Hey, Katie: To answer your question, I did mean The New Yorker, the magazine. Should've put that in italics or underlined, I guess.
Matthew Seitz   posted 04.09.09

Hi Matt, I found this to be very nicely done; thanks so much. A small point of (rather minor, and perhaps obvious, clarification): over the shot of young Chaz choosing a tie from his tie rack, you note "A very New Yorker choice of words...." My assumption is that you were referring to The New Yorker, the publication, and not a New Yorker, as in an average citizen of New York. I'm in the middle of a paper commenting on the intertext of Salinger in The Royal Tenenbaums, and I don't want to misconstrue your meaning if I decide to cite you! Thanks.
Katie   posted 25.08.09

Incredibly insightful. Thanks so much!
D-Man   posted 20.04.09

Oh boy, was this wonderful. Wish there was more of this sort of video essay. Beautifully and affectionately composed too. Great work, Matt. I'd like to add one more filmmaker I'd consider a clear influence: Stanley Kubrick. The immaculate art direction, the near-constant centering of subjects in shots, and an affection for the font Futura Extra Bold all strongly recall Kubrick. Small critical note if you do a version 2: I had trouble keeping up with some of the titling, particularly in this last segment. I think narration would work better. Off to get me some Ashby now.
Kirby Ferguson   posted 16.04.09

Thanks, Ian--Didn"t know about either of those (though somebody called the "Mixed Up Files" reference to my attention via email). Hopefully I'll be able to upload an appended/corrected cut at some point. Thanks for being so attentive!
Matthew Seitz   posted 14.04.09

A correction and addition: That's not the NY Public Library seen as the "museum," but the U.S. Customs House hard by Battery Park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton_U.S._Custom_House And that section of the prologue is an out-and-out homage to the 1968 book, FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER -- you may know this and have left it out (apparently Anderson mentions it in his commentary) but for those of us who grew up reading that book over and over (and imagining a fictional NYC we wanted to live in that's not too different from Anderson's version), it's an immediate tip-off as to the world of this film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Mixed-Up_Files_of_Mrs._Basil_E._Frankweiler
Ian W. Hill   posted 14.04.09

Thanks, Joe. I know how you feel. I've been immersed in Anderson and many of the films/filmmakers that influenced him for six weeks now, and you'd think I'd be tired of him and want a break. But my 11-year old daughter, who'd been sort of peeking over my shoulder as I edited, got interested in the films (she'd only seen "Rushmore") and we've since watched three other Anderson films in the last few days. It was a fun experience and yet again, I noticed new details and grace notes that eluded me all the other times I'd seen the films -- which to me proves what a rich and surprising director he is.
Matthew Seitz   posted 14.04.09

Matt. Thanks for a wonderful series. It makes me want to re-watch Anderson's catalog (and Ashby, Scorsese, and Welles, while I'm at it). I hate that it's over.
Joe Johnson   posted 13.04.09