Latest news with #MichaelCera
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Barbie star Michael Cera says success is 'dumb luck'
Michael Cera thinks "dumb luck" is the reason for his success. The 36-year-old actor started his career as child and dabbled in various teen programmes before finding mainstream success with the sitcom Arrested Development but has always made sure to "live on very little" so he can keep his passion alive with the projects he chooses. Asked how he found success, he told PageSix: "Dumb luck. I've always kind of lived (on) very little means in a way because I really like having freedom to say no to things. It's how to stay in love with what you're doing." The Barbie star enjoys having time to himself in between acting jobs, but is then always eager to get back to work as he noted that as a freelancer it is always impossible to know where the next paycheck is coming from. He said: "I kind of like time in between jobs, then I get kind of itchy. As an actor, you're like a freelance person and you never know what the next thing is, so you kind of have to make peace with that feeling of the unknown." Most recently, Cera can be seen in the Wes Anderson movie The Phoenician Scheme and noted that it "definitely felt goofy" to put on the Swedish accent that was required for the role of entomologist Bjorn Lund. He added: "(I was) calibrating it in a way that it didn't tip into being distracting or damaging the overall balance and the effect of the movie." "Working with Anderson was surreal, but it also just feels normal…Everybody's happy to be there. And you really feel that. Everybody knows that it's an unusual opportunity to work on a movie like this with someone like Wes and with a team like that. "So, there's a really happy spirit in the air." Michael Cera thinks "dumb luck" is the reason for his success. The 36-year-old actor started his career as child and dabbled in various teen programmes before finding mainstream success with the sitcom Arrested Development but has always made sure to "live on very little" so he can keep his passion alive with the projects he chooses. Asked how he found success, he told PageSix: "Dumb luck. I've always kind of lived (on) very little means in a way because I really like having freedom to say no to things. It's how to stay in love with what you're doing." The Barbie star enjoys having time to himself in between acting jobs, but is then always eager to get back to work as he noted that as a freelancer it is always impossible to know where the next paycheck is coming from. He said: "I kind of like time in between jobs, then I get kind of itchy. As an actor, you're like a freelance person and you never know what the next thing is, so you kind of have to make peace with that feeling of the unknown." Most recently, Cera can be seen in the Wes Anderson movie The Phoenician Scheme and noted that it "definitely felt goofy" to put on the Swedish accent that was required for the role of entomologist Bjorn Lund. He added: "(I was) calibrating it in a way that it didn't tip into being distracting or damaging the overall balance and the effect of the movie." "Working with Anderson was surreal, but it also just feels normal…Everybody's happy to be there. And you really feel that. Everybody knows that it's an unusual opportunity to work on a movie like this with someone like Wes and with a team like that. "So, there's a really happy spirit in the air." Michael Cera thinks "dumb luck" is the reason for his success. The 36-year-old actor started his career as child and dabbled in various teen programmes before finding mainstream success with the sitcom Arrested Development but has always made sure to "live on very little" so he can keep his passion alive with the projects he chooses. Asked how he found success, he told PageSix: "Dumb luck. I've always kind of lived (on) very little means in a way because I really like having freedom to say no to things. It's how to stay in love with what you're doing." The Barbie star enjoys having time to himself in between acting jobs, but is then always eager to get back to work as he noted that as a freelancer it is always impossible to know where the next paycheck is coming from. He said: "I kind of like time in between jobs, then I get kind of itchy. As an actor, you're like a freelance person and you never know what the next thing is, so you kind of have to make peace with that feeling of the unknown." Most recently, Cera can be seen in the Wes Anderson movie The Phoenician Scheme and noted that it "definitely felt goofy" to put on the Swedish accent that was required for the role of entomologist Bjorn Lund. He added: "(I was) calibrating it in a way that it didn't tip into being distracting or damaging the overall balance and the effect of the movie." "Working with Anderson was surreal, but it also just feels normal…Everybody's happy to be there. And you really feel that. Everybody knows that it's an unusual opportunity to work on a movie like this with someone like Wes and with a team like that. "So, there's a really happy spirit in the air." Michael Cera thinks "dumb luck" is the reason for his success. The 36-year-old actor started his career as child and dabbled in various teen programmes before finding mainstream success with the sitcom Arrested Development but has always made sure to "live on very little" so he can keep his passion alive with the projects he chooses. Asked how he found success, he told PageSix: "Dumb luck. I've always kind of lived (on) very little means in a way because I really like having freedom to say no to things. It's how to stay in love with what you're doing." The Barbie star enjoys having time to himself in between acting jobs, but is then always eager to get back to work as he noted that as a freelancer it is always impossible to know where the next paycheck is coming from. He said: "I kind of like time in between jobs, then I get kind of itchy. As an actor, you're like a freelance person and you never know what the next thing is, so you kind of have to make peace with that feeling of the unknown." Most recently, Cera can be seen in the Wes Anderson movie The Phoenician Scheme and noted that it "definitely felt goofy" to put on the Swedish accent that was required for the role of entomologist Bjorn Lund. He added: "(I was) calibrating it in a way that it didn't tip into being distracting or damaging the overall balance and the effect of the movie." "Working with Anderson was surreal, but it also just feels normal…Everybody's happy to be there. And you really feel that. Everybody knows that it's an unusual opportunity to work on a movie like this with someone like Wes and with a team like that. "So, there's a really happy spirit in the air."
