As filmmakers, Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman have distinct styles without a lot of obvious overlap, but Anderson’s new ASTEROID CITY and Kaufman’s 2008 directorial debut SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK share a central concern — the struggle to create art — that invites a degree of self-awareness and metatextuality that plays well with both of those distinct styles. So after attempting to pull apart the layers of ASTEROID CITY’s play-within-a-play-within-a-TV-production-within-a-movie, we return to SYNECDOCHE to compare the different ends to which these filmmakers apply their respective meta moves, the ways they deploy their sprawling ideas and even more sprawling casts, and how each navigates the overlapping worlds of theater and film. Then in Your Next Picture Show, we share a few thoughts on another film we considered for this week’s pairing.
Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, ASTEROID CITY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: John Carney’s ONCE and Celine Song’s PAST LIVES
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#253: Family Feuds, Pt. 2 — The Nest
#252: Family Feuds, Pt. 1 — The Ice Storm
#251: Byrne-ing Down the House, Pt. 2 — David Byrne's American Utopia
#250: Byrne-ing Down the House, Pt. 1 — True Stories
#249: Bonus - The Fall (with Elliott Kalan from "The Flop House")
#248: Parent Traps, Pt. 2 — Kajillioniare
#247: Parent Traps, Pt. 1 — Dogtooth
#246: True/False, Pt. 2 — Dick Johnson is Dead
#245: True/False, Pt. 1 — F For Fake
#244: Bonus - Mulan (2020)
#243: The Mind of Charlie Kaufman Pt. 2 — I'm Thinking of Ending Things
#242: The Mind of Charlie Kaufman Pt. 1 — Being John Malkovich
#241: Boys Will Be Boys, Pt. 2 — Boys State
#240: Boys Will Be Boys, Pt. 1 — Lord of the Flies (1963)
#239: The Reichardt Way, Pt. 2 — First Cow
#238: The Reichardt Way, Pt. 1 — Meek's Cutoff
#237: In the Loop, Pt 2 — Palm Springs
#236: In the Loop, Pt. 1 — Groundhog Day
#235: Mirth, Wind & Fire, Pt. 2: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
#234: Mirth, Wind & Fire, Pt. 1: A Mighty Wind
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