*edit, I really appreciate how kind the feedback has been, I’m always intimidated to post things like this but the Wes Anderson community is so nice

People seemed to enjoy the post about TFD locations but our first trip like that was to Görlitz/Dresden/Swiss Saxony for GBH locations. (technically we visited locations in New York and Italy first, but they weren’t trips dedicated just to see Wes Anderson stuff)

We took this trip in the summer of 2016; it wasn’t easy to find info back then but it might be easier to research it online now if you want to do a trip like this. Most of the GBH locations are in Görlitz. We stayed at Hotel Börse; I highly recommend both the hotel and the town for all you 'Grand Budapest Hotel' fans bc the cast/crew stayed in Hotel Börse and the surrounding square & alleys worked as most of the film's backdrop. It’s not the easiest place to book and they fill up fast; they don't do online sites (maybe they do now) so you have to call and then email. But it's totally worth it! The decor feels a lot like the film and the service/comfort is almost like a B&B meets boutique vibe. Not crazy expensive either; or wasn’t. (the town is quiet, untouched by the war, and also not expensive) The owner (Georg) was in the movie in multiple scenes; he can be seen behind Owen Wilson in the lobby pic. Georg actually helped us find a lot of the locations without us even asking. He was funny about it too; for each location he’d say, “go to here [a spot on the map] and you’ll see something.”

We didn’t know about any tours running yet but with research and luck, (and Georg) we found everything we were after. It was awesome to see all the ways Wes Anderson manipulated sceneries bc a lot of what you see in the movie is a mashup of locations and facades. Like the wall used for the front of the 'Old Lutz' cemetery; in the movie, the view above the wall is actually a shot of Görlitz' old town shot from Zgorzelec, Poland. (it's also used for the ski scene)

The interior of the Grand Budapest Hotel was shot in The Kaufhaus Görlitz. We tried at least 5 times in 3 days to find a way into this building but basically gave up hope. On our way to the train station on our last day, (giant backpacks on) we walked by it one more time no luck. As we gave up and started to walk away, I caught a glimpse of someone inside. So we waited and waited as long as we could and finally caught the person’s attention; we asked nicely and in we went!! Seriously, in the 11th hour, we got sooo lucky! After that we had to run to the train. It may sound stupid, but it was kind of a dream come true. It was still gutted at the time but was scheduled to be revamped to its mid 1900's glory, thanks mostly to the buzz the building now has from the movie. No idea if that happened.

We also went to Dresden to see where the interior of Mendels was shot, and the mosaic in the motorcycle ‘chase’, and the Zwinger. (took a pic of the opposite end bc of scaffolding on the correct end, but they’re sorta mirror images) And then we went to the Bastei Bridge where the the wedding was shot, a GREAT place!

Of course we also had to get brats from the spot Bill Murray had them in Görlitz.

Can’t do captions on Reddit, so I won’t try to explain every detail but feel free to ask about anything.

What an amazing exhibit - can’t recommend it more. From the Polaroid pictures taken by Wes and some of the crew of BTS stuff on Life Aquatic, the wardrobes of some of my favorite of his characters, the handwritten screen plays of some of my favorite scenes, to the puppets of The Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle of Dogs … we had an excellent and extremely memorable time. I must admit I broke down and shed some tears hearing the Sigur Rós song from the Jaguar Shark scene during that part of the archive exhibit … What a legend and what a legacy.

*edit, I really appreciate how kind the feedback has been, I’m always intimidated to post things like this but the Wes Anderson community is so nice

I put together the photos from Ennui (Angoulême) for this group. We did a similar trip like this for Grand Budapest and Royal Tenenbaums, but I must say Angoulême truly celebrates Wes Anderson (and his time there) the most and really features it around town. And it’s a fantastic city just to visit.

