Wes Anderson has managed no shortage of great ensembles in his career, but the acting team he’s assembled for Grand Budapest Hotel is nuts. We learn today that Tom Wilkinson has joined the cast, so here’s what Anderson is working with:
Ralph Fiennes
Willem Dafoe
Adrien Brody
Harvey Keitel
Bill Murray
Edward Norton
Owen Wilson
Tilda Swinton
Jude Law
Tom Wilkinson
Jeff Goldblum
Saoirse Ronan
Jason Schwartzman
Mathieu Amalric
F Murray Abraham
Bob Balaban
That’s just showing off, Wes.
So what kind of story would entice so many significant names to sign on to Anderson’s follow up to one of his most successful films yet? How about an extremely intriguing one set in an evocative time period amidst rich surroundings?
The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.
There’s a lot of room for outright greatness in that logline- could this end up being Anderson’s 
most narratively ambitious film? With the story bridging two decades (30s and 60s) and filmmakers like Wilder, Lubitsch, and Mamoulian being cited as Anderson’s influence on this one, I dare say that will end up being the case.
The best news of the day though, is that we may not even have to wait as long as previously expected for the film- Fox Searchlight has picked it up and are eyeing a release in late 2013. That would get it out in front of eyeballs during awards season of course…
Source | Indiewire