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Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
In Wes Anderson's film The Phoenician Scheme, real masterpieces get a starring role
NEW YORK – At the end of Wes Anderson's new caper The Phoenician Scheme, there are some unusual credits. In addition to the cast and crew, the artworks featured in the film are listed, complete with ownership details. That is because the pieces on-screen are not reproductions. They are, in fact, the actual masterpieces from Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Rene Magritte and other well-known artists. In the past, the 56-year-old American film-maker has faked a Kandinsky and a Klimt. Here, he went for the real thing. 'We have a character who's a collector, who's a possessor; he wants to own things. And we thought because it's sort of art and commerce mixed together this time, we should try to have the real thing,' Anderson said via a voice note. What he ended up with was impressive. The fictional collection of businessperson Zsa-zsa Korda (played by Benicio del Toro) includes Renoir's Enfant Assis En Robe Bleue, which was once owned by Hollywood icon and screen legend Greta Garbo, and Magritte's The Equator. There is also a selection of works from the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany that includes pieces from the 17th century. Getting a collector or an art institution to hand over a painting worth millions of dollars to a film production is not an easy task. The negotiations fell mostly to Mr Jasper Sharp, a curator who had worked with Anderson and his wife, Juman Malouf, on their 2018 exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, where Mr Sharp is based. 'A film set has vast amounts of light, heat, no climate control, very lax security and people running everywhere with booms, lights and props,' Mr Sharp said in a video interview. 'The walls that (the paintings) will be hung on are made of plywood sometimes. There are less desirable places to hang art, but this was certainly a challenging environment in terms of me trying to persuade (people) that they maybe want to lend an object.' To offset concerns, the production hired a conservator and a registrar to be on set overseeing the paintings. There, in a darkened, fenced-off corner, a security guard watched over the pieces and made sure they would not be exposed to more light than necessary. 'I felt, to have any real conviction in being able to ask somebody to lend an object, we needed to have that sort of support network to assure them that the works would be handled exactly as if they were lending them to a museum,' said Mr Sharp, who explained that this network included insurers, art handlers and shipping services. Still, even with his connections, some of his initial outreach was met with 'howls' of laughter and hang-ups. His search was both creative and practical. After discussing with Anderson what would make sense for Zsa-zsa, a domineering man who prides himself on owning masterpieces, Mr Sharp contacted museums and collectors in the vicinity of the set at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany. Mr Sharp considers the Old Master selections from the Kunsthalle more in the 'best supporting actor' category of the art in Zsa-zsa's abode compared with the Renoir or the Magritte, which draw your eye. Anderson said he thought Juriaen Jacobsz's 1678 painting of dogs fighting over meat was 'an encapsulation of part of what our story is about'. (The film is very much Anderson's exploration of capitalism.) But Zsa-zsa does not just collect classical still-life works and paintings of animals. Mr Sharp said he suggested to Anderson that perhaps the character owned some impressive art from the film's period setting – to show his keen sense of taste, specifically a work of surrealism. Mr Sharp reached out to collector Ulla Pietzsch, who had never heard of Anderson but was interested in the project. 'I wasn't surprised when Wes settled on Magritte,' Mr Sharp said. 'If you think about where Wes grew up in Houston, The Menil Collection has, if not the greatest collection of Magrittes in the US, very close to that. So, he has been looking at Magritte for a long time.' Mr Sharp noted that The Equator is not the most recognisable of Magrittes – there is no bowler hat – but it is enigmatic. Anderson, meanwhile, envisioned that a Renoir would hang in the bedroom of Zsa-zsa's daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton). Mr Sharp found one in the collection of Mr David Nahmad. 'I think it was maybe even in the script,' he said. Knowing that the elder Renoir painted his son Jean as a small child, 'somehow I thought Renoir might have painted somebody in this family, maybe Zsa-zsa'. The loans from Hamburger Kunsthalle remained on set for about a month, but the Magritte was in and out in a day, and the Renoir stayed just a night. Production designer Adam Stockhausen said in an e-mail that he and set decorator Anna Pinnock had full-sized mock-up prints made to roughly place the art and try multiple positions. 'Once Wes finalised the placements, the conservators brought in the art and we swopped with the mock-ups,' he said. Mr Sharp visited the set only once – the day the Renoir was present – but he said he felt the stars of the film were deferential to a portrait of Renoir's nephew that they were able to acquire on loan. This revealed itself in a conversation with Puerto Rican actor del Toro. 