Anderson, Wes (1969– )

US film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films have been collaborations with US actor and co-writer Owen Wilson and include the stylishly quirky comedies Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), all of which he co-wrote, directed, and produced.

His work examines interpersonal relationships between friends and family members, and many of his characters are offbeat, neurotic eccentrics. He is noted for his empathy with his characters; his work lacks the ironic detachment of many of his contemporaries. The visual style of his films is also highly distinctive, particularly in the coordinated use of colour, costume, and set design.

He was born and grew up in Texas. He attended St John's High School in Houston (and named many of the characters in Rushmore after schoolfellows), and made short films that were broadcast at a local cable station. He met Wilson at the University of Texas in Austin, from which he received a BA in philosophy in 1992. The two wrote the screenplay for Bottle Rocket, which was filmed in 1996. The film starred Wilson and his brother Luke Wilson and was directed by Anderson; it received critical but not commercial success. Anderson won the Best New Filmmaker award at the 1996 MTV movie awards.