Wes Anderson wants to continue making short films in hopes it encourages younger viewers to read more.
Speaking at the Lumière Film Festival, via Variety, Anderson said he’d like to make more short films in the future after he recently debuted four short Roald Dahl adaptations on Netflix.
“My thought was that this way of telling a story might relate to reading, and particularly if young people saw them, it might introduce them to certain authors and draw attention to writing,” Anderson said.
The Asteroid City filmmaker also added that he’d ideally like to adapt the work of Paul Bowles, an American author who wrote 1949’s The Sheltering Sky, 1952’s Let It Come Down, 1955’s The Spider’s House, and 1966’s Up Above the World. Bowles has also written many short stories, poems, and music for theatrical productions.
Four Wes Anderson short films recently premiered on Netflix
In September 2023, Netflix released The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 37-minute long short film directed by Anderson starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade.
“The one thing I never think about, really, when I’m making a film is myself or my own style, my voice,” Anderson said at the Lumière Film Festival following a screening of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. “I think about what’s new for this movie, how do I make this movie the best it can be, how do I get the greatest collaborators together.”
Three more Anderson short films based on Dahl’s work were released over the following three days, including The Swan (starring Rupert Friend, Asa Jennings, and Fiennes), The Rat Catcher (starring Fiennes, Ayoade, and Friend), and Poison (starring Kingsley, Patel, and Cumberbatch).
Following a busy 2023, Anderson is now working on his 12th feature film, which will star Michael Cera and Benicio Del Toro. Anderson co-wrote the script for the still-untitled movie with Roman Coppola, while further details remain under wraps at this time;
