Filmmaker Wes Anderson: How 'Bottle Rocket' Bombed

[IAMSAM1234567890]

Bottlerocket was HILARIOUS fuck critics

[leisurelydinner]

such a great director / writer

[apleseed91]

i dont care what people say, i love his movies!

[jamesrdoe]

'Pretentious' -- Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

This is exactly what his movies are to me. Maybe he doesn't do it on purpose but they come off as very Snobbish "Look how awesome and trend setting I am". Anyone can make a movie that makes no sense as long as the fans pretend to understand it you become a cult phenomenon. He's not the only pretentious director but he is the most consistent.

[tremontirocks]

@jamesrdoe There is some pretension in Anderson's filmmaking, but it's not intolerable. In fact, it's kind of endearing. He's an undoubtedly gifted filmmaker. And "Bottle Rocket" makes perfect sense. "Rushmore" is a comedic masterpiece. "Royal Tenenbaums" too. I don't know where you get off saying his movies don't make sense. They're very clear.

[mymayapapaya]

one of my favorites

[hooskerdu1]

Ya know...we're all pretentious in our own way. Some of us more than others. And ya know what...I don't care if Wes Anderson is pretentious or not. He still takes me through every possibly emotion known to man during his movies..and I love him as a director for that very reason..

[blueovaltrucks]

Bottle Rocket rocked and everything since.

[jkno21892]

Wes Anderson isn't pretentious in the least. Anyone who watches this and thinks so clearly doesn't know the meaning of the word. Noah Baumbach on the other hand...don't get me wrong I love both of their films (i might even like Baumbach's style a bit more) but Baumbach is certainly not the most humble guy around, and I definitely would prefer to hang out with Anderson for a day,

[TheoHuxtable07]

It's sad that he's criticized for being pretentious. I guess the more educated you are, the less people seem to like you. Only in America.

[alriooreo]

@TheoHuxtable07 I agree. People often band the word pretentious around as a defense mechanism for their threatened intellect.

[akshathkrao]

bottle rocket is a groundbreaking movie .... which not many realizes till now .... the movie moved me like no other anderson movie could ...

[mebemike]

Why is there tape on your nose? Exactly!

[avalanchealonso]

I love Wes Anderson, but you gotta admit his films are a bit too pretentious. He's quite a visionary, and very detailed, and has excellent song choice for scenes.

[Hudsucker94]

Funny, same thing could be said about Wes Anderson fans......

[tlv156]

Wes Anderson and the Coen Brothers make the best movies. lol

[Hudsucker94]

Uh what? What sort of non-existing mental retardation,well,existing I should say, exactly did you pull from this? You're not that smart.

[jadw1ga]

@Hudsucker94 god, angry much? I'm ashamed to assume you're a coen brothers fan. wes is brilliant, and you offer no evidence in the contrary. How are his movies devoid of soul? imo he has some of the saddest, most well-developed, iconic characters (think Max Fischer) in the pantheon of modern filmmaking. Also, his techniques are recognizable, and undeniably beautiful; simply the artistry of his direction put him a cut above your average hack director. He has recurring themes and devices.

[jadw1ga]

um and his themes make his entire body of work stand together as a cohesive unit, an incredibly impressive, beautiful feat. the end.

[Hudsucker94]

No, not angry at all. I just revel in and take any opportunity to bash him when I can. Why do you care who I like or don't? Coens are far,FAR better directors than Anderson could ever wish to be. His movies are devoid of soul, because they are. Every dramatic/"comedic", and I mean it lightly when I say that, moment in his movies feels so slowed down to where it's like pulling teeth, and reality is not like that. Until Wes Anderson came around, have you ever heard people who talk like the charact

[Hudsucker94]

ers in his movies? Ok then. Thought so. Max Fischer is a pretentious lil douche, as is anyone who looks up to him or aspires to be him. Really? Stretching in on the most well developed part aren't we? So then what makes him so "well developed", and I laughed when I read this "iconic"? I really didn't want to take it here, and not for reasons you might think, but Alan from the hangover is a much more iconic character than Max Fischer. And allow the snobery to commence. I'll end on this: Yeah. I

[Hudsucker94]

I agree he has recurring themes and devices in that he more or less keeps making the same movie over and over with no real sense of difference between them and the same type of characters who all talk in the same unrealistic manner with the same sense of slowed down,boring reality.

