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This story originally ran in March 2014.
It has been updated for the release ofIsle of Dogs.
The Who were certainly in that same world.
That was one we came upon as we were making the movie.
Its pretty delicious that song, especially when you hear the ooh la la.
I think it really captures that deep feeling of young love, and how Max is just so passionate.
It has both perspectives on the situation, but it also captures the pure emotion of the sentiment.
But we were pursuing it.
Sometimes my feeling is, however it works out is the way its meant to work out.
Mutato Muzika Orchestrasversion just felt like it hit all the beats.
I particularly felt like it succeeded in a way that maybe the original recording wasnt going to.
It became more original toThe Royal Tenenbaums.
Sometimes certain songs particularly, I think, the Beatles its like kryptonite.
They take you somewhere else.
I think the Mutato Orchestra kept it in the realm of our film.
It really captures the sense of the unattainable and the romantic ambitions of Richie Tenenbaum.
And Cameron Crowe goes, It is you!
He forgot that he had played on the song.
He got so caught up in the movie that he lost his own sense of history.
What can I say?
God bless Elliott Smith.
We had been talking to him during the course of that film, and he was really struggling.
[Smith committed suicide in 2003, two years after Tenenbaums was released.
]I just feel lucky.
Once again, I think its Wess ability to work with music in a sequence.
Its just so powerful and so touching and so sad and so beautiful.
Thats one of my favorite moments, certainly inLife Aquatic.
Its a classic cinematic moment.
It was something that we landed on while we were in editorial.
We got to listen to the splits.
I think what really happens is that we enter in Zissous head.
Its so psychological, and, lyrically, its kind of sci-fi in a way.
And I think that it transcends the action and lets us take a step into this characters mind.
I think that the vagueness of it and the mystery of the Jaguar Shark was a great juxtaposition.
All the characters in the submarine: Its a pretty heartbreaking moment.
We just knew it was right.
We had the battling Whitman brothers corresponding with the battling Davies brothers.
I think that that sequence is pretty powerful.
It just felt perfect and really satisfying.
It allowed us to create this great Kinks motif.
Did you go into the film thinking about the brothers parallels?
Were always looking to make connections.
I had to go to the Ray estate and get them to transfer all this stuff for us.
So, we said wed use as much of it as we can.
We didnt use any original score in the film.
And he immediately was like, Okay, lets use that.
Somehow it really was pretty perfect.
It pretty much is the hotel.
It defines the Hotel Chevalier, really.
The thing about Peter Sarstedt that was interesting is that he was born in India, crazily enough.
He was English, born in India.
God knows if that had anything to do with it, but it was a happy coincidence.
It allowed us a chance to make the connection between the short and the feature.
It was also just a great way of using music where playing it was actually within the scene.
The pain validates the obsession or your commitment to your idea of a person.
Thats what the song ultimately does.
It helps drive the obsession and is sort of a beautiful pain that we sometimes find ourselves yearning for.
To feel pain is to feel alive.
The song drives at the obsessive nature of romance.
The Fantastic Mr. FoxBobby Fuller Four, Let Her DanceMr.
Fox discovers a supermarket, and this 1965 song plays as all the animals dance joyfully.
Like Peter Sarstedt, Bobby Fuller is sort of an undiscovered musical genius.
We had come upon Let Her Dance like ten years before.
Wes and I were listening to it while we were makingThe Royal Tenenbaums.
It was one of those things where we hid it away for ten years.
I wouldnt play it for anybody else.
And then we finally found the perfect moment and were able to use it.
You feel like youve known it your whole life.
Suzy puts on this 1962 Francoise Hardy record, and the two dance and kiss to it.
With that one, he was like, Lets put that one away.
We had it under lock and key until the right moment presented itself.
Then it did and it just seems like that moment had been waiting for that song.
It allows you to transcend yourself and your circumstances.
The Grand Budapest HotelThe ScoreUnlike Andersons previous films, his new one doesnt use many songs.
Weve never used as much original score in a film.
The music combined in a way I dont think you would hear anywhere else.
We somehow found our way to create a music that spoke to those things.
This song plays as they walk together.
Tokyo Shoeshine Boy may be performed by a Japanese vocalist, but is built on a Western pop foundation.
These songs help convey emotion of the characters, but also give our story proper motion.
Whats more intimate than the relationship with a boy and his dog, or a dog with his boy?
The ScoreBeyond the few pop songs mentioned, the films music mostly consists of a taiko drum-heavy score.
Wes and I began talking about the musical element in the film as the story was just taking shape.
We looked to Kurosawas film music as a beacon on our journey.