'He confessed it made him and everybody quite nervous to have this here, in a good way,' Mr Sharp said. Observing the dynamic between the stars and the star artwork gave Mr Sharp insight into the reasons Anderson had pursued the actual paintings. 'It changed the energy and atmosphere on set as it would do if you lived with an object like that,' he said. As soon as The Phoenician Scheme wrapped, Mr Sharp started to suspect that it would not be the last time he and Anderson embarked on a project of this nature. The film-maker, he said, agreed. 'It's really hard once you've done this for the first time to put it back in the bottle,' Mr Sharp said. NYTIMES The Phoenician Scheme is showing in Singapore cinemas. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Observer
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
In Wes Anderson's new movie, real masterpieces get a starring role
At the end of Wes Anderson's new caper, 'The Phoenician Scheme,' there are some unusual credits. In addition to the cast and crew, the artworks featured in the film are listed, complete with ownership details. That's because the pieces onscreen are not reproductions. They are in fact the actual masterpieces from Pierre-Auguste Renoir, René Magritte and other well-known artists. In the past, Anderson has faked a Kandinsky and a Klimt. Here he went for the real thing. 'We have a character who's a collector, who's a possessor; he wants to own things and we thought because it's sort of art and commerce mixed together this time we should try to have the real thing,' Anderson said via a voice note. What he ended up with was impressive. The fictional collection of businessperson Zsa-zsa Korda, played by Benicio Del Toro, includes Renoir's 'Enfant Assis en Robe Bleue,' which was once owned by Greta Garbo and Magritte's 'The Equator.' There is also a selection of works from the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany that includes pieces from the 17th century. Getting a collector or an art institution to hand over a painting worth millions of dollars to a film production isn't an easy task and the negotiations fell mostly to Jasper Sharp, a curator who had worked with Anderson and his wife, Juman Malouf, on their 2018 exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where Sharp is based. 'A film set has vast amounts of light, heat, no climate control, very lax security, people running everywhere with booms and lights and props,' Sharp said in a video interview. 'The walls that it will be hung on are made of plywood sometimes. There are less desirable places to hang art, but this was certainly a challenging environment in terms of me trying to persuade someone that they maybe want to lend an object.' To offset concerns, the production hired a conservator and a registrar to be on set overseeing the paintings. There, in a darkened, fenced-off corner, a security guard watched over the pieces and made sure they would not be exposed to more light than necessary. Benicio Del Toro's character is a businessman who prides himself on owning masterpieces like Floris Gerritsz van Schooten's 'Still Life of Breakfast With Roast Ox.' 'I felt, to have any real conviction in being able to ask somebody to lend an object, we needed to have that sort of support network to assure them that the works would be handled exactly as they were if they were lending them to a museum,' said Sharp, who explained that this network included insurers, art handlers and shipping services. Still, even with Sharp's connections, some of his initial outreach was met with 'howls' of laughter and hang-ups. His search was both creative and practical. After discussing with Anderson what would make sense for Zsa-zsa, a domineering man who prides himself on owning masterpieces, Sharp contacted museums and collectors in the vicinity of the set at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany. Sharp considers the old master selections from the Kunsthalle more in the 'best supporting actor' category of the art in Zsa-zsa's abode compared with the Renoir or the Magritte, which draw your eye. Anderson said he thought Juriaen Jacobsz's 1678 painting of dogs fighting over meat was 'an encapsulation of part of what our story is about.' (The film is very much Anderson's exploration of capitalism.) But Zsa-zsa doesn't just collect classical still lifes and paintings of animals. Sharp said he suggested to Anderson that perhaps the character owned some impressive art from the film's period setting — to show his keen sense of taste, specifically a work of surrealism. Sharp reached out to collector Ulla Pietzsch, who had never heard of Anderson but was interested in the project. 'I wasn't surprised when Wes settled on Magritte,' Sharp said. 'If you think about where Wes grew up in Houston, the Menil Collection has, if not the greatest collection of Magrittes in the United States, very close to that. So he has been looking at Magritte for a long time.' Sharp noted that 'The Equator' is not the most recognisable of Magrittes — there is no bowler hat — but it is enigmatic. Anderson, meanwhile, envisioned that a Renoir would hang in the bedroom of Zsa-zsa's daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton). Sharp found one in the collection of David Nahmad. 