Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch Is A Love Letter To The New Yorker

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch Is A Love Letter To The New Yorker
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The next Wes Anderson-directed film, The French Dispatch, is finally here, and boy, does it look good.

Starring a superstar ensemble cast and with a uniquely Anderson-heavy cinematic lens, the movie is his first live-action project since The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014. Anyway, because we’re impatient, here’s a breakdown of everything we know about the film so far.

What is The French Dispatch about?

The French Dispatch is an upcoming Wes Anderson-directed film about the lives of people who work in journalism. Specifically, it follows a collection of stories around the final issue of an American magazine in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. These vary from student protests to character profiles on locked-up culinary geniuses.

Where can I watch the trailer for The French Dispatch?

You can watch the trailer for Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch right here.

Who stars in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch?

Like most Wes Anderson projects, The French Dispatch boasts an incredibly talented and stacked cast of people who’ve previously worked with the acclaimed director.

The cast includes Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson, Timothée Chalamet, Saorise Ronan, Léa Seydoux, Benicio Del Toro, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, Christoph Waltz, Mathieu Amalric, and Elizabeth Moss. The film is also narrated by Anjelica Huston, another Wes Anderson favourite.

When is the release date for The French Dispatch?

The French Dispatch is set for an Australian release date of December 9, 2021.

It’s being released exclusively in theatres, which we can all go to now that we’re out of lockdown!

Is the film based on a true story?

The French Dispatch is not entirely based on a true story but some of its characters and plot are loosely inspired by director Wes Anderson’s love for The New Yorker.

According to a 2020 article by the publication, Bill Murray’s character, Arthur Howitzer Jr, is a send-up of The New Yorker’s founding editor Harold Ross. Adrien Brody’s Julian Cadazio character is a fictional take on Lord Duveen, a man who was part of a six-part New Yorker profile piece in 1951. Jeffrey Wright’s Roebuck Wright is “a mashup of James Baldwin and [New Yorker writer] A.J. Liebling.”

A scene with Frances McDormand in the film is apparently inspired by a two-part article from a 1968 issue of The New Yorker by Avis Gallant called The Events in May: A Paris Notebook.

Where was the project filmed?

While the film is set in a fictional French town, the majority of The French Dispatch was filmed in Rome, according to Condé Nast Traveller.

What are the reviews saying?

The French Dispatch currently has a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Roger Ebert said the movie “may be hard to explain, but it’s very fun to watch.” The New Yorker, the magazine the movie is inspired by said it might be Anderson’s best film to date.

Where can I watch other Wes Anderson films?

You can watch all of Wes Anderson’s films on streaming services in Australia:

  • Fantastic Mr. Fox is available on Netflix and Prime Video.
  • Isle of Dogs is available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Prime Video.
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel is available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Prime Video.
  • The Darjeeling Limited is available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Prime Video.
  • The Royal Tenenbaums is available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Prime Video.
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Prime Video.

Between Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections, there are a lot of great films still to come in 2021, but The French Dispatch is one you shouldn’t miss out on.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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