Asteroid City Interview: Scarlett Johansson & Jason Schwartzman on Wes Anderson

If there’s one thing you can expect from a Wes Anderson movie, it’s the A-list cast, as in his whimsical pictures The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, to name a couple. The auteur’s trip to the candy-colored Asteroid City is no different, and before opening in select theaters, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke to stars Scarlett Johansson and Jason Schwartzman, who play Midge Campbell and Auggie Steenbeck, to discuss what fans of the filmmaker may not expect from an Anderson production.

Around the year 1955, a group of young space lovers and their parents make the pilgrimage to a dusty desert town called Asteroid City. This isolated, pastel-hued mock-up village invites Junior Stargazers to a convention where they’ll enjoy an itinerary of activities and competition and the promise of rest and relaxation. However, not all is as it seems in this aesthetic dreamworld, and Stargazers and their families not only find themselves embroiled in dramas and romances but will also bear witness to a world-changing phenomenon. Asteroid City’s cast also features Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Maya Hawke, Steve Carrell, Jeffrey Wright, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Margot Robbie, and Willem Dafoe.

During their conversation, Johansson and Schwartzman share what it’s like on a Wes Anderson set, telling Weintraub the writer-director’s energy is always lively and positive and that despite his affinity for working with large ensemble casts, fans would be surprised by the atmosphere. Johansson explains why Asteroid City was her “North Star” project, and they both discuss the kind of direction Anderson gives his actors. For all of this and more on Johansson’s involvement in the upcoming animated Transformers One and Schwartzman’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse tease, check out the video or full transcript below.

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