Voice and the Auteur Theory - Wes Anderson

Today I will be discussing the similarities between three of Wes Anderson's films: Bottle Rocket, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Anderson has a strong voice that passes through each of his narratives. The most apparent theme between these films is the desire to escape the ordinary world. In Moonrise Kingdom, main characters Sam and Suzy desire to, quite literally, leave everything behind them and start anew in the wilderness. In The Grand Budapest Hotel, young Mr. Moustafa willingly drops his life to live and breathe The Budapest Hotel as a simple Lobby Boy. Lastly in Bottle Rocket, Anthony and Dignan decide to steal from Anthony's parents and create new lives for themselves as criminals.

Another couple themes seems to stand out as well. The "Buddy Story" as well as the "coming-of-age" genre. Sam and Suzy are clearly a duet from the beginning, slowly falling in love and finding crafty ways to stay together. On a lesser level, the Lobby Boy and his mentor Mr. Gustave befriend each other quickly. They even end up stealing a priceless painting within the first couple days. We follow them for most of the film in a flashback. Lastly, Anthony and Dignan are childhood friends and both has similar social issues, but they learn and build from each other. Regarding "coming-of-age", all these stories exhibit a young protagonist running through trial and tribulation, becoming more mature by the end of the piece.

Here are some more minor similarities that may not be comparable to all three films. Anderson LOVES actor Edward Norton. He plays the scoutmaster in Moonrise Kingdom and a Sargent in The Grand Budapest Hotel. To add, Anderson seems to love color, reds and yellows in particular. It's clear that production design is very important to him. Lastly, Anderson's directing scheme seems quite theatrical with characters making big and bold movements, complimented with camera movement.

In Class Assignment - Jim Jarmusch Film Similarities

• Most are Black and White
• Slow blocking in action
• All films are coming-of-age dramas
• The man of good intentions forced to do evil deeds based on their differing situations
• All period pieces, normally in rural areas
• Long, static shots of full coverage. Doesn't shoot for normal coverage.
• Multiple main characters - parallel editing until they finally meet
• Tone: Rough, Edgy, out-of-place, 
• POV / Theme: Leaving the conformist world to find the eventual goal
• Lots of cigarettes and alcohol

Adaptation: Costume Designer for Chinatown

Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" follows Gittes, a private detective hired to investigate a case regarding adultery, and instead finds corrupt, greed and murder. Set in 1937, Polanski revisits the narrative style of Film Noir.

As Costume Designer, I'd like to start with J. J. Gittes, a former-policeman trying to make an honest living. I can picture him in a black suit with a fedora of the same color. As he goes through trial and tribulation, the audience gets to know Gittes on a more personal level. By the end, I would make his color pallet change from black to a navy blue. He smokes cigarettes and drinks, just like any classic noir detective.
Duffy and Walsh are a team of lackluster detectives who do nothing but argue with one another. Because of this, I'd like to dress them similarly. Duffy's suit would be a darker tan while Walsh wears more of an oak tan.
Evelyn Mulwray is the female lead who is running from the very beginning. She's been through non-consensual incest with her father, defaming scandals and is constantly on the run after the half-point. As she gets tougher and tougher, I'd like her color pallet to shift from pale pinks (innocence) to a radiant red (fights back).
Ida Sessions, the sneaky woman who posed as Evelyn is the mini femme fatale in "Chinatown". I picture here as a sensual woman, trying too hard to look like she's the farthest thing from a threat. She should have long blonde hair and a semi-revealing dress (we don't want to make it too obvious now do we?)
Noah Cross is the hidden antagonist throughout the entire film. I picture him in a slick dark-gray trench coat symbolizing his apathy towards others, i mean, he killed a man.
Mr. Mulwray was the hardest to conceptualize, for his neutrality between Gittes and Cross. I decided he'd look good with a dark green suit. This implies a sickness to him- a poison. He's only got so many pages to live.