540 The Darjeeling Limited

[pianocrash]

And I pity those who distance themselves from previously loved film and music, in order to embrace some newfound critical superiority. Just because I don't think Stephen Malkmus has done anything interesting lately doesn't mean I can't still listen to Pavement and love it.

It's not that I hate them as much as I just don't function with those ideals in mind anymore. The ideas within those things are already absorbed into my skin, and obviously they are part of me and I couldn't exist without them. But I don't have any real use in investing anymore time; I just don't have the taste in my mouth for it anymore. It's called growth". That's why I'm actually interested in where this new film is going, even if I bitch & moan all the way until it's here for us to actually talk about. Loving or hating anything 100% is pretty much impossible, anyways. There are easier ways to superiority, and superiority is ridiculous. I should really work on taking jabs at people and not backing them up, since that's what everyone seems to care about, right?

[David Ehrenstein]

I don't want to be anywhere near your skin.

[cafeman]

We get it, Pococurante. Now, please, stop.

[Noir of the Night]

Apparently Fox Searchlight is footing the bill on this one, as opposed to Touchstone. Does Fox sell to Criterion?

[Antoine Doinel]

Nope, Fox doesn't license out, but maybe since it's Fox Searchlight (the "independent" arm) they might make an exception?

The Hollywood Reporter story below:

Aug. 16, 2006

Fox joins Anderson on 'Darjeeling'


By Nicole Sperling and Borys Kit

Fox Searchlight is getting into the Wes Anderson business. The Fox specialty division will be the home of the writer-director's latest project, "The Darjeeling Limited," which will star Anderson vets Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Principal photography is set to begin at year's end in India.

The three will play brothers on a spiritual journey through India after the death of their father.


"Darjeeling" is based on a screenplay from Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. Anderson and Coppola will serve as producers on the film.

Searchlight specializes in offbeat, quirky fare, which happens to be Anderson's trademark. Anderson's previous films, "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," were all made for Touchstone Pictures under the guidance of Nina Jacobson, former president of the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group.

Scott Rudin is producing through his Scott Rudin Prods. shingle in addition to Lydia Pilcher and her Cine Mosaic label. Pilcher recently partnered with Searchlight on Mira Nair's "The Namesake," also an India-based production based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Wilson has appeared in all of Anderson's films, going back to his debut, "Bottle Rocket." He also co-wrote "Rocket," "Rushmore" and "Tenenbaums."

Schwartzman starred in "Rushmore." He will next be seen in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette."

Brody, the newcomer to the Anderson fold, will next be seen in "Hollywoodland."

Anderson, Schwartzman and Wilson are repped by UTA and attorney Bob Wallerstein. Brody is repped by CAA.

[Jeff]

Apparently Fox Searchlight is footing the bill on this one, as opposed to Touchstone. Does Fox sell to Criterion?

Well, they don't "sell" to them, but they do license to them -- or at least they did. Criterion licensed about a dozen titles from Fox a few years back. Those titles have all since been released. Peter Staddon was running Fox Home Video at that time, and was probably largely responsible for that deal. He's not calling the shots anymore, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Fox working with Criterion again. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Anderson negotiated licensing of DVD rights for The Darjeeling Limited to Criterion as part of his contract with Searchlight. For those who haven't seen it yet, here is The Hollywood Reporter's official announcement of the project.

[Matt]

An open letter to Wes Anderson. From Steely Dan.

[Mr Sausage]

I have no idea how to take a letter that is filled with as much pretentious (and garrulous) pomposity as their supposed subject. Not seriously, at any rate.

Quotes to chuckle over:

Again, an artist of your stripe could never be guilty of the same sort of willing harlotry that befalls so many bright young men

Stripe? Harlotry? Befalls? Nothing says you're serious like archaic words. Well, it worked for Spenser.

(assuming for a moment that self-imitation and a modality dangerously close to mawkishness are not moral failings, but rather symptoms of a profound sickness of the soul.)

Parentheses in this letter are like little presents of confusion.

But, look, Mr. Anderson, we're not trying to be critical – dammit - we just want to help.

This makes me picture the writers imagining Wes Anderson rejecting their letter and then getting angry at Wes Anderson for his imaginary rejection, prompting their desperate "dammit."

I feel kind of sorry for Wes Anderson, tho', being told that the only thing he did well in cinema was his first ever movie, and that learning just made him terrible. I suppose that's what you get from a letter written by the members of a milk shooting dildo.

