Perhaps the singer from Car Seat Headrest would like to walk back a few of his comments about Wes Anderson’s latest film, “Isle of Dogs?”
You see, Anderson, who is best known for a visual style of filmmaking that can best be described as “a Wes Anderson film,” is looking to direct some music videos. The filmmaker was interviewed recently on the Adam Buxton Podcast, where he talked about his new animated film about dogs on an island made of trash. However, the conversation wasn’t all films.
When asked whether or not he’d be interested in doing a music video, Anderson said, “I’ve always wanted to do, but never managed to do one.”
However, the director didn’t stop there. He recalled a time when he almost did make a video: “I almost did one for the Strokes years and years ago, maybe 15 years ago now or maybe more,” he said. “They decided against my idea in the end. I had something totally unrelated from what they were asking me to do and they decided they did what they wanted to do which I think is a reasonably good policy.”
You read that right. Wes Anderson almost directed a Strokes video back when the band was at the height of their career and the director was coming off his film “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Honestly, if Wes Anderson pitched any band an idea for a music video, they’d be hard-pressed to turn it down. But back 15 years ago, the Strokes weren’t known for their cordial behavior. Let’s just say that some egos were involved, and overall, the band was a little rough around the edges.
With that in mind, it suddenly makes sense how the Strokes would have the nerve to turn down such a high-profile director, but also why Wes Anderson probably isn’t the best fit for the band, in the first place. Seriously, the confidence of the Strokes to turn down Anderson, who was arguably at his most creative, is astounding.
However, this leads us to wonder what a Wes Anderson video would even look like in the first place? And what band should be calling up Anderson right now begging for a chance to work with the filmmaker? Clearly, Anderson probably isn’t suited for any sort of hard rock, punk, or metal. Indie rock just seems too easy, however. So, let’s go out on a limb and put Wes Anderson on the phone with a hip-hop artist, such as Kanye West or Childish Gambino. That could be something special.
Seriously, could you imagine what craziness Kanye would bring to a Wes Anderson video?
One thing is for sure, Car Seat Headrest won’t be the first name on Anderson’s list. However, Wes Anderson needs to make a music video, and pronto. We can’t always rely on Spike Jonze for our unique video fix. Listen below, plus an extra listen to the Close-Up podcast talk about “Isle Of Dogs” too. Oh, and interestingly enough in the Buxton podcast, Anderson admits that “Isle of Dogs” was originally intended to be a short film. There’a also an amusing/horrible bit about how the film initially had a scene where Chihuahua as gassed and killed, but Buxton, who saw an early animatic of the film, suggested maybe he nix that part. Anderson did. Give it a listen.