[jadw1ga]

@Hudsucker94 First of all, filmmaking doesn't have to be an accurate depiction of reality, or the way people actually speak. (For instance: Lord of the Rings, or any movie with floral language.) Films are supposed to be a heightened version of reality, not reality itself. Your critique is that Wes' films "are slow," which I suppose is more indicative of the modern era's diminishing attention span than anything else. Read the recent NYTimes article, "In Defense of Slow and Boring" for

[jadw1ga]

@Hudsucker94 Boring" for real movie critics' opinions on the subject.

Just because Max Fischer's character is pretentious and douchey doesn't make him less of a cinematic icon, or a poorly written character (much better than the sterile, flat "men about town" in The Hangover). Part of the reason he's iconic is because of the traits you pointed out, which set him apart from your generic movie hero. He is unabashedly selfish, self-serving, and egotistical. That's why he's great!

[jadw1ga]

@Hudsucker94 It's common knowledge that recurring themes are a sign of a good filmmaker. See Orson Welles, Martin Scorcese, and (gasp) the Coen brothers, for instance. It's a sign that a film is the work of a human being, rather than a slick Hollywood star vehicle, like The Hangover. And, it is ludicrous to say that a movie about an explorer of the ocean is the same movie as one about a rich family gone to ruin, and one about a poor kid at a prep school, and one about a fox who burgles old men.

[Hudsucker94]

Yeah no shit filmmakers have recurring themes in there works. Tell me something I don't know. Welles? People aren't always what they seem? Scorsese? Well, I could write a long one on that one, but let's stick with religion/spiritual themes for now. Same thing for Coens. It's just for someone as overhyper and overrated as Anderson is, he doesn't seem to want to bring a sense of difference to his works. I mean, when all of your characters are written in and talk in the same monotounous tone, not

[Hudsucker94]

a good sign, for an example. "It's a sign that a film is the work of a human being,rather than a slick hollywood star vehicle, Like the hangover" Ok. I see where this is going. I even agree, to an extent, it just doesn't sound nowhere as rediculous or pretentious when I say it. Alan from the hangover is a more recognized and loved character than Max Fischer. Deal with it. Oh what? Going to go into a whole tirade about the "less cultured/educated" amongst us or something equally predictable?

[kemote0]

Didn't bomb with me. Love that movie!

[jimlahey90]

bottle rocket bombed? ... not in my world. one of my top favorites from W A.

[peterm89]

i really thought it was a good funny movie. It's for a very select type of audience.

[PtAltmVansanTarr]

Anderson is a fake

[dustingrey]

@PtAltmVansanTarr

Wow, what a clever analysis.

[allpeeps4me]

I love that Wes is Texan.

[LittleD3]

"People don't go to the bathroom in groups" actually girls do, My sister and her 4 friends all go to the bathroom together every time, even in school a few of my friends will be like "Can Emily Telia and I go to the washroom please?"

[dustingrey]

@LittleD3

Your story just blew me away. Riveting.

[finalmattasy]

This bit is really insightful.. It's nice to be able to live in a society where movies can be made for a niche audience. "This is our audience!" Sweet.

I can imagine Wes consciously making his later films even more tailored to the "smarter than's." My recollection of Bottle Rocket is that it's pretty much a bare bones caper movie. It's my least favourite of his films, but it might very well be the most "Wessian."

[palehorse44]

God, I love Bottle Rocket. It's such a great movie buuut... great =/= popular unfortunately :(

[Hudsucker94]

wtf??

