‘There's no skimming a Wes Anderson script': ‘The Phoenician Scheme' cast on working with the director
According to , the idea for his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, began with the main character, Zsa-zsa Korda, played by Benicio del Toro. 'I had an idea of a tycoon, a euro tycoon but in the course of time it started mixing with my father-in-law, my wife's father, who was an engineer and a businessman. A kind, warm person, but very intimidating,' Anderson shared during a press conference for the Focus Features film on Wednesday.
The film includes a star-studded ensemble including Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Mia Threapleton and explores themes of faith, personal transformation, and complex family relationships. Del Toro, who previously worked with the Oscar-winning filmmaker on The French Dispatch, embraced the complexities of his role. 'It's layered, it's full of contradictions, which makes it really yummy for an actor,' he said.
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The emotional core of the story is the relationship between del Toro's character and his daughter, played by Threapleton. The actress — whose profile has been steadily rising with acclaimed performances in A Little Chaos and Shadows and who is the daughter of Kate Winslet — immersed herself deeply in the part. 'I had three months from the time of finding out to when I landed in Berlin,' she said. 'I talked to a deacon of the Catholic church, went to Rome ... read the Bible, chatted with Wes about portions of the Bible. I read the script five times in my first week,' she added, driven by what she called 'overwhelming excitedness' and a desire to absorb every detail.
That level of detail is a hallmark of Anderson's screenplays, something the entire cast acknowledges. 'There is no skimming in a Wes Anderson script,' says Cranston, who reunites with the director after narrating Isle of Dogs. 'If you miss one little bit, it's not going to track.'
Cranston and Hanks arrived in Berlin together for filming and were quick to recognize the magnitude of del Toro's role. 'Basically, most of the conversation Tom and I had on set was, 'Oh my God, what can we do for him?'' Cranston recalled.
Del Toro himself admitted that the dialogue-heavy nature of the script presented a challenge — but one he ultimately trusted. 'I went up to Wes and said, maybe we can take this dialogue out,' he said. 'And then I went back to it and it wasn't as good. ... I had to go up to him and go, I think you need to put it back.'
Despite the film's structured aesthetic and meticulous scripting, the cast described the filming process as unexpectedly liberating. 'Because Wes is so clear and clearly having so much fun doing this, you kind of just don't think about the plan,' Threapleton explained. 'You're just in the moment. You're actually in that world.'
That immersive atmosphere even extended to the costumes. During early fittings, Threapleton improvised a crucial part of her character's look. 'There was a napkin from lunch that was not stained with anything,' she said. 'I quickly pinned this thing to my head and Wes came over ... did that little adjustment thing he does and apparently that's what happened with the veil.'
The film also features Michael Cera and Willem Dafoe, along with Johansson, who continues her long-running collaboration with Anderson. The director noted that casting often unfolds organically during the writing process. 'The part for Scarlett, we did think, OK, if Scarlett will do this … then we had her in mind for that,' Anderson said. 'Many of the roles, we sort of cast them as we go. I tend to send the email people and say, this could be maybe October—try to kind of get on the books.'
The The Phoenician Scheme hits theaters May 30 and expands wide on June 6.
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