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Barbie star Michael Cera thinks 'dumb luck' is the reason for his success
Michael Cera thinks "dumb luck" is the reason for his success. The 36-year-old actor started his career as child and dabbled in various teen programmes before finding mainstream success with the sitcom 'Arrested Development' but has always made sure to "live on very little" so he can keep his passion alive with the projects he chooses. Asked how he found success, he told PageSix: "Dumb luck. I've always kind of lived [on] very little means in a way because I really like having freedom to say no to things. It's how to stay in love with what you're doing." The 'Barbie' star enjoys having time to himself in between acting jobs, but is then always eager to get back to work as he noted that as a freelancer it is always impossible to know where the next paycheque is coming from. He said: "I kind of like time in between jobs, then I get kind of itchy. As an actor, you're like a freelance person and you never know what the next thing is, so you kind of have to make peace with that feeling of the unknown." Most recently, Michael can be seen in the Wes Anderson movie 'The Phoenician Scheme' and noted that it "definitely felt goofy" to put on the Swedish accent that was required for the role of entomologist Bjorn Lund. He added: "[I was] calibrating it in a way that it didn't tip into being distracting or damaging the overall balance and the effect of the movie." "Working with Anderson was surreal, but it also just feels normal…Everybody's happy to be there. And you really feel that. Everybody knows that it's an unusual opportunity to work on a movie like this with someone like Wes and with a team like that. 'So, there's a really happy spirit in the air.'
Geek Tyrant
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Review: THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME Hilariously Quriky and One of Wes Anderson's Best Movies — GeekTyrant
I'm a huge fan of Wes Anderson and his film, and The Phoenician Scheme is the kind of film that, at first glance, might seem like more of the same, but that would be selling it short. Sure, the pastel palette, symmetrical compositions, and theatrical diorama-like sets are back. But underneath all that visual pageantry, there's a surprisingly intimate story here, one that feels more emotionally grounded than much of Anderson's recent work. The plot centers on Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a fabulously wealthy European industrialist who names his only daughter, a nun, as heir to his estate and to take over his business. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise adventure, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins. The whole thing is hilarous and it had the audience rolling with laughter. Anderson tightens the focus in this film as it zeroes in on the relationship between father and daughter (Mia Threapleton), with Michael Cera playing a hilariously deadpan tutor who serves as the film's bemused third wheel. As the trio fends off a host of scheming tycoons and foreign terrorists, the real tension lies not in the physical danger, but in whether Korda and his daughter can understand each other before it's too late. Anderson himself described the movie as 'a story about a father and his daughter,' one he long postponed until it 'spoke to [him] again.' The personal connection shows in the movie. The emotional arc between del Toro and Threapleton is strong character development and storytelling, and what starts as an absurd adventure ends on a note that's genuinely affecting. The film delivers its trademark whimsy, yes, but it also takes a sincere swing at exploring what legacy means when passed down through something more spiritual than just a bank account. Benicio del Toro is a riot here playing an incredibly interesting character and delivering one of the most fun performances of his career. I don't think I've ever heard him talk so much in a film before! He's matched by Threapleton, who's fantastic as his daughter, and Cera also delivers an incredibly fun performance as the anxious, academic observer caught in the middle of an increasingly unhinged story. It's refreshing how The Phoenician Scheme trims down Anderson's usual ensemble chaos. The supporting cast is an embarrassment of riches including Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Riz Ahmed, and Benedict Cumberbatch, mostly orbit the central trio, never stealing the spotlight. Their presence adds texture without crowding the core story. The result is a film that feels more focused than some of Anderson's recent work, without sacrificing the style and absurdity fans have come to love. There are moments when the film threatens to spiral into overcomplication, but it always reels itself back with sharp writing and that underlying emotional thread. The story offers commentary on wealth and legacy, and it gently pokes at the absurdity of those who think they can control either. The Phoenician Scheme is Anderson doing what he does best, but with more heart and a little less artifice. It's a film about connection dressed in the costume of a caper, with a soft, lingering melancholy underneath all the delightful absurdity. If you're a fan of the films Wes Anderson makes, you're going to enjoy this one! I think it's one of his best. I loved it!