[Ste]

An open letter to Steely Dan:

You're shit. Always have been. Your supposedly ironic jazz-rock bores me to fucking tears.

Your open letter to Wes Anderson was both crass and incredibly sad. Leave the young people alone and get about your business. You've got some sort of nostalgia tour to keep you busy, haven't you?

Love,

Steve

[Lino]

I actually had a good laugh reading through it and that letter was written with so much tongue in cheek that it is silly to take them seriously.

I wonder if it has reached Wes' offices? I would love to have been a fly on the wall when he first read it.

[Ste]

I actually had a good laugh reading through it and that letter was written with so much tongue in cheek that it is silly to take them seriously.

But that's their genius! Or so I have read.

[Antoine Doinel]

Is pianocrash in Steely Dan?

[Napoleon]

Leave it!

[Joe Buck]

Steely Dan blows. They robbed Radiohead of Album on the Year. Kid A is the future. Two Against Nature is the sound of arteries hardening. THEY BLOW! THEY BLOOOWWWW!!!

[Travis]

Kid A lost to Steely Dan?

Now that's embarrassing.

[Noir of the Night]

Yes. Yes it is.

Everything not in its right place.

[flyonthewall2983]

I've resigned myself (hopefully like the rest of you) that the awards given out and recieved in the entertainment community are bullshit. And the Grammys are not only no exception, but the biggest example of that. The best way, it seems, to pander to that community is to make muzak that will be a big fixture on the grocery store scene 5 years from now. Don't even get me started on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...

[justeleblanc]

I actually had a good laugh reading through it and that letter was written with so much tongue in cheek that it is silly to take them seriously.

As much as it is tongue in cheek, if they are in fact the cinephiles they claim to be, then my guess is their opinions about Wes Anderson are pretty honest. Whether or not they want them to make a Bottle Rocket 2 is another story.

For me at least, the funniest part of reading the letter was that I totally agree with it. Bottle Rocket IS Anderson's best film and ever since that he's become that annoying kid in high school who tries WAY to hard to be different or cute while he's constantly making mix tapes for his girl-friends to listen to.

And for the record, Two Against Nature, while maybe not the best album of the year, is still a pretty solid album.

[Ste]

Nobody said it wasn't honest. It is the letter's appropriateness (or lack thereof) that rankles with me.

The letter serves no purpose other than to show how terribly clever Steely Dan think they are. If they are serious about wanting to work with Anderson, they should have written him privately. If not, then what was the point of slagging him off on their own website, where he has no recourse to respond? In order to do so, Anderson would have to lower the level even further by starting a press war (thereby giving Steely Dan much unwarranted public attention in the process). At best, this is the territory of gangsta rappers and pop princesses; at worst, fanboys and gutter journalists.

I don't know Wes Anderson and don't pretend to, but if he has any sense he'll ignore these washed-up old twats, shrug his shoulders, and get on with his work.

[justeleblanc]

I think the letter is related to the ongoing feud between Owen Wilson and Steely Dan about the use of the name Dupree. It's all in good fun and both sides have been taking humorous jabs at each other.

[Noir of the Night]

And for the record, Two Against Nature, while maybe not the best album of the year, is still a pretty solid album.

Yeah, but come on. It's Kid A.

[Antoine Doinel]

So Dave Poland has apparentally read the script and offers a pretty interesting take on it:

[quote]The Darjeeling Regression

I almost never do this, but I danced through the screenplay for The Darjeeling Limited this weekend, comfortable that whatever is on the page of a Wes Anderson movie will be something altogether when I see it on a screen. Story movies, he does not make.

What first caught my eye were his co-writers - Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman – and the retro tone of the whole enterprise. Then, it smacked me in the face was that this trio of characters was oddly familiar. The three brothers…

Francis… Ford Coppola
Peter... Bogdanovich
Jack… Nicholson

The trio all worked for Roger Corman in the early 60s.

Francis Coppola is, obviously, a relative to two of the screenwriters and his distinctly verbose and controlling lead role in the movie makes sense. The character is loaded with quirky, detail oriented quirks. One wonders whether anyone in the family actually ever called him “Frannie.â€

[kinjitsu]

From IMDB:

The Darjeeling Limited (2008)

More information for this In Development project is only available on IMDbPro. To sign-up for a 14-day free trial, click here.

