‘Asteroid City’ Actors Create Their Own Version Of Wes Anderson TikTok Trend

Those who spend hours idling away on TikTok would have seen the Wes Anderson trend—where users create dialogue-free short films of their everyday lives set in the director’s signature saturated, pastel-rich style set to the tune of Alexandre Desplat’s Obituary.

Started by Ava Williams, who captured her journey on a train ride, the challenge began to gain steam on the social media platform in April, with everyone from the Democratic Party to the Van Gogh Museum, National Gallery of Art, and South London Gallery joining in.

Now, it appears the cast of Anderson’s latest release, Asteroid City, is jumping on the bandwagon, too. The film recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where the star-studded ensemble of Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and more collaborated with TikToker Reece Feldman.

The meta-video starts off with a shot of the influencer standing next to a caption that reads: “you better not be acting like you’re in a Wes Anderson movie with the cast of his new film.” Naturally, A-lister Johansson appears, donning a pair of headphones.

@universalpicsanz us 🤝 Wes Anderson @reece #asteroidcity ♬ original sound - Universal Pics ANZ

While it isn’t clear if there’s a storyline behind the short-form take, other cast members, including Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Bryan Cranston, Jason Schwartzman, Jake Ryan, and more, make their own appearances, each perfectly timed to the soundtrack in the background.

Funnily enough, Anderson admitted to the Associated Press that he’s never seen the trend or even watched a TikTok video. The director explained that the challenge likely copies his patterns “again and again,” and that when he makes a movie, it has to come solely from him.

However, he does praise the efforts of the myriad fans who have joined in on the delightful challenge, calling it a “nice, lucky thing” when “anyone’s responding with enthusiasm” to his works.

Take a look at the trailer for Asteroid City below.

[via Artnet News and BuzzFeed, cover image via Focus Features]