asteroid city
#CANNES: “ASTEROID CITY” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Visionary Director Wes Anderson delivers a witty Sci-Fi about loneliness.
Asteroid City is about a TV show broadcast about a play that’s about people visiting a place called Asteroid City. Yes, you read the correctly. In typical quirky Anderson fashion, he brings us into this story through a character telling a story. In so doing, he delivers layers of themes that merge into one universal look at humanity.
Anderson first introduces us to a black-and-white TV Show with a story being told by a Broadcast Host played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston. He tells us about a playwright (Edward Norton) who was in search of a cast to perform in his new play that had yet to have a name — ahem…it becomes titled Asteroid City. Anderson then pulls back the curtain and brings us into the play, broken down with title card Acts and Scenes, and the familiar world of vibrant colour we’ve come to expect from the visionary arrives.
The play is about Augie (a fantastic Jason Schwartzman) who’s driving to Asteroid City with his son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and three daughters. Woodrow is going to be awarded a medal at the Junior Stargazer convention in the town. When they arrive, Augie informs his children that their mother passed away three-weeks prior. This is the first indication of a slightly darker tone for Anderson even while being in this enchanting colourful world. He examines themes such as grief, loneliness and slight apathy.
While in a diner in-town, Augie and Woodrow meet actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) and her daughter (Grace Edwards). Johansson excels in this quirky role that we rarely get to see her play. Her character is quite meta as she’s an actress who’s playing an actress in the play Asteroid City.
Augie and Midge slowly build a kinship as they often meet in the windows of their adjoining rentals. Angie runs lines with Midge as she rehearses for her next big role. Frustrated that he isn’t giving much emotion, Augie finally confesses. He hasn’t been feeling much of anything since his wife’s death. This leads Midge to tell him to use that grief and put it into the character.
For all of the spectacular visuals in Asteroid City, this is the most beautiful thing Anderson has delivered. This is a small but powerful message of how art can help channel emotional pain. He cements this theme when we return to black and white. As the actor playing Augie steps backstage and out on a balcony. He runs into the actress (Margot Robbie) who was going to play his wife before they decided to kill off her character. With only this scene, Robbie captivates as she delivers a monologue about the grief of losing the role but the fact that she’s now at a different production just next door. Things end but you need to feel and work through the emotions to move forward.
Anderson’s packed in quite an Ensemble that whom knock it out of the park. He also delivers on the Sci-Fi front. With a few scenes that are such fun that you’ll be craving more.
Asteroid City screens at Cannes ’23:
Tue May 23 at 7PM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 8:30AM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 8:30AM at AGNÈS VARDA THEATRE
Wed May 24 at 2:30PM at GRAND THÉÂTRE LUMIÈRE
Wed May 24 at 4PM at CINEUM IMAX
Thu May 25 at 2PM at CINEUM AURORE
Sat May 27 at 3:15PM at AGNÈS VARDA THEATRE
#FIRSTLOOK: NEW POSTER FOR WES ANDERSON’S “ASTEROID CITY”
Visionary Wes Anderson is back with yet another feast for the senses in ASTEROID CITY. Today, we get a new Poster!
Details:
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriters: Wes Anderson / Story by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Producers: Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Jeff Goldblum
Story: ASTEROID CITY takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955. Synopsis:
The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
| Exclusive engagements in NY/LA on June 16, in theatres everywhere June 23, 2023. (Photo/video credit: Focus Features) |
#FIRSTLOOK: “ASTEROID CITY” NEW ARTWORK & TRAILER
Focus Features and Universal Pictures will release Asteroid City in select theatres on Friday, June 16, 2023
nationwide on Friday, June 23, 2023. Here’s a look at the new Poster and the brand-new Trailer!
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriters: Wes Anderson / Story by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Producers: Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Jeff Goldblum
Story: ASTEROID CITY takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955. Synopsis: The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
(Photo credit: Focus Features/Universal Pictures)
#FIRSTLOOK: FOCUS FEATURES TO RELEASE “ASTEROID CITY”
Focus Features has partnered with Indian Paintbrush on ASTEROID CITY, the upcoming film written and directed by beloved auteur, Wes Anderson, based on a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola. The collaboration is a reunion among Anderson, Focus, and Indian Paintbrush following 2012’s MOONRISE KINGDOM. Focus and Universal International will handle worldwide distribution of the title.
The film is produced by Anderson and longtime collaborators Steven Rales, founder of Indian Paintbrush, and Jeremy Dawson.
ASTEROID CITY has an all-star ensemble cast including: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum, Rita Wilson and many more.
Peter Kujawski, Chairman of Focus Features, said, “We are beyond thrilled to be the global home for ASTEROID CITY, bringing Focus back in business with Wes and his producing partners. Wes is a generational talent whose films delight audiences around the world; and we’re sure that the combination of his incredibly emotional story and vision combined with the insanely talented group of actors he has assembled, will mean that ASTEROID CITY will be no different.”
ASTEROID CITY is a poetic meditation on the meaning of life. It tells the story of a fictional American desert town circa 1955 and its Junior Stargazer convention, which brings together students and parents from across the country for scholarly competition, rest/recreation, comedy, drama, romance, and more.
Anderson’s works beyond MOONRISE KINGDOM include THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, ISLE OF DOGS, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, THE DARJEELING UNLIMITED, THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU and most recently, THE FRENCH DISPATCH.
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