Why Wes Anderson created Asteroid City in the 1950s

As fans of Wes Anderson know, the director pays great attention to the details of his films, and this decade’s scoring of Asteroid City was no exception. When it came to setting his new film in the 1950s, the filmmaker gave a myriad of reasons, some practical, some thematic.

“That’s going to be the East Coast and the West Mantle and the theater and the movies,” Anderson explained. “There are a number of dichotomies. And one of the key things was that we wanted to create a character for Jason Schwartzman that would be different than what he’s done before.” Schwartzman is a mainstay of Anderson’s work and has been in many of his films both in front of the camera and in front of the camera to see behind the scenes.

“The things that go into making a film eventually become too much to even pin down,” Anderson continued. “So many things are added to the mix, which I like. And part of what the film is about is what you can’t control in life. In a way, making a movie is one of those things,” he concluded.

Well, so far it looks like this complex web of different ideas has had a lot of traction so far. At press time, Asteroid City ranks at a comfortable 80% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews. Fans of Anderson’s beloved filmography will have to wait until June 16 to see the new film for themselves.