Latest news with #Phoenicia
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Phoenician Scheme stars share what Wes Anderson is really like to work with
The Phoenician Scheme is Wes Anderson's latest whimsical tale, introducing a host of new actors to his famous troupe including Mia Threapleton and Michael Cera who tell Yahoo UK how much of a joy it is to work with the prolific director. Anderson is known for his meticulously designed shots and for having very specific performances from his actors, but for Threapleton, Cera and Benicio del Toro it was a freeing experience. His latest film follows billionaire Zsa Zsa Korda (del Toro), who reconnects with his daughter Liesl (Threapleton) after surviving his sixth assassination attempt, the would-be nun isn't interested in joining the family business but agrees to travel with her father across Phoenicia temporarily to help him with his latest business venture. Threapleton admits that she was grateful to the director for not making her feel "othered" on set, despite being the newest member of the troupe and this being her first big movie. Saying it is "beautiful" to work with Anderson, the actor said: "He leads with a lot of love, and I think it really makes an impact on everybody that's working with him because we will trust in his vision. "It's so clear and he's so calm and precise, and wonderful, and he never made me feel like I was walking in for the first time — because I was, Michael and I had never worked with him before. But, for me, this was the first big thing I've ever done and he never made me feel othered in any any way. So he was wonderful." Cera, who plays Norwegian teacher Bjorn in the film, hails Anderson for being "so inclusive" with his cast, particularly newcomers like himself and Threapleton: "You just feel folded right into the group right away. He's amazing at that, and it's kind of legendary that he hosts these group banquet dinners every night with chefs that he's personally selected from Berlin, these wonderful women." He adds: "I mean it's like having the most amazing party thrown for you every night. But you are working very hard, it's very rigorous work and you're all very dedicated to what you're doing but he's a wonderful host." Del Toro says the director is "very disciplined" with his creative projects, admitting "you have to be to do this kind of work." "There's a sense of anarchy in a way, in the exploration of the character and how the characters behave. There's a control and a chaos at the same time happening that makes it what it is for me." Regardless of that perceived sense of anarchy, del Toro and Threapleton found it interesting to try and create a familial bond with one another on screen. And del Toro admits he knew it would be easy to do that the moment he met Threapleton. "We read together and I do remember one moment in which we sat there and [Mia] and I, we have this moment where we looked at each other and she didn't blink, she held it, and she walked out. I remember I turned to Wes and I said, 'I think that's what Zsa Zsa needs', that's going to be his compass. And then she is very strong young actor that is fun to work with." "I only found that out about three days ago so it's still funny to hear about it," Threapleton says. "It was amazing to get to unpack and unfold and unwrap all of these many familial layers with [him]. It was great, it was a lot of fun." The trio are supported by a great ensemble cast full of A-listers like Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston and Scarlett Johansson, as well as fellow newcomers like Riz Ahmed whom Threapleton names her favourite co-star on the shoot. But for del Toro the actor who stands out is Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Zsa Zsa's half brother, Uncle Nubar, the main villain of the piece. "He's exactly what we needed at that moment an antagonist," del Toro says. "And he came in with that look, a kind of detached evilness. I think in a way Liesel is the good angel and then Benedict's character is the bad Angel to Zsa Zsa. Our scene was one of the last things we filmed, so we were looking forward to having that confrontation." Said confrontation will likely come as a surprise to fans, because of the way Anderson allows himself to break away from his structured cinematography he's so well known for. For del Toro it was incredibly fun to film: "We knew that he had the beats, you know we're going to be here, we're going to run that way and you're going to fall, you're going to lie down, and everything was pretty much planned out in a way with the stunt people. We just worked on it so no one would get hurt, but it was kind of like you just had to go for it. It was exhausting." Anderson may be meticulous but Threapleton says the cast have a lot of freedom on set when it comes to how they interpret a character: "There is such a clear plan. There is quite a lot of scope to throw things at the wall and see what sticks. It's a lot of fun, and he'll spot small humanisms. "He wants natural, he wants human, he wants real, and he'll see little moments of us existing as us and he'll want to bring that in in some capacity, Many, many times he did do that while we were working." Threapleton adds: "Wes is so good and amazing at guiding in exactly the way that he wants, along with what it is that you are contributing as a performer." The Phoenician Scheme is out now in cinemas.
