This is the the original 13 min short that Wes Anderson made, Bottle Rocket. (First part to the right) This was the stepping stone to launching the feature film Bottle Rocket, two years later. The short also created the careers of not only Wes Anderson but also Owen and Luke Wilson, who's first taste of film was Bottle Rocket.
The short really struck me, with a rather simple script and a very low budget Wes Anderson managed to capture the attention of a lot of critics at Sundance, especially Polly Platt. Who passed on a copy of the short to James L Brooks, who produced the feature.
How do you though make a 13 min film with a few unknown actors and end up becoming one of the top directors in the world?
How do you though make a 13 min film with a few unknown actors and end up becoming one of the top directors in the world?
Well my first wonder was how much the 13min short must have cost. I have looked in a few places but the best answer came from a board discussion on IMDB "The total cost came to a little over $3,500." Cannot confirm any of that, not sure where the money was spent, would be great to see a break down. That proves that Wes Anderson truly believed in what he was making. Wes Anderson makes the short for $3,500 and then gets a budget of $7,000,000 to make the feature. Rather good return.The major break through I feel that Wes Anderson received was the fact he had a family friend, L.M. Kit Carson who managed to get the film into Sundance. Now that's pretty lucky. With that audience and the raw talent of Luke and Owen Wilson it was perfectly set for feature film investment.
Wes Anderson's success was not solely down to luck though, an edge of bravery and belief in himself was what made the whole thing come together. This was shown when "before shooting the short film version of Bottle Rocket, Anderson had been accepted to attend Columbia University’s film school, but deferred, in order to make the short, and, ultimately, the feature."(link)
Even after the critical success that the short had at Sundance, with invent ment achieved. He struggled to have audience approval. This is shown in a great interview below where he talks about what a disaster the test screening was.
The Rise of Wes Anderson
1994Bottle Rocket (short)
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