How Wes Anderson Devised ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ – Crew Call Podcast At Cannes

Anthony D'Alessandro

Wed, May 21, 2025 at 11:12 PM UTC

2 min read

Wes Anderson discusses his writing process and casting choices for his upcoming film The Phoenician Scheme, inspired by his father-in-law.
Anderson reveals that he almost shot his film Asteroid City in Texas but had to find a more convenient location for his crew.
The Phoenician Scheme, Anderson's third film with Focus Features, is set to hit theaters on May 30 with a wide release on June 6, aiming to replicate the box office success of his previous film.

Oscar winner Wes Anderson returns to Deadline’s Crew Call to shed some light on his writing process and how he came up with The Phoenician Scheme, a project he first started breaking around the time of his second Cannes premiere, 2021’s The French Dispatch.

He was looking for an Anthony Quinn type to play the notorious, yet lovable European magnet, Zsa-zsa Korda, and knew the star of French Dispatch, Oscar winner Benicio del Toro, was the guy. Anderson proceeded to send him pages.

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At a time when many want more films to be shot in the U.S., sometimes, given the Euro nature of Anderson’s films, that’s not possible. He almost shot Asteroid City in Texas, however, the locale didn’t prove to be convenient for the crew; the filmmaker always is looking for a location which can also accommodate his crew. The last movie he shot stateside was his first Cannes premiere, 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, which was lensed in Rhode Island.

Phoenician Scheme reps a return to form for Anderson when it comes to the absurdist family comedies, this one loosely inspired by his father-in-law. In the movie, Korda, who is under constant assassination watch, reigns in his estranged daughter, wannabee nun Leisl (Mia Threapleton). He needs an heir and unloads to her a slew of shoeboxes with pieces of his remaining business plans. Anderson discloses here that his wife went through a similar situation; her father looping her in on his master shoebox plan before his death.

Anderson’s third movie with Focus Features after Moonrise Kingdom and Asteroid City , hits limited NYC and L.A. theaters on May 30 with a wide break on June 6. The pic at 76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes looks to emulate the specialty box office success of 2023’s Asteroid City which grossed north of $28M stateside.

Listen to our conversation below:

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