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
The Phoenician Scheme film review: This hilarious movie is a classic Wes Anderson that's more than worth the ride
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (15) 110mins ★★★★☆ YOU always get a quirky offering with director Wes Anderson, but there's also the fear each new film will descend into self-parody. Still, dismiss his work too quickly and you lose the pleasure that comes from stepping into one of his beautifully imagined worlds. 3 The Phoenician Scheme follows Zsa-zsa Korda (played by the always brilliant Benicio Del Toro), a wealthy and morally slippery man convinced he's on borrowed time after a series of attempted assassinations. He turns to his daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) for help. The only problem is that Liesl is studying to become a nun, and her moral values are in constant friction with her father's shady dealings. Elsewhere, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch and plenty more lend a hand in making this hilarious movie one of Anderson's best. The director's world-building abilities are, as always, front and centre. Phoenicia, the fictional setting of his film, is dazzlingly detailed, sometimes almost to a fault. The visuals are so packed that it can feel like you're watching a series of paintings come to life. Even the grittier environments — tunnels, construction zones — are captured with his trademark aesthetic flair. Adding an extra dash of weirdness is Michael Cera as Bjorn, a delightfully odd insect scientist with a thick Scandinavian accent. Cera delivers laughs and a surprising amount of heart, ranking among Anderson's most lovable side characters. What makes The Phoenician Scheme especially engaging is the way it gently tweaks the typical Anderson formula. There's a sense that he is having fun with his own rules, and that looseness brings some welcome freshness. Sure, not every moment will land for everyone. There's a lot going on, and the pacing can be unconventional. But the film shows that Anderson still knows how to evolve without losing what makes his work so wonderfully weird and unique. The Phoenician Scheme is classic Wes Anderson — stylish, oddball, emotionally rich — and also one of his more ballsy recent projects. It may be a lot to take in, but it's more than worth the ride. Linda Marric ★★★☆☆ THE Lilo & Stitch craze came out of nowhere. A couple of well-placed T-shirts in Primark a few years ago morphed into an entire generation of kids decked head to foot in blue alien-branded clothing. 3 So it was inevitable a Disney remake would be on the cards. Although this CGI one has both comic and tender moments, it's ultimately a bang average retelling of the 2002 story – leaving you wondering why it was made. Lilo and her older sister struggle to live side by side in their Hawaiian home after their parents die in a car crash. So social services come knocking. Alien Stitch – bred by evil geniuses to wreak havoc – crash lands after escaping his planet. Predictable mayhem ensues before it's all quickly tied up in a happy-ever-after ending. There are some tear-jerking scenes, and just about enough laugh-out-loud moments. And there's no bad acting, but then again CGI Stitch is often the main player on screen. B ut while my nine-year-old daughter absolutely loved it, as a parent, I wished there were some sly nods to all the adults inevitably dragged along to see it. Then everyone would have left happy. ★★☆☆☆ AFTER Mission: Impossible 7 my heart rate was so high I felt I needed beta blockers. Now, after part two of that adrenaline-filled 2023 film, I was looking for a defibrillator as the eighth and final movie in the franchise sadly fizzles out. 3 Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, it begins with a montage of flashbacks from the previous seven movies. They go on for far too long and are meaningless to anyone who hasn't watched every single film several times. We catch up with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew, including Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames) Grace (Hayley Atwell) and Paris (Pom Klementieff), two months after the last film ended They are all on a mission to stop Gabriel (Esai Morales) from destroying the entire world with the AI program The Entity. So far, so humourless. And for a franchise that has always been charming and funny – as well as full of incredible action – it feels as though the script has been written by AI, too. Cruise gives some of the good stuff in the last hour with a death-defying, highly skilled wing-walk battle. But this brilliant brand really has self-destructed.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
What's The Phoenician Scheme about? Everything you need to know about Wes Anderson's new film
