Two years after his controversial stop-motion animated dystopian satire Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson is back in the live-action realm with another quirky dramedy, The French Dispatch, about a handful of American journalists working out of a fictional French city in the 20th century.
If it hadn’t been for the COVID-19 pandemic, audiences would’ve already seen The French Dispatch. Unfortunately, the state of the world has delayed the movie — along with dozens of others — so Anderson fans might have a long wait before they get to dive back into the director’s curious world. But The French Dispatch have left a few breadcrumbs for fans in the meantime.
10 The French Dispatch Is A Newspaper
The title of The French Dispatch refers to the French arm of an American newspaper, operating out of a fictional French city called Ennui-sur-Blasé. The movie’s full title is The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun.
Wes Anderson has said that it’s not a political film commenting on the freedom of the press, although he does acknowledge that the issue is bound to come up.
9 It Tells Three Stories Published By The Titular Newspaper
In some ways, The French Dispatch will be an anthology movie that brings to life three stories published by the titular newspaper. One of the stories is about the May 68 student occupation protests.
Another storyline features Adrien Brody as a legendary art dealer, inspired by real-life art dealer Lord Duveen, who was the subject of a six-part feature in the New Yorker.
8 The Cast Includes A Mix Of Anderson Regulars And Newcomers
Wes Anderson has tapped a bunch of actors from his regular roster to appear in the giant ensemble cast of The French Dispatch: these include Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Anjelica Huston, Saoirse Ronan, Tony Revolori, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, and Willem Dafoe.
The cast also includes a few newcomers to the Anderson company of actors, like Timothée Chalamet, Elisabeth Moss, Benicio del Toro, Léa Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Henry Winkler.
7 Kate Winslet Was Initially Cast, But Dropped Out
In the early development stages of The French Dispatch, Kate Winslet was cast, but she later dropped out in order to give herself more time to prepare for her role in Ammonite.
Francis Lee’s Ammonite stars Winslet as British paleontologist Mary Anning alongside Saoirse Ronan (who, interestingly, does appear in The French Dispatch) as her lover, Charlotte Murchison.
6 Anderson’s Go-To Cinematographer Is Shooting The Movie
Robert Yeoman has worked as the cinematographer on all of Wes Anderson’s live-action directorial efforts since his hilarious debut feature, Bottle Rocket. He was nominated for an Oscar for lensing The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Anderson has brought Yeoman back as director of photography on The French Dispatch, which could easily pave the way to another Oscar nomination, and maybe even the actual award.
5 The French Dispatch Is Based On The New Yorker
The story of a newspaper whose editor fights to write what he wants to write and publish what he wants to publish was inspired by Wes Anderson’s love of the New Yorker.
In fact, a couple of the movie’s characters were based on real-life figures from the New Yorker’s history: Bill Murray’s character is based on New Yorker co-founder Harold Ross, while Owen Wilson’s character is based on New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell.
4 Alexandre Desplat Is Composing The Music
The musical score for The French Dispatch will be composed by Alexandre Desplat, who has written the scores for every Wes Anderson movie since Fantastic Mr. Fox. He won an Academy Award for composing the score for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Desplat himself is French, born in Paris, so he’ll be able to bring a specific sense of national identity to the music featured in Anderson’s first France-set movie.
3 Bill Murray Shot His Scenes In Two Days
The fact that Bill Murray plays the editor of the French Dispatch might suggest that he has a major role in the movie, but he actually won’t be appearing in many scenes.
He managed to shoot his entire role in just two days. The movie was shot in the city of Angoulême in southwest France between November 2018 and March 2019.
2 Anderson Wrote The Script From A Story He Co-Wrote With Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, And Jason Schwartzman
The screenplay for The French Dispatch is solely credited to Wes Anderson, but he cooked up the story with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman. Anderson previously co-wrote The Darjeeling Limited and the story for Isle of Dogs with Coppola and Schwartzman, and also co-wrote Moonrise Kingdom with Coppola.
Guinness’ main collaborations with Anderson include providing artwork for The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but he also co-wrote the story for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
1 It Currently Has No Release Date
At the moment, The French Dispatch doesn’t have a release date. It was supposed to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2020, but the premiere was canceled due to coronavirus. The movie was supposed to be released on July 24, but that got pushed back, too.
Initially, the movie was given a delayed release date of October 16, 2020, but it’s since been pulled from the schedule. It’s likely been pushed back to 2021, but there’s no official date.
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