Wes Anderson doesn’t think anyone should be editing Roald Dahl’s work.
Per Deadline, Anderson was attending the Venice Film Festival to screen The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 40-minute short film he directed based on a 1977 short story written by Dahl.
During a press conference, Anderson was asked whether or not he was in favor of recent efforts to edit sensitive or offensive material out of Dahl’s work.
“I’m probably the worst person to ask about this because if you ask me if Renoir should be allowed to touch up one of his pictures, I would say no,” Anderson answered. “It’s done.”
He continued, “I don’t even want the artist to modify their work. I understand the motivation for it, but I’m in the school where when the piece of work is done we participate in it. We know it. So I think when it’s done, it’s done. And certainly no one who is not an author should be modifying somebody’s book. He’s dead.”
Puffin Books announced in February 2023 that the publisher was removing words now deemed offensive in several of Dahl’s stories — including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and more — and replacing them with more inclusive language.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is coming to Netflix
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which marks Anderson’s second film this year following Asteroid City and his second time adapting Dahl’s work after 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, is getting a limited theatrical release on September 20, 2023, before it hits Netflix on September 27, 2023.
The 39-minute-long short film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend, and Richard Ayoade.
“A beloved Roald Dahl story about a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling,” the official logline reads.
