Fox Searchlight Nabs Wes Anderson’s New Film ‘The French Dispatch’

Another Wes Anderson film makes its way to Fox Searchlight as the studio acquires the rights to the director’s new and upcoming film The French Dispatch. 

The French Dispatch is described as a love letter to journalists. It is set in an American newspaper outpost in a fictional 20th-century French city where a collection of stories published in The French Dispatch magazine comes to life. According to The Wrap, the film is set for a 2020 release.

“The story is not easy to explain,” said Anderson in an interview with French publication Charente Libre in April. “[It’s about an] American journalist based in France [who] creates his magazine. It is more a portrait of this man, of this journalist who fights to write what he wants to write. It’s not a movie about freedom of the press, but when you talk about reporters you also talk about what’s going on in the real world.”

In addition to the film’s intriguing storyline, Anderson has also assembled quite an impressive cast. This includes Benicio del Toro, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Mathieu Amalric, Lyna Khoudri, Stephen Park, Owen Wilson, and Bill Murray.

The French Dispatch: An Extension to Anderson and Searchlight’s Long-Standing Relationship

The French Dispatch will be Anderson’s 10th feature film and the 5th he’s releasing with the studio. His past works with the studio include The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson will also be serving as producer together with Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson. And Indian Paintbrush will be co-financing the film making it Anderson’s sixth collaboration with them.

“We are excited to dive back into the unmistakable and entirely original world of Wes Anderson,” said Steve and Gilula and Nancy Utley, chairmen of Fox Searchlight, in a statement. “Our collaborations with Wes in the past have been exceptional, and we’re thrilled to be back working with him and the Indian Paintbrush team on The French Dispatch.”

“Wes and our entire film making team are delighted to again collaborate with our partners at Fox Searchlight and excited to introduce audiences to The French Dispatch,” said producer Steven Rales.

In addition to Anderson’s film about the press, Fox Searchlight also has other interesting films lined up. These include the Nazi Germany dark comedy Jojo Rabbit and Terrence Malick’s World War II drama A Hidden Life.