Wes Anderson skewered Donald Trump’s proposed tariff on movies shot abroad at a Cannes press conference for his new film “The Phoenician Scheme,” questioning how it will work.
“The Phoenician Scheme,” which features a sprawling cast of Anderson regulars, shot in partly Germany.
Like Threapleton, Cera is a newcomer to the Anderson troop, playing a duplicitous tutor named Bjorn Lund.
But it’s in the DNA, somehow.” At the heart of the film is the father-daughter relationship between del Toro and Threapleton.
There were so many options where to go,” del Toro said of playing Zsa-zsa.
During a Cannes press conference for his new film, “The Phoenician Scheme,” Wes Anderson ridiculed Donald Trump’s proposed tariff on foreign-produced films, raising doubts about its implementation.
To a roar of laughter, the director remarked, “Can you hold up the movie in customs? It doesn’t ship that way.”.
“The Phoenician Scheme,” which was partially filmed in Germany, has a large cast of Anderson regulars. Anderson first said, “I thought you said he was giving us a plug or something,” in response to a question concerning the tariffs. Did Trump witness it?
But he continued to make fun of the concept, saying, “I’ve never heard of a 100 percent tariff before, so the tariff is interesting.”. I don’t know much about that branch of economics, but it seems to me that he’s implying that he will keep all the money. Then, what do we get? I find it to be complicated. The movie doesn’t ship that way, so can you hold it up in customs? “.”.
Featuring Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, and Kate Winslet’s daughter, Mia Threapleton, the film is a droll three-hander. While Threapleton plays his estranged daughter, Sister Liesel, a nun who smokes and drinks, Del Toro plays business tycoon Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the wealthiest men in Europe and the target of multiple assassination attempts. Cera plays a cunning tutor named Bjorn Lund and, like Threapleton, is a new member of the Anderson troop.
Regarding the film’s origins, Anderson revealed that he and co-writer Roman Coppola initially intended to write a “very dark” story about a business tycoon who is “not really concerned with how the big decisions he has empowered himself to make for the world are affecting populations of workforces and landscapes.”. “”.
We were building this on “the darkness of a certain kind of capitalist, but it took us somewhere else,” Anderson continued. To truly answer it correctly, we need a psychiatrist’s couch, and even then, I’m not sure. However, it’s somehow ingrained in the DNA. “”.
The relationship between del Toro and Threapleton, father and daughter, is central to the movie. After revealing that he, Coppola, and del Toro all had daughters, Anderson started singing “Happy Birthday” to Coppola’s 14-year-old daughter in the front row, to which the audience and other panelists joined in. Del Toro then delved into his own character’s journey in the movie, which saw him change from a merciless industrial titan to a kind of devoted father.
“This was a really juicy part. Del Toro remarked, “There were so many options where to go when playing Zsa-zsa.”. The character is changing from A to Z and is full of contradictions. It was therefore incredibly thrilling and difficult. You simply give Wes everything you have, and he works his magic in the editing room, and you get what you get. … We discussed the humor. Simply be sincere and serious. And when the humor strikes, it strikes. “.”.
The director of “Asteroid City” then disclosed his upcoming project, which he claims to be co-writing with Coppola and Richard Ayoade, who plays a heavily armed Marxist revolutionary in “The Phoenician Scheme.”. He remarked, “The next movie is also quite dark.”. Actually, I would like to share our project: Richard, Roman, and I are writing a screenplay for a movie, and I believe it contains some dark elements. I’m at a press conference, so I won’t say anything about that. I need to make an announcement. “.”.
Additionally, he hinted at potential future partnerships with Cera and Bill Murray, who was seated in the front row but did not participate in the panel. Each of them shook hands with Anderson to attest to their participation. To Cera, Anderson said, “Let’s shake on it.”. “Let’s get this out of the way. Sometimes people say yes, but later on, they don’t really mean it. “.”.
Benedict Cumberbatch added, “It’s like God finding water when you see him find Michael. It seems like a very obvious and natural addition to his filmmaking toolkit. It truly was the ideal collaboration. “”.
“You know, we’ll do ‘The Life Aquatic 2,” Anderson told Murray in response to a reporter’s question later on about any follow-ups to any of his movies. Should we?
With at least one prior Anderson film to their credit, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Mathieu Amalric, Rupert Friend, and Hope Davis complete the cast of “Phoenician Scheme.”.