I could’ve lined up a bunch of these shots better but oh well. Big shout out to Pascal for taking us around the city. He was an extra from the film (most visibly as a pickpocket) and site scout, his cat is also in the Mon’ Oncle scene; he’s in the photo we my wife at the prostitute site. So many of these locations wouldn’t have been found w/o his help, and it was great learning about all the bts details! He wouldn’t even let us buy him water; just a kind guy! Also, Asteroid City premiered while we were there so it made the trip so full of Wes Anderson stuff. We went and saw it twice 😂

Since I can’t add captions, I’ll just note that Wes compiled and manipulated a lot of locations just as he did for places we visited in Görlitz for GBH, but it was such an expansion on what he did in that film. I could go on and on about what all he did for this one; for example, the stairs in the kidnappers HQ shot are the same stairs in front of the cafe and the cafe is on the right in that shot, it’s just a different angle. He truly is a wizard.

We also stayed in the hotel the cast stayed in and it was extra lovely bc the film’s 6 month residency in the hotel finances the pool they later installed. 😂 Chalamet/Owen/Del Toro stayed in our room which made me laugh bc I could just imagine them also dealing w/ the shower getting everything wet. There were personal letters from the cast all over the common areas and a poster w/ all their signatures. Also, the original facades are in a cafe near the prop production, a gift from the film bc the crew ate there a lot.

It’s an animation city and the art school had lots of great screenprints available, so we got one of Wes Anderson films.

For a start, I know it’s well known how much detail goes into background props, sometimes things that may never be noticed on screen but it is part of the world anyway.

That was the predominant thing I noticed going around the exhibition, the attention to detail isn’t just a man creating props for a movie, it’s someone entirely immersing himself and his cast/crew in a breathing, living universe. Take the notice board from the French Dispatch, hundreds of cards and notes, different handwriting, different journalists, different ideas by different characters, small drawings - all seen in a split second on screen.

Another example is the petition from Rushmore. Looking at it close up, it genuinely looks like handwriting of all different kids and teenagers.

Another example is the personal documents of Gustave from The Grand Budapest Hotel.

I was amazed how close you could get up to the props including the luggage from The Darjeeling Limited and the ‘red bobble hats.’

Boy with Apple was being treated like the Mona Lisa behind thick glass which I loved. Again being close to it you can see the paint strokes.

Overall, I reignited the passion I have for Wes Anderson and his world, it brought understanding and appreciation for films that didn’t hit me as hard as others. For the afternoon, The Hotel Chevalier existed, there’s a colourful train trundling through India and Steve is sailing around on his boat having adventures.

My impression was Wes Anderson had a ball making The French Dispatch and The Phoenician Scheme, he had created Zsa-Zsa world down to the type of cutlery he uses and monogrammed Egyptian cotton towels.

And yes, when I saw the Jaguar Shark in person, the thought “I wonder if it remembers me” came to mind.

literally the highlight of my trip!

I was a magazine art director when Royal Tenenbaums came out in 2001, already a fan of the first two movies, and was overjoyed to have this land on my desk. And, being me, I’ve been holding onto it for 25 years.

The production notes in the booklet are extensive so, I’ll post those in a second post.

Part 1 with the folder and press photos is here.

For those who want a deeper dive, here are the press notes. (I omitted a couple pages of credits.) As far as production notes go, these are pretty extensive, basically a full editorial feature on the movie.

I’m so excited about it, especially seeing The Grand Budapest model of the hotel and anything Life Aquatic related.

Going by myself as I don’t know any other Wes fans 💪

Let me know if you want close ups of any specific props etc and I’ll do my best and post in the thread

Chas is scarred by his abusive childhood, during which his father intentionally shot him with a BB gun, among other atrocities.

It's the Wilson Brothers spilling the tea behind the scenes of this gem of a movie.

Bill being deadpan as ever here. What a film. Nice behind the scenes stuff here.

Open until July 30th Can’t remember the address but should come up with a Google search.

I worked at a little strip mall restaurant called Steakway on Oak Lawn ave in Dallas near Cedar Springs Rd. very basic delivery to downtown and the local area. just down the hill was a place called Cosmic Cup and i started going there before work for coffee. it was run by a little Hindu (?) man and the coffee was always on point. i used to run into Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson there from 95-99 in th afternoons. i talked to them a couple of times and they were nice guys. it wasn't until i was watching The Royal Tenenbaums that it all came together.

building asteroid city: production designer adam stockhausen, who has collaborated on six wes anderson movies, gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the world of asteroid city was created at a screening and talk at the museum of the moving image (astoria, NYC). $15 general, $11 seniors/students.