Wes Anderson is the daredevil director and producer of modern cinematography, his works abounding with complex and awe-inspiring characters, print ad-like visuals and breathtaking narrative. Mark Mothersbaugh is an American singer – lead singer of the new wave band Devo since 1972, composer for a seemingly limitless list of productions and even painter. The case of a reunion of two such comprehensive artists would most likely result into a highly appreciated product, nourishing the hunger for novelty of the harshest critics.
If the upcoming collaboration referred to a cinematographic release, the element of surprise would perish in no time, as that is no fresh news – remember their union for the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004. But the fact is that this time, the two artists have prepared something truly unexpected, as if their announcement were a plot twist in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. There is a vast amount of desire and hope from both Wes Anderson and Mark Mothersbaugh to build their own theme park!
This aspiration was made public along with Mark Mothersbaugh’s Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia book release, a work embodying a collection of his best creations as a visual artist. It was in the foreword of the publication where Wes Anderson wrote about his willingness to work with his colleague in a totally different field than before: ’’I hope to soon secure the means to commission the construction of an important and sizeable theme park to be conceived and designed entirely by Mark Mothersbaugh’’. Furthermore, Wes expresses on the longevity of the idea, pertaining to Mark, and culminates with underlining the ambivalence of the ‘’Magic Kingdom’’, its chameleon-like shape and concept: ‘’For 40 years he has set about creating a body of work which amounts to his own Magic Kingdom, where the visitor is amused and frightened, often simultaneously’’.
Producer Wes Anderson & composer Mark Mothersbaugh have already encountered in artistic terms, and created together some Oscar nominated works. Movie collaborations in chronological order: Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).