'Phoenician Scheme' Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera On Wes Anderson's Timing

Moments from now, the world premiere for Wes Anderson’s fourth movie here at the Cannes Film Festival will take place: The Phoenician Scheme.

Anderson began scheming about the film as far back as the 2021 Cannes when the director told his French Dispatch star Benecio del Toro he had another role for him in what is a three-hander. The Houston native was looking for a thespian with the aura of Anthony Quinn, the Oscar winning del Toro has that quality.

Based on European industrialist magnates like Aristotle Onassis and even Anderson’s own father-in-law, Fouad Malouf, del Toro plays a European industrialist Zsa-zsa Korda who is wanted by many for his ruthless business practices. Governments after him, everyone is after him. With threats non-stop, Zsa-zsa decides to appoint an heir, that being his estranged daughter Leisl, a nun (Mia Threapleton). She has her own doubts about dad: he may have killed his first wife, her mother. With personal tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera) in tow, Zsa-zsa and Liesl travel across Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia meeting their assorted partners on a mission to close The Gap (a rapidly expanding financial shortfall).

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In our interview above with the del Toro, Cera, and Threapleton, we talk about their coming to the project, what was entailed in their prep (Threapleton auditioned with a piece from Isle of Dogs), and working with Anderson. Bit of trivia, Cera, who mastered the art of deadpan on several seasons of Arrested Development, is making his Anderson debut in The Phoenician Scheme; the actor was originally set to star in Asteroid City but had a scheduling conflict.

The Phoenician Scheme opens May 30 in limited theaters before a wide break on June 6, in what is Focus Features’ third film with Anderson after Asteroid City and Moonrise Kingdom.

Anderson to date has yet to go home with any Cannes prizes, Phoenician Scheme playing in competition.