Anticipation

I’m going to a screening of Wes Anderson’s new film “The Darjeeling Limited” tonight, with a special Q&A from the director, co-writers Jason Schwartzman (who also plays a lead role) and Roman Coppola, as well as Adrien Brody (I am betting that Owen Wilson was originally supposed to attend before his sad turn of events.  Get well soon, Owen.)  Needless to say, I am quite excited for the event. 

The first time I saw Rushmore, I knew I had stumbled upon something special (thank you, Paul).  I found the film to be equal parts intelligent, funny, and charming.  The character relationships were so realized, and the dialogue was outright hilarious – sometimes laugh out loud, and sometimes the kind of humour where you just tip your hat while laughing on the inside.  The film struck a chord with me, and showed me the kind of films that I wanted to make.  This was very important, in that I watched Rushmore during winter break of my first year of Film School, and continued to watch it about 15 times over the next month.  Over the years since I first watched Rushmore, I have come to find my own voice in my screenwriting, but I have to thank Wes Anderson for bringing Rushmore into the world, and introducing me to a new brand of comedy – one with intelligence and heart.