Background The film has been described as "a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city", centering on four stories. It brings to life a collection of tales published in the eponymous
The French Dispatch, based in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. The film is inspired by
Wes Anderson's love of
The New Yorker, and some characters and events in the film are based on real-life equivalents from the magazine. Arthur Howitzer Jr., the Kansas-born editor of the
Dispatch, was based on
The New Yorker founding editor
Harold Ross, who came from Colorado.
A. J. Liebling served as a secondary inspiration for the character. The story "Revisions to a Manifesto" was inspired by
Mavis Gallant's two-part article "The Events in May: A Paris Notebook", centering on the
May 68 student protests.
Development and casting In August 2018, it was reported Anderson would write and direct an untitled musical film set in France, post
World War II. In November 2018, it was announced
Jeremy Dawson would produce the film, with
Tilda Swinton and
Mathieu Amalric starring in the film. Dawson also confirmed the film is not a musical. Additionally,
Natalie Portman,
Brad Pitt, and
Léa Seydoux were rumored for roles in the film. In December 2018, it was announced Anderson would write and direct the film, with
Frances McDormand,
Bill Murray,
Benicio del Toro, and
Jeffrey Wright; Seydoux was confirmed to star in the film alongside Swinton and Amalric, with
Steven Rales producing under his
Indian Paintbrush banner and
Fox Searchlight Pictures distributing.
Timothée Chalamet's role was written with him in mind. Later that month,
Lois Smith and
Saoirse Ronan joined the cast. In January 2019,
Owen Wilson,
Adrien Brody,
Henry Winkler,
Willem Dafoe,
Bob Balaban,
Steve Park,
Denis Ménochet,
Lyna Khoudri,
Alex Lawther,
Félix Moati,
Benjamin Lavernhe,
Guillaume Gallienne, and
Cécile de France were cast.
Robert D. Yeoman served as the film's cinematographer. In February 2019, it was announced
Wally Wolodarsky,
Fisher Stevens,
Griffin Dunne, and
Jason Schwartzman had joined the cast of the film. In April 2019,
Christoph Waltz,
Rupert Friend, and
Elisabeth Moss were cast. Initially,
Kate Winslet was also part of the cast, but had to exit the project to prepare for her next role in
Ammonite. Filming Principal photography began in November 2018, in the city of
Angoulême in southwestern France and wrapped in March 2019. Murray and Ronan, who had small roles, recorded their scenes in two days.
Cinematography Director of photography
Robert Yeoman shot
The French Dispatch on
35 mm film using
Kodak Vision3 200T 5213 for the color sequences, and
Eastman Double-X 5222 for the black-and-white sequences, on
Arricam Studio and Lite cameras provided by a studio in Paris. Anderson preferred classic methods for shooting the scenes. Accordingly, the crew used scaffolding and hauled equipment on ropes, rather than a
Technocrane; and golf carts for transporting cameras, rather than camera cars. Most scenes were framed in 1.37:1 format (also known as
Academy ratio), which Anderson used in his
The Grand Budapest Hotel, and which was used for many of the French films that inspired
The French Dispatch. Occasional scenes were shot in
anamorphic format "mainly to make a bold dramatic statement", according to Yeoman. As a nod to Angoulême's comic heritage, they were done entirely by local illustrators.
Set design Adam Stockhausen was responsible for the production design of
The French Dispatch. He and his team began the
scouting process using
Google Maps, looking for promising locations before visiting them in person. Stockhausen and Anderson envisioned a town which "felt like Paris but not as it is today – more a sort of memory of Paris, the Paris of
Jacques Tati." The team eventually settled on Angoulême. Stockhausen estimates that over 125 sets were constructed, most of them on location around Angoulême. A former
felt factory was converted into a makeshift movie studio for the crew.
Rena DeAngelo was
The French Dispatch set decorator. DeAngelo and Anderson sought inspiration from French films such as
The Red Balloon,
The 400 Blows,
Bande à part and
Vivre sa vie, and researched an extensive photo collection of Paris from the mid-1800s through the 1960s in order to "get a feeling of Paris when it was dirtier—still beautiful, but grimy." Kopp cited the works of
Frank Auerbach,
Willem de Kooning, and
Francis Bacon as references, while insisting that the paintings must be "idiosyncratic", and would not "look too much like the work of any living or dead painter".
Music For the film's musical score,
Wes Anderson teamed up with his long-time collaborators
Alexandre Desplat and
Randall Poster. Desplat enlisted pianist
Jean-Yves Thibaudet and drew inspiration from composers
Erik Satie and
Thelonious Monk to pair him in unusual duos, such as with a harp, timpani, bassoon, or tuba. Recording took place remotely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The film's soundtrack album was released on CD and digitally on October 22, 2021, by
ABKCO Records, with a vinyl release planned for early 2022. The only single from the film's soundtrack album, titled "Obituary", was released on September 14, 2021. The film's musical score was given a separate, earlier, release. ==Release==