From Bigscreenlittlescreen:

Casting update: Adrien Brody in The Darjeeling Limited

Owen Wilson has dropped Adrien Brody's name, playing Owen's brother, into the cast list of Wes Anderson's upcoming film set in India, The Darjeeling Limited, along with confirming Jason Schwartzman as the other brother. In an interview with Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, Owen revealed this:

What are you doing next?

I think I'm working on a movie about these kids who are getting bullied and they hire me as a bodyguard. Then there's a movie I'm going to do with Wes in India, that Wes wrote and is directing. It's about three brothers — with me, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody.

But it's not a Bollywood movie?

No. It's going to be wild. Wes assures me it's great, and I kind of believe him because I think of myself as more likely to go some place where I'd be roughing it before Wes. He likes staying in five-star hotels, and nice things.

So Owen appears to be the answer man for all things Darjeeling, as he was the first to mention its existence a few weeks ago. Maybe if someone takes him out for a couple of beers, maybe a night out to the Steely Dan concert, he'll let you read the script.

Wes Anderson's New Film: The Darjeeling Limited

As an update to news we've covered earlier, we're now able to discuss Wes Anderson's next film (besides the in-limbo stop-motion animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox) by name: The Darjeeling Limited. Besides titling the previously untitled, Production Weekly has the scriptwriting line-up, consisting of Anderson, Roman (son of the celebrated, brother of the scrutinized) Coppola, as well as Rushmore star/BSLS whipping boy Jason Schwartzman. Owen Wilson will play one of three brothers on a journey through India. Production is slated to start in December. Update 8/4: Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman have been confirmed, by Owen, as playing his brothers in the film.

But what of Noah Baumbach, who took the reins as Wes's writing partner after Owen put all of his money on acting? After the fair to middling reception for The Life Aquatic, the two sat down together to write the screenplay for Mr. Fox. but there's no word at this time about any involvement in Darjeeling. Baumbach's directorial follow-up to The Squid and the Whale, what we'll refer to as “The Untitled Noah Baumbach Project“, is in post-production. The film stars John Turturro, Nicole Kidman, Jack Black, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

And finally, from The Hollywood Reperter:

Fox joins Anderson on 'Darjeeling'

Fox Searchlight is getting into the Wes Anderson business. The Fox specialty division will be the home of the writer-director's latest project, "The Darjeeling Limited," which will star Anderson vets Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Principal photography is set to begin at year's end in India.

The three will play brothers on a spiritual journey through India after the death of their father.

"Darjeeling" is based on a screenplay from Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. Anderson and Coppola will serve as producers on the film.

Searchlight specializes in offbeat, quirky fare, which happens to be Anderson's trademark. Anderson's previous films, "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," were all made for Touchstone Pictures under the guidance of Nina Jacobson, former president of the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group.

Scott Rudin is producing through his Scott Rudin Prods. shingle in addition to Lydia Pilcher and her Cine Mosaic label. Pilcher recently partnered with Searchlight on Mira Nair's "The Namesake," also an India-based production based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Wilson has appeared in all of Anderson's films, going back to his debut, "Bottle Rocket." He also co-wrote "Rocket," "Rushmore" and "Tenenbaums."

Schwartzman starred in "Rushmore." He will next be seen in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette."

Brody, the newcomer to the Anderson fold, will next be seen in "Hollywoodland."

Anderson, Schwartzman and Wilson are repped by UTA and attorney Bob Wallerstein. Brody is repped by CAA.

[davida2]

Nobody said it wasn't honest. It is the letter's appropriateness (or lack thereof) that rankles with me.

The letter serves no purpose other than to show how terribly clever Steely Dan think they are. If they are serious about wanting to work with Anderson, they should have written him privately. If not, then what was the point of slagging him off on their own website, where he has no recourse to respond? In order to do so, Anderson would have to lower the level even further by starting a press war (thereby giving Steely Dan much unwarranted public attention in the process). At best, this is the territory of gangsta rappers and pop princesses; at worst, fanboys and gutter journalists.

I don't know Wes Anderson and don't pretend to, but if he has any sense he'll ignore these washed-up old twats, shrug his shoulders, and get on with his work.

I like SD, Radiohead and Wes Anderson, all of whom are clever, ironic smarty-pants types. I would like to see them all do something together someday, which - as a fan of all three - I suspect I will like far more than anyone else, which is as it should be. Yay.

[domino harvey]

CQ is a great film, this shows promise.