It’s easy for something to go viral on TikTok if enough people are willing to give something a whirl. Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson were willing to slap each other with tortillas because of a TikTok challenge, and Kevin Bacon even sang the TikTok viral song “It’s Corn.” With a new Wes Anderson feature coming to theaters this summer, more people are catching onto this Oscar-winning director’s filmmaking style with a TikTok trend that’s got the cast of his new movie Asteroid City joining in.
Every Wes Anderson movie seems to have specific visual trademarks. You may have noticed in classics like Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel, among others, that Anderson uses a soft color palette with his quirky characters, as well as uses deadpan humor to amuse us. There’s also the use of wide-angle tracking shots with Anderson using perfect symmetry to place his characters standing in a single file or in the middle of the shot alone.
These are qualities unlike any other filmmaker that a ton of TikTokers have placed in their new videos, including the cast of Asteroid City, who have joined in on the fun with their own TikTok below.
@tiktok ♬ original sound - TikTok
As a huge Wes Anderson fan, you can imagine my reaction to watching Universal Pictures' video. Getting to see Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Jason Schwartzman and many others in Asteroid City’s incredible all-star cast doing Wes Anderson-y things totally made my day. They did a great job portraying many of the filmmaker's trademarks, like the signature deadpan movements, the symmetry placement of the cast and the close-up shots of objects they were holding. It's just pure bliss.
And I’m not the only one blown away by The French Dispatch director’s style. Other TikTokers made videos of their own using Anderson’s signature moves for simple things like going on vacation, to the pool, or even to lunch! These creative videos are filled with comic book-styled opening text, Alexandre Desplat’s score and the type of shots you’d see in any Wes Anderson top-ranked movie. Seeing a trend like this warms my cinephile heart in knowing there are people out there who recognize this filmmaker’s original and distinct level of genius that continues to keep audiences entertained.
As we’re about to hit into the month of June, there are more things you should know about Asteroid City to get you even more pumped. Wes Anderson may be revisiting the period piece genre, but he’ll be exploring the science fiction genre for the first time while still keeping his well-known tropes. This upcoming film will be about young space cadets and out-of-towners coming together for a Junior Stargazing convention. Alexandre Desplat’s score music will also be heard, with this being his sixth collaboration with Anderson.
Desplat has had a record of doing an amazing job of blending in with the tone of any project he takes on. With critics placing the movie at a current 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, this is a great sign we’re receiving yet another Anderson hit.
After watching the cast of Asteroid City come up with their own Wes Anderson-themed video, are you next to jump on the bandwagon? If you decide you want in on this, I’m sure your vision will be transformed with your whole world looking like it’s come out of a dollhouse setup and much brighter than usual. Asteroid City’s 2023 movie release will be coming to theaters on June 16th.