The Phoenician Scheme is the story of Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a character inspired by audacious, globetrotting capitalists and business magnates – he is an instantly iconic anti-hero. He has nine sons and one daughter, Liesel, a devoted art collector and lover of nature. He is dogged by accusations of profiteering, tax dodging, price fixing, bribery and, worse, is pursued by a clandestine bureaucratic government mission to monitor (and disrupt) his enterprise. But much to their chagrin, Korda seems unkillable. Korda's daughter is 21-year-old Liesl (Mia Threapleton). Having entered the convent as a child, she has had little to do with her father. However, Korda is intent on making her his heir, and promises that if she tags along with him he'll help her unearth a secret that she desperately wants to know. Is The Phoenician Scheme a globetrotting adventure about a seemingly incompatible father and daughter who end up bonding? Not exactly – Anderson is too wary of cliches. But certainly Korda and Liesl's gloriously strange chemistry echoes previous Anderson odd couples such as Max and Herman from Rushmore or Gustave and Zero from The Grand Budapest Hotel, while being something totally new. It's not a spoiler to say what the titular scheme is – it's the driving plot of the film. Anderson's Phoenicia is a made-up country, a Middle Eastern-coded equivalent to The Grand Budapest Hotel's similarly fictional Zubrowka (although Phoenicia is named after an ancient region). Korda's scheme is never actually spelled out in its totality, but in essence it's an ambitious multi-part attempt to industrialise Phoenicia via a series of gargantuan infrastructure projects and pocket 5% of revenue for the next 150 years. Korda has secured the investment to pay for it, but unfortunately the international bureaucrats manipulate the price of a vital construction component, making everything much more expensive. In essence, the story follows Korda – accompanied by Liesl and Michael Cera's hapless Norwegian tutor Bjorn – as he tries to extract more money from his investors as he enacts his grandest plan yet to protect his family fortune. In terms of real-life inspiration, it's based on the stories of real-life robber barons, although Anderson has not explicitly stated if there were any specific sources or historical events he drew upon. But in the same way The Grand Budapest Hotel is about the encroachment of fascism – that is to say, it is, but it doesn't lecture you about it – it's reasonably clear that The Phoenician Scheme has some roots in the story of the mid-20th-century rise of the Middle Eastern petrostates. Though, again, it isn't preachy. To find out more about Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme, visit In cinemas from 23 May
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Who's who in The Phoenician Scheme? Meet the cast of the new Wes Anderson film
Among the many hallmarks of the films of Wes Anderson, perhaps one defining feature is the director's ability to pull together ludicrously starry ensemble casts. A-listers jump at the chance of being a part of his films. And the big names who enter his orbit rarely leave, returning again and again. 'Who is in the new Wes Anderson film?' doesn't just mean 'Who are the leads?' It means: 'Can you please give me a breakdown of the doubtless incredible cast?' His hotly anticipated latest film The Phoenician Scheme is out in cinemas now and is also competing at the Cannes film festival. Read on to see who's who in it. As with most of the actors in The Phoenician Scheme, Del Toro has worked with Anderson before, but only relatively recently: he previously starred as a disturbed artist in 2021's anthological The French Dispatch. Now it's his turn to take the lead: in Anderson's 1950-set globetrotting adventure, he stars as Zsa-zsa Korda, a ruthless charismatic European business tycoon targeted by assassins, governments and the international business community after he comes up with a radical scheme to seal his legacy and secure his fortune. His scheme involves three infrastructure projects spread across Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia, a fictionalised country that is named after an ancient region. Previous Anderson films: The French Dispatch. Just 24 years old, Threapleton is a newcomer to the world of Anderson, but she's surely going to be invited back after this terrific debut. In the co-lead role she is a hoot as Korda's daughter Liesl, an unflappable and stoic nun who gets roped into his convoluted machinations. Previous Anderson films: newcomer. Another Anderson debutante, Cera has been in many films but will doubtless always be best known for his iconic turn as the hapless George Michael Bluth in the millennial comedy classic Arrested Development. In The Phoenician Scheme he plays Lund, the bumbling Norwegian tutor to Korda's nine sons. There may be more to him than meets the eye. Previous Anderson films: newcomer. Hanks is one of the most famous movie actors in history, has two Oscars to his name and is loved by pretty much everyone – so moviegoers will be more than pleased to see him appear in Anderson's latest offering following his turn as Stanley Zak in Asteroid City. This time, Hanks appears as Leland, a mistrustful business associate of Korda's. Previous Anderson films: Asteroid City. Having come into Anderson's orbit some years ago when he took a leading voice role in the stop motion Isle of Dogs, Breaking Bad star Cranston returns for a third collaboration with the auteur. He plays Reagan, the grouchy business partner to Hanks's similarly cantankerous Leland. Previous Anderson films: Isle of Dogs, Asteroid City. Characterful French actor Amalric has one of the longest associations with Anderson of anyone on this list, having first come on board as the hapless butler Serge X in the film-maker's magnum opus The Grand Budapest Hotel. Here he plays Marseilles Bob, another associate of Korda's who Del Toro's character must try to extract more money from after a group of international bureaucrats complicate his scheme. Previous Anderson films: The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch. The comedian and actor has joined Anderson's circle recently, being one of several Brits who formed the core cast of the Roald Dahl