'I think it was maybe even in the script,' he said. Knowing that the elder Renoir painted his son Jean as a small child, 'somehow I thought Renoir might have painted somebody in this family, maybe Zsa-zsa.' The loans from Hamburger Kunsthalle remained on set for about a month, but the Magritte was in and out in a day and the Renoir just stayed a night. Production designer Adam Stockhausen said in an email that he and set decorator Anna Pinnock had full-size mock-up prints made to roughly place the art and try multiple positions. 'Once Wes finalised the placements, the conservators brought in the art and we swapped with the mock-ups,' he said. Sharp visited the set only once — the day the Renoir was present — but he said he felt the stars of the film were deferential to a portrait of Renoir's nephew that they were able to acquire on loan. This revealed itself in a conversation with Del Toro. 'He confessed it made him and everybody quite nervous to have this here, in a good way,' Sharp said. Observing the dynamic between the stars and the star artwork gave Sharp insight into the reasons Anderson had pursued the actual paintings. 'It changed the energy and the atmosphere on set as it would do if you lived with an object like that,' he said. As soon as 'The Phoenician Scheme' wrapped, Sharp started to suspect that it wouldn't be the last time he and Anderson embarked on a project of this nature. Anderson, he said, agreed. 'It's really hard once you've done this for the first time to put it back in the bottle,' Sharp said. — The New York Times
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
In Wes Anderson's New Movie, Real Masterpieces Get a Starring Role
At the end of Wes Anderson's new caper, 'The Phoenician Scheme,' there are some unusual credits. In addition to the cast and crew, the artworks featured in the film are listed, complete with ownership details. That's because the pieces onscreen are not reproductions. They are in fact the actual masterpieces from Pierre-Auguste Renoir, René Magritte and other well-known artists. In the past, Anderson has faked a Kandinsky and a Klimt. Here he went for the real thing. 'We have a character who's a collector, who's a possessor; he wants to own things, and we thought because it's sort of art and commerce mixed together this time we should try to have the real thing,' Anderson said via a voice note. What he ended up with was impressive. The fictional collection of the businessman Zsa-zsa Korda, played by Benicio Del Toro, includes Renoir's 'Enfant Assis en Robe Bleue,' which was once owned by Greta Garbo, and Magritte's 'The Equator.' There is also a selection of works from the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany that includes pieces from the 17th century. Getting a collector or an art institution to hand over a painting worth millions of dollars to a film production isn't an easy task, and the negotiations fell mostly to Jasper Sharp, a curator who had worked with Anderson and his wife, Juman Malouf, on their 2018 exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where Sharp is based. 'A film set has vast amounts of light, heat, no climate control, very lax security, people running everywhere with booms and lights and props,' Sharp said in a video interview. 'The walls that it will be hung on are made of plywood sometimes. There are less desirable places to hang art, but this was certainly a challenging environment in terms of me trying to persuade someone that they maybe want to lend an object.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business Mayor
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
wes anderson draws on venetian palazzos and painted illusions for the phoenician scheme
After its premiere at the Cannes Festival 2025, in competition for the Palme d'Or, Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme unveils an opulent fever dream of mid-century European power, industry, and family dysfunction. Focus Features opens the film in select US theaters on May 30th, 2025, with a wide release following on June 6th. Beyond Benicio del Toro's magnetic turn as Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda, a 1950s tycoon who survives his sixth plane crash, the film is a love letter to craftsmanship, practical effects, and the immersive possibilities of set design. Shot almost entirely at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany, Wes Anderson's tenth feature film transforms its soundstage locations into a total cinematic spectacle. 'It was going to be a movie made on a soundstage,' he explains. 'I knew the stages.' This is Anderson's most extensive use of studio environments yet, and his collaboration with production designer Adam Stockhausen delivers a visual world inspired by illusory marble walls and columns, found in Venetian palazzos and Berlin villas. images courtesy of Focus Features Adam Stockhausen's set design draws from venetian palazzos Production designer Adam Stockhausen, Anderson's longtime collaborator on Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, Asteroid City, and the short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, returns to the filmmaker's signature world of symmetry, theatricality, and obsessive detail. For this film, The Phoenician Scheme, the American production designer orchestrated an ever-shifting mosaic of spaces to house Zsa-zsa's sprawling ambitions and inner contradictions. 