We all have things to look forward to in 2020, but you can forget all that, because it’s time to get borderline obsessed with Wes Anderson’s new movie. The release of The French Dispatch is imminent, so we took the liberty of digging through the interweb for behind-the-scenes clues. If you’re a true Wes fan, you’ll already know his latest and sure-to-be masterpiece was filmed in the French town of Angoulême in 2019 and features an all-star cast including Tilda Swinton (who’s also a producer), Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Timothée Chalamet, Benicio del Toro, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Rupert Friend, Léa Seydoux, Elisabeth Moss and Jason Schwartzman – to name a few. The story spans from 1925-1975 and has been described as “a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city”. Leaks from the Fox Searchlight holiday party on the Twittersphere revealed a few teasers of covers from the titular American magazine/ newspaper with playful New Yorker style drawings.

So now, you’re all caught up, it’s time to go backstage, courtesy of the Angoulême residents who managed to spy on the set around town. Got your popcorn ready?

© F3 PC

According to reports, Anderson’s movie is the biggest internation production ever filmed in France, with more than 27 million euros invested in the country. And he didn’t just make it rain – apparently, Wes made it snow…

Fake snow on the set of The French Dispatch © J. Debœuf, F3 Poitou-Charentes

© Celine Levain

Wes Anderson was frequently spotted around town in his signature beige corduroy suit, directing actors including Frances Dormands and Timothée Chalamet, also pictured taking a time out on a window sill of the set below…

Also very telling, was this Instagram post from inside the wardrobe department snapped by the movie’s story editor Griffin Dunne, revealing several names of the movie’s characters and who they’re played by:

We’re most intrigued by Timothée Chalamet’s box, which reveals he’ll be playing a certain “ZEFFIRELLI”! Any relation to the Italian director and politician Franco Zeffirelli? We can hardly wait.

We’ve also looked into the hotel that was privatised for the entire cast & crew during the production.

Le Saint Gelais is a four-star hotel located in the heart of the town, which closed for several months to host the star-studded cast for several months. Oh to have been a fly on the wall…

And now you know where to stay on your next Wes Anderson pilgrimage. Stay tuned to MessyNessyChic for more updates on The French Dispatch. In the meantime, fancy a spot of location scouting for Mr. Anderson?