Wes Anderson

Watched on the internet last night Charlie Rose's panel on Obama's Afghanistan speech and it rolled right into Wes Anderson. I'm not as big a Wes Anderson fan as I'm supposed to be, nevertheless, he is a filmmaker worth paying attention to. My favorite part of the interview was a bit about Jim Brooks serving as his hollywood rabbi (my words, not his) and how he helped him get Bottle Rocket set up and coached him on how to engage an audience, etc. Charlie asked him something along the lines of getting Bottle Rocket made anyway, that it would have found a different path to existence, etc., and unlike most filmmakers who boast of their own determination and chuzpah and perseverance, Wes was pretty candid and said, "I don't think Bottle Rocket gets made if Jim Brooks doesn't sign on to help us. There was no one was lined up to help us get it made." He went to argue he wouldn't be a director of have a career if Jim Brooks didn't take a leap of faith on him and Owen. He thought something else would have caught his attention and he might work in/around movies, but wouldn't be WES ANDERSON.

I thought this point was surprisingly honest, candid, and wise. All this stuff just hangs by a thread.