I spent three years writing The Wes Anderson Collection, a book-length examination of the writer-director's work, and now it's finally hitting stores. The official website is here. It includes a book-length interview with Wes Anderson, critical essays about each of his films, an introduction by Michael Chabon, and lots of stills, production photos, personal snapshots, and original art.
There's also a pretty nifty trailer for the book. It's animated.
You might recognize the avatar version of me; it's a variation of the same image used in the banner atop this blog. Illustrator Max Dalton did the banner imagery; he also did most of the original art in The Wes Anderson Collection, including the lovely endpapers that re-create many of Wes Anderson's characters in cartoon form. Sirk Productions, a New York-based production house that I've worked with many times over the years, did the animation; Kristian Fraga directed the trailer. RogerEbert.com contributor Dave Bunting did the original interview with me that ended up serving as the narration track; he also shot the poolroom footage, and did a pretty convincing impression of Mr. Fox as well. Filmmaker-actor-musician Zachary Oberzan contributed original songs.
I'll be using this space to tell you about book tour events and other things related to The Wes Anderson Collection. RogerEbert.com will also debut a seven-part video essay series on Wes Anderson's films later this month. Watch this blog for details.