Wes Anderson

Noted for droll comedies that ruminated on loss, parental abandonment and sibling rivalry, director Wes Anderson emerged onto the filmmaking scene with the ultra-low budget "Bottle Rocket" (1996), which earned him considerable attention inside the industry and drew immediate comparisons to auteurs like Woody Allen and Jean Renoir. With "Rushmore" (1998), Anderson established himself as a critical darling, employing a deft mix of wry humor and subtle poignancy set to eclectic soundtracks. He continued to cement his growing reputation with "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001), a deadpan serio-comic tale about a dysfunctional family of wasted genius peppered with several surprisingly dark moments. A bittersweet ode of Jacques Cousteau, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004) was yet another pairing with frequent collaborator Bill Murray, although by now many critics and fans alike openly questioned whether Anderson had hit a creative slump. While viewed as an artistic improvement, the familiarly themed "The Darjeeling Limited" (2007) only heightened such speculation. A venture into stop-motion animation with an adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009) appeared to reinvigorate the filmmaker, who returned to rave reviews for his tale of adolescent romance and adventure, "Moonrise Kingdom" (2012). Viewed as overly precious by some and unequivocally brilliant by others, there was no denying that Anderson was one of the more unique cinematic voices of his generation.