The French Dispatch

Matt Feury

Editor – Andrew Weisblum ACE

THE FRENCH DISPATCH editor, Andrew Weisblum ACE joins forces for the fifth time with director Wes Anderson.  Andy’s history with Wes began with THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2007) and was followed up by FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009), MOONRISE KINGDOM (2012) and ISLE OF DOGS (2018).

THE FRENCH DISPATCH was written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson and stars an ensemble cast featuring Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and many more talented actors.  It tells the tale of the French foreign bureau of a fictional Kansas newspaper, compelled to create its final issue when Arthur Howitzer Jr., the editor of the newspaper, dies suddenly of a heart attack. According to the wishes expressed in his will, publication of the newspaper will be suspended following one final farewell issue in which three articles from past editions of the paper are republished, along with his obituary.

The project was first mentioned in August 2018 as an untitled musical set after World War II.  That December, the film was officially announced with Anderson calling it a “love letter to journalists.”  Filming took place between November 2018 and March 2019.  Following a year delay, THE FRENCH DISPATCH had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021 and was theatrically released in the United States by Searchlight Pictures on October 22, 2021.

ANDREW WEISBLUM ACE

Aside from his rich body of work with Wes Anderson, Andy is also a frequent collaborator with director Darren Aronofsky.  In addition to his Oscar®-nominated work on Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN (2010), Andy also collaborated with him on THE FOUNTAIN (2006), BROKEN ENGLISH (2007), THE WRESTLER (2008), NOAH (2014) and MOTHER! (2017).  The two are currently at work on Aronofsky’s next film, THE WHALE.

Editing The French Dispatch

In our discussion with THE FRENCH DISPATCH editor, Andrew Weisblum ACE, we talk about:

  • Editing from an animatic
  • Wes Anderson’s disdain for ADR
  • Using color and framing for punctuation
  • The fun of splits and morphs and sub-frame editing
  • When an editor has to neuter a film

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