Wes Anderson isn’t the biggest fan of people imitating his art on TikTok or other social media platforms, he earnestly emphasized in a recent interview with the French publication Le Monde.
Though stylizing photos with that signature Wes Anderson flair isn’t necessarily new, the recent release of Asteroid City has seen an uptick in the mimicry, from #aesthetic memes romanticizing mundane activities through hazy filters to AI-generated takes of other films and TV series with his twee spin. Nearly all of these tributes are set to Alexandre Desplat’s “Obituary,” written for Anderson’s 2021 romp The French Dispatch.
“I protect myself from that,” Anderson said of the fad in the interview. “I’d be afraid to think: ‘Is this really how people see my films?'”
It’s not the first time Anderson has expressed disdain for the recreations. An interview with The Times earlier this month reveals similar sentiments: “If somebody sends me something like that I’ll immediately erase it and say, ‘Please, sorry, do not send me things of people doing me.'”
He added: “Because I do not want to look at it, thinking, ‘Is that what I do? Is that what I mean?’… I don’t want to see too much of someone else thinking about what I try to be because, God knows, I could then start doing it.” See a few examples below.
Anderson describes his next feature film as having a “rather dark tone” with a linear narrative featuring lead actor Benicio Del Toro in every shot, with the other plot-based hints being how “it will be about espionage” and a “father-daughter relationship.” The title and release date have yet to be shared, but Asteroid City is currently in theaters. See how it stacks up in our updated ranking of Anderson’s films, and revisit our interview with the cast here.
@kalebdmitchell_ We had to do one more! #wesanderson #fyp @Erick McGee @Terrell Andrews557 @James Tillman
@umnduluth You better not act like a Wes Anderson film during your campus tour.. 😉 #wesanderson #wesandersontrend #fyp #mn
@honey_honey82 Let’s Ride. Filmed by me and my Iphone #wesanderson #shortfilm #blackgirlsride #biker #jackharlow #louisville #jackharlow #motorcycle
@riverboatsstl 🎥🫶 If Wes Anderson took a St. Louis Riverfront Cruise, it might look like this… #riverboatsstl #wesanderson #stl #stlouis #explorestlouis #riverboatcruise #mississippiriver #gatewayarch