[revesvans]

It is true though. A good amount of people do not like Wes Anderson's films, and if one of your friends or family members above the age of 18 should confess to this, you need to think long and hard about cutting them out of your life.

[LogInAnders]

@oooISPYooo What a beautiful comment. Thank you.

[dookiee0000001]

The part he leaves out is this was a very different edit than the final version. Even the studio execs told him it was too long and slow. This experience humbled him enough to cut it more like the producers were telling him.

[whiteteethfanatic]

Is he talking about the original or the remake? I can't believe people would walk out of the Bottle Rocket remake?!? Martin Scorsese named that the 6th best film of the decade.

[drummerjoe2610]

@whiteteethfanatic being based on a short film by the same director doesn't make it a remake

[samyooljackson]

Just wait till they see this...

[Enright9591]

Something that I've always admired about Anderson, which Baumbach touches on here, is that he really sticks to his guns and does his movies in a way that adheres to his own (very specific) artistic vision.

[Hudsucker94]

Yeah Baumbach, another no talent hack, is just jocking anderson's cock like every other groupie.

[tommyneumann]

owen wilson needs to write another film with wes

[Robocheeseball701]

Bottle Rocket was among my 12th grade English teachers favorite movies.

[joemama3624]

i love bottle rockit so much

[thesparitan]

@joemama3624 Me too

[GOPsithlord]

Anderson, even when he is below average as in his last two films is still better than 90% of what's out there. I can only wonder what mutants saw that first screening of Bottle Rocket, but it is easily one of his best.

[MultiUniv3rsal]

Life Aquatic was, on the other hand, quite a wonderful, surreal film.

[MultiUniv3rsal]

Because we only want so much Luke and Owen Wilson talking about Baba Ganouche. Or whatever the fuck those 2 go on about.

[Redfingers]

Wes Anderson makes awesome movies.

Terrible how the critics shit all over his movies.

[quiet451]

@Redfingers Really? It seems to me like the critics love his movies, sometimes a little bit too much.

[Hudsucker94]

They shit all over his movies cause they are shit. Idk, it seemed to me more so that they always lined up to blow him.

[Redfingers]

@Hudsucker94

His movies are wacky as fuck. I don't know what to say aside from "diff'rent strokes." I guess.

I can't get enough of his dry humor and the fabulously creative characters.

Maybe you could go watch a teen movie or something? Date Movie 3? More up your alley, maybe?

[Hudsucker94]

His movies are whacky? Well, even if whacky is how movies will be judged, his movies are anything but that. His movies are completely devoid of soul and humour, so whacky is not a word I would apply to him. Ah,date movie 3? I didn't even know there was a 3rd one. Look, if you're going to insult me, at least insult me with things that are true about me, not what a pretentious twat such as yourself may assume. Not to brag, well yeah, to brag, but if you were to see my dvd/blu ray collection,

[Hudsucker94]

you wouldn't be using such petty non creative insults. I hate date movie and the like on par with wes anderson. I consider them to be both equally worse,sometimes one more than the other.

[kraftboy]

@Redfingers - this is a classic misunderstanding. They don't shit on his movies. At all.

[PrettyTigerlilly]

@Redfingers I loved Darjeeling Limited.

[vicket76]

I liked Bottle Rocket, pretty funny

[oiuoiu988]

this is pretty funny, hopefully foratv will find their nitch in this sort of mindless movie crap and leave politics and economics to the adults.

[wubbadubdub]

bottle rocket was his worst movie. it wasn't bad, wasn't great. the rest of them -- awesome

[Pickpocket]

@wubbadubdub i originally thought this too. you need to rewatch it, it got so much better for me the 2nd time around.

[wubbadubdub]

@Pickpocket maybe so, that's how every wes movie goes for me. his humor is strange in that it's funnier when you know the joke is coming

[buckfushes]

Bottle Rocket was hilarious! I loved it!