn out to be, that’s why actors are eager to get on board.
“I’ve gone to other movies and the director will go, ‘Oh maybe you are wearing this,’ and I’ll go ‘That’s a good idea but how about this? What if I have a hat or a thing?’ With him you don’t do that. You go: ‘What do I get to do in this?’ And he goes: ‘Here’s the thing, here’s the thing, here’s the thing.’ And you go, ok,” Jeff Goldblum explained. “So, that’s what you sign-up for too. And his ideas are so good. And his taste is so good that you go: ‘Oh, yes please.’”
“He’s always going further, you know,” Goldblum added. “I kind of love them all, but I see them developing. It’s very enjoyable for me to see how it develops. This one struck me, as soon as I saw it, I was like Sch-WOW! That’s a knock out. I think it worked strikingly well… I think he’s getting better.”
Soon you’ll be able to judge for yourself, but until then this four-minute featurette provides a pretty great peek behind the curtain. And as a bonus treat, this illustrated poster (via Reelizer), commissioned for the Queen’s Film Theater, is a pretty great take on the film.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” opens on March 7th.