CTV News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Michael Cera and Wes Anderson were destined to make a movie together
Michael Cera, from the film 'The Phoenician Scheme' poses during the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) CANNES, France — When Michael Cera was announced as joining the cast of a Wes Anderson movie for the first time, the prevailing response was: Hadn't he already been in a Wes Anderson movie? So seemingly aligned in sensibility and style are Cera and Anderson that you could easily imagine a whole fake filmography. It is, for a slightly more corduroyed corner of the movie world, an actor-director pairing as destined as Scorsese and De Niro — even if 'The Phoenician Scheme' is (checks notes one last time) their first movie together. 'I would remember,' Cera deadpans. 'I would never have passed up the opportunity.' 'The Phoenician Scheme,' which Focus Features releases Friday in theaters, stars Benicio Del Toro as the international tycoon Zsa-zsa Korda, who after a lifetime of swindling and exploiting has decided to make his daughter, a novitiate named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), the heir to his estate. Cera plays Liesl's Norwegian tutor Bjørn Lund. And because of the strong leading performances, you couldn't quite say Cera steals the show, he's certainly one of the very best things about 'The Phoenician Scheme' — and that's something for a movie that includes Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston playing a game of HORSE. Bjørn is an entomologist, which means Cera spends a sizable portion of the movie in a bow tie with an insect gently poised on his finger. 'He is sort of a bug, himself,' Cera, speaking in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival shortly before the premiere of 'The Phoenician Scheme,' says with a wry smile. 'And he sheds his skin and becomes his truth self.' If Cera's role in 'The Phoenician Scheme' feels like a long time coming, it is. He and Anderson first met more than 15 years ago. Cera, 36, was then coming off his early breakthroughs in 'Arrested Development,' 'Superbad' and 'Juno.' A comic wunderkind from Ontario who stood out even among the 'Arrested Development' cast as a teenager, Cera had caught Anderson's attention. 'It was something arranged by an agent in New York and we went to a kind of cocktail party,' Anderson recalls by phone. 'We were with Harvey Keitel, too. So it was me and Harvey and Michael Cera — a totally unexpected combination. But I loved him. For years I've kind of felt like: Why haven't we already done something together?' For Cera, the meeting was even more memorable. 'I remember being very excited to meet him,' Cera says. 'I remember him being very disarming. Obviously, he was like a luminary inspiration. He has had a huge impact on my general sense of taste. I discovered his movies when I was a teenager and watched them over and over.' 'It seemed like it had already happened' They nearly did come together on a movie before 'The Phoenician Scheme.' Anderson had a small role for Cera in 'Asteroid City,' but when its production schedule got pushed, Cera had to drop out because of the coming due date for his first son with his wife Nadine. 'I was kind of worried that I blew it,' says Cera, 'that I missed the chance to sneak in.' But even though Anderson and Cera didn't work together until 'The Phoenician Scheme,' they developed a relationship. Cera, who aspires to write and direct his own films, would send Anderson scripts for feedback. 'We became friends,' says Cera. 'In the case of this movie, it was everything short of written for him,' Anderson says. 'As soon as we had the idea of the character, he was the guy who (cowriter Roman Coppola) and I started talking about. I think we talked to him about it before there was a script or anything.' 'It seemed like it had already happened,' adds Anderson. 'And it was a very good fit, a natural thing.' Adjusting to Anderson's ways Cera quickly adapted to Anderson's unique style of moviemaking, in which the cast collectively stay at a hotel, begin the morning in makeup together and remain on set without trailers to retreat to. 'At first, you're kind of exhausted,' says Cera. 'At the end of the first day, you go: OK, I need to eat a bigger breakfast.' As the production went along, Cera often sat right next to Anderson to watch him work. One very notable characteristic of Bjørn is a Norwegian accent. If there's anything more fitting than Michael Cera being a Wes Anderson movie, it might be Michael Cera doing a Norwegian accent in a Wes Anderson movie. It's also a bit that, in 'The Phoenician Scheme,' has a touch of spoiler to it. Cera calls it 'sort of a jaunty, playful representation of an accent, not purporting to be a home run.' 'When I brought up the accent to Wes, I said, 'How should we go about this accent?'' Cera say. 'He was kind of caught of guard. I think he hears the movie in his head and maybe hadn't figured that in. It was something Wes had to compute.' As Anderson describes it, Cera was determined. 'I, at a certain point, was a little reluctant, like, I don't know if we need it,' says Anderson. 