CriterionCast

Focus Features Picks Up Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom

With the film set to start production, Wes Anderson has already found a home for his next film.

Focus Features has announced that they’ve picked up the worldwide rights to the director’s upcoming film, Moonrise Kingdom, from Anderson’s frequent backers, Indian Paintbrush.   The film stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton.

Moonrise follows the story of two young adults who ‘fall in love and run away. Leaders in their New England town are sticking the idea that they’ve disappeared and go in search of them. Norton will play a scout leader who brings his charges on a search. Willis is in talks to play the town sheriff who’s also looking, and who is having an affair with the missing girl’s mother, the role McDormand is in talks to play. Murray, a regular in Anderson films, will play the girl’s father, who has his own issues.”

Penned by Anderson and his Darjeeling Limited writer Roman Coppola, this is Anderson’s first run-in with Focus Features after a short stint at Fox and Fox Searchlight (Fantastic Mr. Fox and Darjeeling respectively).   The interesting thing to note is that it’s Anderson’s return to live-action, and would thusly be a likely candidate for entrance into the Criterion Collection.   However, to say that Focus doesn’t have the best track record with Criterion is putting it lightly.   Here’s to hoping that that can change.

Source: Deadline

Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.