Wes Anderson returns to the Croisette this year with The Phoenician Scheme, his latest meticulously crafted ensemble piece, set to release on May 30 via Focus Features.
The film stars Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda, a shady European tycoon who survives yet another assassination attempt and names his estranged daughter Liesl — a nun on the verge of taking her vows — as his heir.The cast is packed with familiar Anderson collaborators like Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Tom Hanks, alongside new faces such as Michael Cera and Riz Ahmed. The inspiration, Anderson reveals, is partly drawn from his own family — more specifically, his late Lebanese father-in-law, Fouad Malouf, a commanding figure whose presence still lingers in the film’s DNA.
"The thing about him was he was somebody who is wise and very intelligent, but a little bit scary," Anderson says of Malouf. "It was always good to walk into a restaurant with him because everything got taken care of immediately. There are many details of this character that draw on him."
Though his films are famously composed, Anderson’s arrival at Cannes is anything but conventional. Having first arrived by bus for the premiere of The French Dispatch, Anderson and his ensemble forgo the usual procession of black cars in favour of a bus — "as discreet as a bus with a bunch of movie stars on it can be," he jokes. For the director, the joy lies in the shared experience: riding in together, stepping out as a troupe, and then facing the intimidating reality of watching your work premiere in front of the world’s most discerning cinephiles.
As for the film itself, Anderson describes his creative process less like writing and more like excavation — discovering the story rather than constructing it.
"I would say, if you can see it twice, it’s always better," he says. "I feel like my movies can be kind of dense, but I make a movie that’s, usually, not that long. My whole way of making movies is about clarity and about communicating quickly, and that’s what makes my movies like each other, in a way. Sometimes I feel like the best way to appreciate one of my movies is to have already seen it and to know what it’s going to be."
