#009 Wes Anderson: The Grand Budapest Hotel vs. Bottle Rocket

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In today's episode Nate and Austin compare Wes Anderson's best and worst rated films, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Bottle Rocket (1996), respectively. Nate really digs Anderson's style while Austin confronts his fear of actually having a decent taste in movies. Check back next Sunday at 7pm PST where we will compare Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) and Death Proof (2007), his best and worst rated films. Also, check out our podcast buddies over at War Machine vs. War Horse (warmachinehorse.wordpress.com) and Pop Culture Case Study (popculturecasestudy.libsyn.com), two podcasts that Nate will be appearing as a guest on soon.
And check out Owen Wilson saying "Wow" a few dozen times: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLMlJ2tDkg[/embed]
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The Grand Budapest Hotel Notes

PLOT: The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
  • Ratings: IMDb 8.1 | RT 92% C / 86% A
  • Released: 2014
  • Director: Wes Anderson (Nominated for 6 Oscars, known for Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox)
  • Writer(s): Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness, inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig
  • Cinematographer: Robert Yeoman (The Royal Tenenbaums, Get Him to the Greek, Moonrise Kingdom)
  • Notable actors: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori
  • Budget: $30 million
  • Box office: $175 million
  • Fun Facts:
    • Unlike most films, every time a newspaper article appears it has a detailed and complete depiction of the events in the headline, all written by Wes Anderson himself.
    • Won 4 Oscars for Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music Written for Motion Pictures, and Production Design. Nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Writing/Original Screenplay.
    • Wes Anderson's seventh collaboration with Bill Murray.
 
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Bottle Rocket Notes

PLOT: Focusing on a trio of friends and their elaborate plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
  • Ratings: IMDb 7.1 | RT 85% C / 80% A
  • Released: 1996
  • Director: Wes Anderson (Nominated for 6 Oscars, known for Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox)
  • Writer(s): Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
  • Cinematographer: Robert Yeoman (The Royal Tenenbaums, Get Him to the Greek, Moonrise Kingdom)
  • Notable actors: Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Andrew Wilson, James Caan
  • Budget: $7 million
  • Box office: $560 thousand
  • Fun Facts:
    • All three Wilson brothers are in this film
    • After the movie bombed at the box office, Owen Wilson seriously considered joining the Marines, convinced that acting held no future for him.
    • The film scored the worst test screening points in the history of Columbia Pictures at the time.
    • One of Martin Scorsese's top ten favorite films of the '90s.
    • Feature film debut of Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson.
 
  Intro music by: Calm The Fuck Down (Broke For Free) / CC BY 3.0
Check out this episode!