anthology The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Here, he plays Sergio, a curiously ethical freedom fighter. Previous Anderson films: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. The rapper-slash-actor is the third and final Anderson first-timer in the sprawling headline cast. He plays Prince Farouk, the heir to the country of Phoenicia who Korda ropes into a ludicrously high-pressure game of basketball. Despite Phoenicia being a made-up country – similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel's Zubrowka – one senses that it's loosely based upon mid-20th-century Egypt. Previous Anderson films: newcomer. Wright's first film appearance since his Academy Award-nominated turn in American Fiction is his third team-up with Anderson. He plays somewhat against type as the chatty, fast-talking Marty, yet another investor in Korda's convoluted scheme. Previous Anderson films: The French Dispatch and Asteroid City. Johansson's fascinatingly eclectic and busy career has taken in a lot of very different films, seesawing from giant blockbusters to cool indie projects. Her sheer range has won her accolades and fans across the spectrum. In The Phoenician Scheme she plays Cousin Hilda, Korda's second cousin and prospective wife. Previous Anderson films: Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City. Another Brit who hopped on board for Henry Sugar and is now returning for another Anderson movie is Cumberbatch, who has had a pretty drastic makeover to play the magnificently bearded Uncle Nubar. It would be spoiling the film somewhat to explain his exact role, but Nubar embodies the rancour that can ensue when business and family don't mix. Previous Anderson films: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Chameleonic Brit Rupert Friend has been in every Anderson film since The French Dispatch; he makes it four for four with The Phoenician Scheme. He plays Excaliber, code name for an Ivy League American in charge of a clandestine international bureaucrat mission to monitor (and disrupt) Korda's enterprise. Previous Anderson films: The French Dispatch, Asteroid City, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Veteran US actor Davis has an impressively long CV, but turned up in an Anderson film for the first time in 2023 for Asteroid City. Now she's back for more, in a small role as the representative of the holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic church, and religious tutor to Liesl. Previous Anderson films: Asteroid City. To find out more about Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme, visit In cinemas from 23 May
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Phoenician Scheme review: Beautiful to look at, but like a museum vase – pretty, pristine and hollow
The Phoenician Scheme Director : Wes Anderson Cert : 12A Genre : Comedy Starring : Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis Running Time : 1 hr 42 mins Benicio Del Toro's Zsa-zsa Korda is one of the wealthiest arms dealers in postwar Europe, with a reputation for skulduggery and dark arts. After the latest in a series of dramatic attempts on his life, he calls on his estranged daughter, the novice nun Sr Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to take over the family fortune. It's a problematic inheritance, not least because it cuts out Liesl's nine younger brothers. And then there are rumours. 'They say', as the reluctant heiress has it, that Zsa-zsa killed her mother and his other wives. Time, nonetheless, is of the essence. The mogul has hatched the wildly ambitious plan of the title. This enterprise requires both slavery and the co-operation and financial clout of various parties, notably Benedict Cumberbatch's nefarious Uncle Nubar and Scarlett Johansson's pragmatic Cousin Hilda. Unhappily, a wood-panelled room of US tycoons, emboldened by Rupert Friend, have contrived to rig the market against the iconoclastic Korba. They send the price of nuts and bolts rocketing. READ MORE Phoenicia was an ancient Levant empire until the Romans arrived. Anderson's Phoenicia may be pinpointed on the same fictional globe as Grand Budapest Hotel's Zubrowka. Travelling across this fantasy region, Zsa-zsa teams up with the dashing Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed) for an all-or-nothing game of basketball against two snobbish American tycoons (Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston) and attempts to win over the Anderson returnees Mathieu Amalric and Jeffrey Wright. Stylistically, the separately shot, superimposed actors, mandatory deadpan delivery, and hermetically sealed sets make little advance on the director's recent airless productions. Alexandre Desplat's effective score sounds awfully like the one before. Fans will find much to like, of course. Thanks to such dependable regulars as the production designer Adam Stockhausen, The Phoenician Scheme – in competition at Cannes – is a beautiful thing, best looked at and admired like a vase in a museum: pretty, pristine and hollow. Don't expect the aching melancholy of Grand Budapest Hotel or the raging, imperfect humanity of Anderson's earliest films. But, unlike the sprawling Asteroid City and scattershot French Dispatch , the machinations find a charming focus in the thawing between Del Toro and Threapleton. Both actors bring a jouissance to the slightly jaded milieu. Bjorn, Michael Cera's untrustworthy tutor turned personal secretary, similarly makes for a welcome third wheel in the espionage-adjacent drollery. In cinemas from Friday, March 23rd
