JB, you make a pretty consistent point about working remotely but I think managing remotely is a different matter entirely, especially when you’re in one place and the entire team is a continent away. It works fine if everyone is comfortable working that way, but it doesn’t take much to ruffle people’s feathers when they’re getting instructions from afar and no face time with the boss. It’s one thing to video conference, offer instruction via email, and be available online 24/7 (I assume Anderson must have been). It’s another to be able to take your boss aside and discuss a pertinent problem and feel as though they have a handle on the situation.

I’ve worked remotely myself, via freelance gigs, and it all depends on the boss and quality of the communication. I can’t imagine how a situation like this would work though. It seems inherently problematic, even if the day-to-day is like watching paint dry.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/10/three_or_four_h.php

Wells’ interviewing and talking and breathing are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me so I didn’t actually listen, but apparently Anderson insists he and Oliver are fine and that Oliver is saying he was misquoted or misunderstood.

I telecommuted for years, still do with some of my freelancing. I regularly encountered resistance to the idea that I could work just as well if not better from home in Arkansas than I could from a cubicle in London or NYC or wherever. But I can. People are still comforted by having a physical presence there, feel disconnected by all this new technology. Though in truth I have a lot less contact with my colleagues face to face in my full-time, regular job now than ever, since we just e-mail and text and call each other from our separate offices down the hall anyway.

Regardless, yes. Oliver’s comments may be justifiable in content but not in context. That’s a serious breach of professionalism, does not reflect well on the DP. Anderson handled it well.

Still excited about the movie!

George Lucas didn’t find that to be the case when he shot the original Star Wars in Elstree Studios. James Cameron experienced a similar backlash when he came to Pinewood Studios to shoot Aliens. Veteran film crews — particularly the Brits — are notoriously prickly with wunderkind directors who show up wanting to think outside the box.

I think Anderson acquitted himself well in that article and handled the situation the right way, with tactful determination. In 20 years, those guys will all be in a bar bragging about how they got to work with Wes Anderson on The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

I’m sure it goes to hell quite often and the results may be great or a disaster or somewhere in-between, but you don’t hear about it because most people are smart enough to value their careers. This can’t be a wise choice for Oliver, even if he’s right and everyone in Hollywood knows it. The studios don’t look kindly on blabber mouths…unless they get top billing and lots of box office.

I don’t think it is professional to publicly complain like this, particularly how potentially detrimental it is to box office. I can only imagine that Oliver feels that his reputation would be even more harmed by remaining silent.

Who knows?

I’ll allow that Oliver knows far more about traditional stop-motion animation than Anderson, but it’s not his movie. For better or for worse, it’s Anderson’s.

Even if Oliver is right that Anderson needed to be there and the film is not as good because he wasn’t, crying about it in public seems to me to be utterly lacking in professionalism. The movie might totally suck, but the guy is a douche.

This whole thing is actually sort of funny since as far as I know, none of us (or any of the other folks reporting on this) have worked on a film set or directed a stop-motion feature before. I’m not sure if we can pass judgment on either camp. Clearly Oliver has stepped WAY over the line, but he has actual experience with the process on two previous features. I don’t think his professional expectations can be discounted so easily, even if his comments are non-professional in nature.

As for Tim Burton and Corpse Bride, he had a co-director, so that doesn’t really count.

Did Anderson need to be on the set? Does it matter? The proof will be in the pudding. Does it seem unprofessional to direct via email and video from afar? Sure, but minus any real context for any of this we’re all just pissing in the wind.

I’m a bit of an Anderson apologist so of course I’d take his side, but conversely this thing is being blown out of proportion by the people who don’t like him. If the movie stinks, maybe we can point to this kerfuffle as one of the reasons why, but until then…

Well said. Artists collaborate without being in the same space all the time. Musicians lay down tracks separated by time and space. Hell, the Beatles’ last albums were made that way.

Presumably, Anderson saw the dailies, and I would think — given the snails pace of stop-motion animation — that it would be more than sufficient.