All Things Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is releasing a thirteen-minute prequel to his new film The Darjeeling Limited, titled Hotel Chevalier -- first as a short film in NYC premiering Tuesday, and then as a free download in iTunes.

It's a cool idea, and particularly since it reportedly stars a very nude Natalie Portman, will undoubtedly attract more attention than any of the rolling promos would have. Also, I love movie shorts -- I wish more stars and star directors would do them.

Also, The Onion has the dirt on the new feature-length movie:

Fans who attended a sneak preview Monday of critically acclaimed director Wes Anderson's newest project, The Darjeeling Limited, were surprised to learn that the film features a deadpan comedic tone, highly stylized production design, and a plot centering around unresolved family issues.

I was especially touched by the last sentence in this spoof-story: In a recent review, New York Times film critic A.O. Scott also expressed surprise at the film's cutting-edge soundtrack, which features a Rolling Stones song and three different tracks by the Kinks.

Technically, Anderson's soundtracks have always been Stones-heavy, and have featured Kinks-sounding bands more than the Kinks. But really, it's all true, and I love him in spite of (because of?) it.

Update:Here is the iTunes link for Hotel Chevalier.