'He was like: 'No, let me show you what I'm going to do.'' A determination in absurdism has long marked Cera's best performances. Though a private person who has resisted all urges to get a smartphone, Cera is remarkably fearless when it comes to the most awkward moments. It's a seriousness of purpose that, whether singing 'These Eyes' in 'Superbad' or waving hello as Allen in 'Barbie,' that's made Cera a favorite of successive generations. Even in a billion-dollar blockbuster, Cera can be unassumingly hilarious. 'I feel like most people don't know I'm in that movie. I mean, not a in a bad way. It was great for my personal disposition to get to be part of it,' Cera says. 'I can say I'm in it, but I can walk around. I'm nowhere near the center of the movie. I'm not on the poster, put it that way. (Laughs) My nephew went and saw the movie with my sister. Afterwards he was like, 'I thought Uncle Michael was going to be in this movie.' It was a nice lane for me.' Cera's transition to behind the camera Just before the premiere of 'The Phoenician Scheme' in Cannes, it was announced that Cera, after writing a handful of scripts including an adaptation of Charles Portis' 'Masters of Atlantis,' will make his directorial debut with 'Love Is Not the Answer,' a film he wrote that has a cast including Pamela Anderson and Steve Coogan. 'You have a little more control over your destiny if you try to create something, even though it's hard to get it off the ground,' Cera says. 'But it's better than sitting around. You're like a hired contractor as an actor, and it's a great thing about it. But I think a lot of actors end up becoming frustrated directors because of how many opinions you have about the proceedings.' It may have taken many years for Cera and Anderson to finally team up, but it could have come at the right time, just as Cera is — ahem — shedding a skin. In any case, theirs remains an ongoing collaboration. Anderson tapped Cera for an ad they recently shot for Mont Blanc. Does that mean he's officially part of the troupe? 'That's up to him,' says Cera. 'I would never say no.' Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Benicio del Toro reveals what it was REALLY like to work with all-star cast featuring Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch for Wes Anderson film
Benicio del Toro has revealed what it was really like to work with such an all-star cast on the latest Wes Anderson film. The Puerto Rican actor, 58, stars in The Phoenician Scheme alongside Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton. But as with most Wes Anderson flicks it also features a star-studded ensemble, with cameos from the likes of Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Appearing on the Soundtracking with Edith Bowman podcast, Benicio lifted the lid on how it feels working with half of Hollywood. 'You know, you work with an incredible cast from Michael, Sarah, and Mia Threapleton,' he said. 'It's just, I mean, and then all these cameos, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'I mean, it's like Tom Hanks and Brian Cranston. Rupert Friend. It's just an incredible group of talent that it just, as you're going through this experience of filming it, they just make you stronger and funnier and smarter.' Benicio gushed over how intricate Michael and Mia's abckstories were before he added: 'I think that it's a testament to Wes's Vision and his skill as a writer. His imagination and vision, you know. 'I mean and directing and everything else, you know and humour I mean, he's just a funny guy and you know. 'I think I'm much funnier in this movie than I've ever been in my life.' Elsewhere in the podcast, Benicio said that a signed copy of David Bowie's film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' is one of his most treasured possessions. The actor is a Bowie super-fan and he was once lucky enough to work with the late rock legend on the 1996 film Basquiat, which is about the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Benicio owned the 1976 science-fiction film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' - which stars Bowie as alien Thomas Jerome Newton who is on a mission to transport water back to his drought-suffering home planet - and had to get his musical hero to add his signature to his copy. He said: 'My introduction to Bowie was 'Let's Dance' and on the other album that had 'Blue Jean', the follow-up, but I've always admired him. 'But I do remember, you know, I had a laser disc of The Man Who Fell to Earth, I love that movie. 'Well, he did sign the laser disc for me. And I, I really treasure that, you know? 'It was like, I don't know, I had this thing of going, like, 'Hey, you gotta sign this.' And it was just very gentle. 'I just love that album Live Santa Monica '72 and Station to Station, Low. 'He had a lot of, like, you know crowd rock with Brian Eno. They had a lot of stuff going on.' When working on 'Basquiat' with Bowie - who played pop artist Andy Warhol in the movie - Benicio admits it was a surreal moment being face-to-face with his idol. In a previous interview with UPROXX, Benicio said of Bowie: 'I remember walking into the makeup trailer, and there he was. And he just sat right next to me. ' He was very normal. Very normal, very polite. I was just like beside myself sitting there looking at myself and going like, "Can you believe it?"
