The Wes Anderson Method: Insights from the Phoenician Scheme Director and His Team on Budget and Schedule

      "When you've directed numerous films, you develop your own methods for handling them," states Wes Anderson. Currently in Paris, where he spends much of his time away from Hollywood, he is giving one of the first interviews regarding his 13th feature film, The Phoenician Scheme.

      "Movies are intricate," he elaborates. "At times, you're trying to accomplish something challenging in a short time frame, and when you have a team that collaborates well, they create their own ways to tackle these challenges. The significant difference is that in your twenties, you often find yourself following someone else's system that you have entered into... and after you’ve completed a certain number, you start to establish your own process."

      Wes Anderson's filmmaking is distinct; his movies embody a blend of whimsy and sadness, naturalism and artistry, reminiscent of an auteur who meticulously arranges each exquisite element in his signature God’s-Eye-View shots. The last thing one would anticipate, considering his precisely composed visuals, detailed set designs, complex backstories, and unique dialogue that shifts from comedic to poignant, is the speed at which he works.

      “We filmed quickly since it’s an independent project with a demanding schedule. Wes maintains strict organization,” says Benicio del Toro, the lead in The Phoenician Scheme.

      Wes Anderson, captured by Valerie Sadoun at The Ritz London for MovieMaker. Cover design by Ryan Ward.

      Joining him on screen are actors Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray, who has featured in nearly all of Anderson's films.

      Cera recalls observing the set during the shooting of a basketball scene and telling co-star Mia Threapleton, who is new to Anderson’s films: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

      Threapleton would come by on her days off to watch the filming.

      "I would bike in and hang out on set, hiding behind plant pots and under tables just to be present and observe. It was too enjoyable to stay away,” she shares.

      While the cast includes numerous stars from high-profile Marvel productions, a Wes Anderson movie is the complete opposite of a big-budget blockbuster: his sets foster a communal atmosphere, with everyone generally working in the same area — for The Phoenician Scheme, that location was Germany — and featuring minimal excess.

      Del Toro notes that each morning, the actors would change into their costumes in their hotel rooms and then head to the lobby for makeup.

      “You're prepped and ready as soon as you arrive on set. You drop your bags and start rehearsing right away,” he explains.

      In The Phoenician Scheme, Michael Cera plays Bjorn, while Benicio Del Toro portrays Zsa Zsa Korda. Image courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025. All Rights Reserved.

      Working for the love of the craft is the norm; Anderson’s actors frequently accept the minimum pay possible. Ed Norton revealed to People TV that he earned around $4,200, the SAG minimum, for his role in Anderson’s 2012 Moonrise Kingdom. During filming, he lived in a house in Newport, Rhode Island, with Anderson, Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and several crew members.

      “I definitely lost money working on every Wes Anderson film I’ve participated in. It's a financial loss, without a doubt,” said Norton. “Yet it feels like being part of the best theater company imaginable.”

      The commitment of the Wes Anderson Players is such that they accept levels of precision even some community theater actors would find excessive.

      Many actors dislike being told how to deliver a line — Christopher Walken once expressed to The New York Times that he has "always disliked punctuation" and excises it from scripts. For any director to indicate how a line should be delivered — to provide a line reading — can be perceived as an affront to an actor's confidence.

      “Wes is among the very few directors I’d ever tell, ‘Just deliver the line,’” Norton shared with People TV. “He’s incredibly funny. I can’t recall a time in one of his films where I didn’t just say, ‘Could you say the line?’ He does it, and then I simply repeat it.”

      Beginning with his first adaptation of Roald Dahl’s work, 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson has created animatics — essentially moving storyboards — for each of his films before filming. He voices the characters for these animatics, offering vocal guidance and creative inspiration.

      In The Phoenician Scheme, Mia Threapleton plays Liesl, a nun yet to take her vows. Image courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025. All Rights Reserved.

      Del Toro portrays Zsa Zsa Korda in The Phoenician Scheme, an oil baron in the fictional nation of Phoenicia who wishes to bequeath his empire