F

Flavorwire

Moonrise Kingdom

Film

New Oscar Categories We’d Like to See — And Who We’d Nominate to Win Them

By Jason Bailey on

The Academy hasn’t added any new Oscar categories since Best Animated Film was established back in 2001; that was the first in 30 years. Every winter we discuss ways to spice up the ceremony, whether it’s new hosts or new production ideas or streamlining the handing out of the statues — but maybe it’s time to rethink the categories… Read More

Film

Exclusive Infographic: Which Wes Anderson Character Are You?

By Jennifer Lewis on

Have you been suffering from a Wes Anderson character identity crisis? Do you have the sensitivity of Richie Tenenbaum, but the zest for revenge of Steve Zissou? The determination of Max, but the cigarette addiction of Margot? If you’re lost and confused and looking for some Anderson answers, we’re here to help. After the jump, we’ve thrown together an illustrated infographic to help you answer the age-old question: Which Wes Anderson character are you? (Read that last bit with the inflection of a lonely Khaki Scout addressing his feathered future wife.) … Read More

Film

This Year’s Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced

By Caroline Stanley on

The Spirit Awards are like the Academy Awards of the independent film world — and in recent years, they’ve also served as a pretty good predictor of which titles would be receiving Oscar nominations. Thanks to big budget, yet critic-friendly releases like Argo, Lincoln, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, and Life of Pi, that might not necessarily be the case this year. That said, we imagine that you’ll be hearing about more than a few of these films in the awards season ahead, specifically David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, which lead the pack with five nods a piece. Also receiving multiple nominations: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Middle of Nowhere, and Keep the Lights On, which scored four nominations each. Click through to view the full list of nominees, and hit the comments to let us know who you favor to win in each category! … Read More

Film

Oddly Beautiful Paintings of Bill Murray as Wes Anderson Characters He Didn’t Play

By Judy Berman on

Is there any face more expressive than Bill Murray’s? That’s a rhetorical question, but the answer is “no” (except for maybe Claire Danes’ cry face). That weathered mix of wariness and vulnerability, so accurately evoked by artist and illustrator Casey Weldon, is what elevates the paintings above pop-culture gimmickry. Titled Mo’ Murray, a sequel to her first collection Murray Time, the series portrays the actor as Wes Anderson movie characters he never played. There’s Murray as Suzy and Sam from Moonrise Kingdom, Murray as Mr. Fox, and more — and, strangely, it all works. Click through to see the paintings, which are on display as part of San Francisco gallery Spoke Art‘s Anderson tribute show, Bad Dads, through November 24th. If you’re interested in purchasing any of these, you can do so through the gallery. … Read More

Pop Culture

Wes Anderson and Kanye West Are Perfect Together

By Emily Temple on

When you think about it, Kanye West and Wes Anderson have a lot in common — and no, we’re not talking about a certain string of letters, though it does make for some nice assonance/consonance. Both men have a double whammy of cult and mainstream appeal, both take great care with their visual presentation, and both rock the hipster nerd thing like nobody’s business. So when Juxtapoz pointed us to this amazing Tumblr mashing up Kanye lyrics with Anderson films (and sometimes Anderson dialogue with images of Kanye), all we could think was: of course. And then we started laughing. Click through to see a few of our favorite mashups, and then be sure to head over to Kanye Wes for many more ironic gems. … Read More

Film

Wedding Tips from 12 Memorable Movie Nuptials

By Jennifer Lewis on

There’s a lot to be learned from wedding movies — how to decorate, what to wear, how to recreate a film’s wedding scene and become an Internet sensation. Have you ever searched for the Love Actually wedding on YouTube? Ninety percent of the resulting videos are real weddings that have copied the “All You Need Is Love” sequence, and they’re all pretty awkward. So, after the jump, we’ve compiled 12 wedding dos and don’ts inspired by 12 popular weddings on film. Check ‘em out, and hit the comments to provide any other lessons you’ve learned from big-screen weddings. … Read More

Partner Buzz

Wes Anderson: The Flavorpill Interview

By Jason Bailey on

When Suzy (Kara Hayward), the 12-year-old heroine of Wes Anderson’s marvelous new film Moonrise Kingdom, runs away from home to spend a week camping with her pen pal and potential beau Sam (Jared Gillman), she brings along a battery-powered record player, her kitten, and a big suitcase filled with books (as seen in our exclusive clip below). Their import does not feel accidental (as, indeed, nothing seems accidental in a Wes Anderson film), and although the books are made-up, they echo a specific kind of young adult literature of the 1960s and 1970s, the kind of books E.L. Konigsburg or Virginia Hamilton would write, books where children were the protagonists, but the themes were contemplative and mature. And Moonrise Kingdom is that way too. … Read More

Books

10 Fake Books in Movies That We Wish We Could Read

By Emily Temple on

Like everyone else, we’ve been swooning over Wes Anderson’s newest film, Moonrise Kingdom, since well before it hit theaters. But now that it has, we’ve swooned even more — and not least because the movie stars a girl with a suitcase full of awesome-sounding (and totally made up) books. We’ve already explored wonderful fake books by TV characters, and imaginary books written about in real books, so we thought we’d round up a few fictional books on film that we wish really existed so we could sit down and read them. Click through to see the made up tomes we picked, and let us know if we missed the one you’ve been most itching to read in the comments. … Read More

Film

15 Unforgettable Summertime Coming-of-Age Movies

By Michelle Rafferty on

Because the summer is finally in full swing (and we’re still looking for new ways to discuss Moonrise Kingdom), we’ve rounded up some of our favorite films from the season notorious for oppressive family vacations, summer camp, post-grad crises, and extraterrestrial visits — all wonderful expositions for growing up. At the same time, some of our favorite coming-of-age films illustrate that brief window of having zero responsibility, suggesting that maybe it’s endless hours of conversation and neighborhood adventure with friends (or whoever’s house is in biking distance) that have the most profound effect on us.

But whatever the premise, we generally seem to enjoy these stories (even the terrible ones — thank you, TBS) because they evoke recognizable parts of ourselves, either making us extremely nostalgic or thankful for the periods we’ll never have to revisit. And they can help those of us still trying to grow up feel not so alone. You can click through to see what we’re talking about, and we hope that you’ll share the coming-of-age films you love most in the comments, because gosh, doesn’t all this talk of childhood have you feeling warm and sappy and like sharing? … Read More

Partner Buzz

A Look at Wes Anderson’s Go-To Actors and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’

By Doug Levy on

Wes Anderson’s latest, Moonrise Kingdom, has had us chattering for quite a while. The offbeat coming-of-age tale set in ’60s New England is yet another modern classic from every contemporary indie-film geek’s favorite director and, unsurprisingly, it features some familiar faces from previous Anderson flicks. Like many serious moviemakers, the auteur has certain actors he keeps going back to, so we’re continuing our obsession with a look at Wes Anderson’s go-to performers — some of whom currently join “newcomers” Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, and Ed Norton on the fictional island of New Penzance in theaters across the nation. … Read More