Since his directorial debut in 1996 bottle rocketfeatured songs by The Rolling Stones (2000 Man) and Love (7 And 7 Is, Alone Again Or), but music is integral to Wes Anderson’s films. part.His star-studded 11th film is no different asteroid cityNot least because Jarvis Cocker and Brazilian artist Seu Jorge starred in and provided the music for the comedy-drama set in the 1950s.
NME I had the chance to speak with Anderson about music and film at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
NME: In addition to co-writing ‘Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven)’ with Richard Hawley and Jarvis Cocker, Cocker also plays one of the cowboys in the film. asteroid city. How did that happen?
Wes Anderson: “Yeah, Jarvis was there.” wonderful mr fox: He wrote songs and was also an anime character. He then covered the French pop song “Aline”. Dispatch to France, and we used his image as this French pop star in the film. Jarvis and I have been friends for 20 years. But when it comes to singing cowboys, asteroid city, got Rupert Friend to play Montana. We built it around Rupert, but we also had a French banjo player and a Spanish bass player… so we ended up with a completely international cowboy group with no Americans. I was. Brazilian pop star Seu Jorge is also included! “
You have worked with Seu Jorge before Life Aquatic by Steve ZissouThere he covered David Bowie’s “Starman”…
“The script portrayed this character [Pelé dos Santos] He was singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese. But when it came time to make the movie, we suddenly realized what we wanted to do. [Jorge] I sang 12 David Bowie songs in Portuguese, so I woven him into the whole movie. It was great. So he took over! He reinvented a David Bowie song he didn’t know. He had never heard these songs, so he created his own version. I didn’t realize it until three-quarters of the way into the movie, but I assumed he just translated the lyrics into Portuguese. He had completely rewritten them. So he was like, “What are you singing about?” I had no idea what that meant, and I still have no idea, but it was a lot more abstract than I thought. But he was great. “
You have collaborated with composer Alexandre Desplat in many films. Do you two have a creative affinity?
“he did wonderful mr foxWe’ve made every movie together since then. I think he is a composer who can work with any genre of music more or less. I mean, I wouldn’t tell him to write pop songs, but he could write for an orchestra, or he could write for a New Orleans Jazz Combo.I made a score centered on drums Inugashima, and he was excited to delve into it. Before we worked on it, the banjo wasn’t an instrument he was particularly keen on, but he’ll try anything, so we’ve stuck with the banjo many times. “
Do you have a methodology for incorporating music into your work?
“Well, sometimes there’s music in the script, sometimes there’s music in the plan for the film. [‘A Quick One, While He’s Away’] I built the sequence with rushmoreFor example, it’s a recording from Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, and I wrote the sequence to go along with the music. Sometimes I plan a shot, but without the music to help shape it, I can’t make it work. But then, with so much music playing in his room, Cutting got a feel for what it was.and asteroid city, the songs in the movie… aside from the opening titles and the end, the rest of the music is theoretically either on the radio or somewhere in this town. It’s usually something you figure out later. “
Are there any songs you haven’t obtained the rights to?
“There were some songs that were supposed to be used in Beatles songs. Royal Tenenbaums. We were going to use ‘Hey Jude’ and ended up doing an instrumental version, but it was supposed to be the real song. [by] the beatles.Then we had a similar situation of Darjeeling Limited: There were 3 Beatles songs, but they didn’t get permission.But by then [we knew this], found other music. “
You used Peter Sarstedt’s “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?”of Darjeeling Limited. Was it your old favorite?
“I didn’t know until last summer. Darjeeling Limited Before that there was a short film Hotel Chevalier, which in a way is built around this music. I listened to this music in a summer setting. It was the British who were playing it and knew the tune. I have never heard that song in my life and it really fascinates me.i think i started writing [the film] Based on that, I got inspiration from this song. It had nothing to do with what I was writing, but it set the mood. “
Do you enjoy adding music to your images?
“That’s the fun part, and the music creates so much emotion in the film. You never know what the chemistry is going to be when the pictures and the music come together. Sometimes it catches your eye. Sometimes something really surprises me.”
Have you ever wanted to direct a silent film?
“I have to say, I didn’t grow up watching silent movies. When I discovered the world of cinema and was watching movies all over the world, I didn’t watch silent movies. I’ve also seen Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin… but maybe it’s only been in the last decade that I’ve become more interested.”
asteroid city Coming to theaters today (June 23rd)