According to Jeff Goldblum, everything about a Wes Anderson film is extremely specific.
The actor says that Anderson was adamant Goldblum did not change even one word of the script during takes on “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
“One thing is that he likes his material to be meticulously rendered,” Goldblum told The Guardian. “In ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,’ I had a big speech. I had worked on it a lot, and changed a ‘the’ to an ‘and’ or an ‘and’ to a ‘the.’ I didn’t talk to him about it. After a couple of takes, he said, ‘I see that you’re changing that word.’ I said, ‘Yes, it’s not without thought. Here’s my thinking…’ He said, ‘Yes, I understand all that. Please keep it as it is written.’”
Goldblum continued, “He’s costumed you, the production design is wonderful, but everything is very specific. He loves actors and he’s very creative. But he’s very particularly Wes Anderson.”
The “Asteroid City” actor explained that he was “nervous and excited” on set and was “wanting to do my best and humbled by the opportunity to work with Wes Anderson, with whom I’ve been lucky to do a couple of other things.”
As Goldblum summed up, “The talented people are often the ones who are also very down to earth and put you at ease. He is so particular, individual and such a wondrously artful guy, his personality can take over…If Wes Anderson was directing and my character had to fold, cook, read maps and print stuff out, I’d spend extra hours after school, learning!”
Anderson recently said that filming “Asteroid City” amid the COVID-19 pandemic benefitted the space alien comedy.
“During the intense part of the COVID period, we were writing the script. I don’t think there would be a quarantine in the story if we weren’t experiencing it,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t deliberate. Writing is the most improvisational part of the whole process.”
He added, “The making of the movie during COVID protocols, it really suited us. It worked for us. I loved that we formed a troupe and stayed together and sat at a long table and had dinner.”