'There were several key references,' recalls Stockhausen. 'Probably the most important were inspired by Calouste Gulbenkian's Paris house and a palazzo in Venice. There are actually a couple of locations, of course, but mostly just as a basis for builds.' For the grand entrance gallery, the team visited castles and villas around Berlin. 'Many had trompe l'oeil marble walls and columns of remarkable craftsmanship,' adds producer Jeremy Dawson. 'So we decided to replicate that, not as a fake version of the process, but in the same real hand-painted way it had been done originally, back then.' Read More Video: How Does DRAM Work? The interior of Zsa-zsa's grand residence sets the tone with its marble walls, burnished brass, and priceless art, curating the life of a collector-king. Anderson and art curator Jasper Sharp secured loans from institutions including the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Nahmad and Pietzsch collections. Renoirs and Magrittes sit alongside 14th-century wood carvings, brought in under strict white-glove supervision. 'Several people that I approached hung up the phone laughing,' recalls art curator Jasper Sharp. 'But a combination of curiosity and the sense of adventure won out.' One standout piece, a Renoir once owned by actress Greta Garbo, now sits above Liesl's bed— 'the perfect foil to the madness going on around it.' Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton as Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda and Sister Liesl custom props by cartier, dunhill, and prada The production's approach extended far beyond wall treatments. The infrastructure model of Korda's land-and-sea scheme was designed by Simon Weisse, who previously built the miniatures of Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. This time, the model had to be strong enough for Benedict Cumberbatch to scale and fragile enough to be blown apart. 'We practiced in the parking lot,' remembers producer Jeremy Dawson. 'Simon and his model-making team spent the entire shoot building the thing and we blew it up on nearly the last day.' Design details sneak into every frame. Erica Dorn and Lucile Gauvain led the graphics team behind the hieroglyphics in the Egyptian Revival ballroom, while Milena Canonero's costumes carried Anderson's signature stylization from hat to shoelace. 'Working with Wes on the costume design, one has to enter into a special frame of mind,' observes Canonero. 'It's a very sophisticated concept that has to fit together with the art direction and photography and performances like a hyperreal jigsaw puzzle.' Del Toro agrees. 'Wes's writing, a little bit of me, and Milena's wardrobe,' he comments. The practical effects team (Nefzer Special Effects) grounded the visuals in physical texture, using a puppet was used for the dragonfly on the window, cotton balls for clouds, and rear projection skies. 'Adam's production is just crazy,' remarks del Toro. Even Liesl's Cartier-crafted gift, her Dunhill corncob pipe, and her Prada rucksack were custom-made, drawing on Zsa-zsa's obsession with bespoke legacy. ' What would Zsa-zsa get for Liesl? He would have Cartier do it, so we asked, and they did it for us,' says Anderson. Read More Croma furniture collection by Lagranja Design for Systemtronic Adam Stockhausen delivers a visual world inspired by illusion marble walls haus 5 renamed in tribute to the filmmaker's visual legacy Studio Babelsberg, already legendary for hosting Fritz Lang's Metropolis, fully embraced the production. After The Phoenician Scheme's filming, the Haus 5 building, which hosts costume and production design offices, was officially renamed The Wes Anderson Building. 'Walking around the spaces for the first time, I don't think I will ever, ever forget that feeling,' admits Mia Threapleton. ' I don't know how [Adam] did what he did. I don't know how his brain does what it does.' Through physical design, The Phoenician Scheme is a maximalist opera of control and collapse, where every detail reveals something about Zsa-zsa's inner workings. As Anderson puts it: 'Our film is about a man who is like a mountain.' the interior of Zsa-zsa's grand residence sets the tone Michael Cera as Bjørn Lund Milena Canonero's costumes carried Anderson's signature stylization from The Phoenician Scheme is a maximalist opera of control and collapse Wes Anderson unveils an opulent fever dream of mid-century European power, industry, and family dysfunction project info: name: The Phoenician Scheme | @thephoenicianscheme director: Wes Anderson producer: Jeremy Dawson production designer: Adam Stockhausen costume designer: Milena Canonero graphic design: Erica Dorn, Lucile Gauvain miniature & model effects: Simon Weisse visual effects: Nefzer Special Effects studio: Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Germany release: select theaters from May 30, 2025, wide release June 6, 2025 distributor: Focus Features | @focusfeatures
