Fox Searchlight Buys Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” extending the indie studio’s long collaboration with the filmmaker.

The company has released four of Anderson’s films, including his two most recent pictures, “Isle of Dogs” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

“” is described as “a love letter to journalists” and is set in an American backed newspaper’s French offices. The film will premiere in 2020.

“The story is not easy to explain,” Anderson told 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.”

The film’s cast includes Benicio Del Toro, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Mathieu Amalric, Lyna Khoudri, Stephen Park, Owen Wilson and Bill Murray.

“We are excited to dive back into the unmistakable and entirely original world of Wes Anderson,” said Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley, Chairmen of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Anderson, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson produced the picture. It was co-financed by Indian Paintbrush.

Fox Seachlight’s upcoming films include Terrence Malick’s World War II drama “A Hidden Life” and “Jojo Rabbit,” a dark comedy set in Nazi Germany that won the audience prize at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.