Asteroid City: The stars of Wes Anderson’s new comedy on working with the esteemed director

Published

2 years ago

June 24, 2023

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Wes Anderson has gathered such a huge celebrity cast for his latest movie that it’s perhaps apt that Asteroid City is set around a stargazer convention – while the characters stare at the skies, the viewers are kept entranced by a different kind of star.

Among the vast cast are A-listers Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston… Known for his highly stylised movies, Anderson seems to have no issue attracting talent to work with him.

Set in the American southwest in 1955, this film saw a small functioning town built in Spain to serve as the titular Asteroid City, with the cast and crew living and working there throughout the production.

Shot while COVID protocols were in place, it also served as a bubble.

Speaking to Sky News’ Backstage Podcast, cast-members talked about their experiences working with Anderson on Asteroid City, which itself is a play within a TV special.

Bryan Cranston on playing the narrator of the TV special about the play Asteroid City:

“I started really looking and doing some research on the more famous newscasters of the fifties – Edward R Murrow and Walter Cronkite and things like that, and I settled in on someone who kept coming back to me and I was influenced by Ted Koppel, and I sort of love the way he delivered the news.

“And I also feel that those men fall in love with their own voices… So that sort of came to me that we would do it in this sort of registry and without any emotion and without any opinion on what I was saying, so that the actors in the group can supply that – I was just there to monitor and feed in exposition.

“So, I just figured out this is my role, this is what my job is and then, you know, Wes takes a look at it and shapes it and basically says: ‘Faster, faster, faster, faster’. And you do it faster, faster, faster!”

Jeffrey Wright on Anderson’s fast-paced script:

“He’s the conductor and he’s setting the rhythm and the tempo and that’s what he wants.

“I think he has a thing for early cinema, 40s, 50s style of stylised dialogue that no one really spoke in the world – it was just this dialect that existed in storytelling, and I kind of love that stuff, too, I love, melodrama and the old forms.

“It’s just a different take on telling the story, it doesn’t mean because it’s antique that it’s not effective – we’ve changed but I think there’s still something that can be moving about those styles, and it’s also a way of accepting that this is a performance – we understand it’s not real, it’s not a documentary and I think Wes likes to celebrate performance in that way.”

Scarlett Johansson on the preparation needed to play an actor who herself is playing a character who is preparing for a part:

“There were so many layers of the performance – I’m playing an actor who’s playing an actor who’s preparing something.

“I had a lot of questions for Wes, and we talked a lot about all these different – like, What’s this play? What’s this movie that [Johansson’s character] Midge Campbell is preparing? Who is Midge Campbell? I think it was good to figure that stuff out.

“The prep was maybe more involved with this film because it had so many different layers – if I go into doing something, I try to come in with something to hang my hat on, so I have something to offer in the beginning and then it hopefully will evolve from there, but this needed a bit of thinking on it and discussion with Wes and a lot of questions and stuff like that.”

Jason Schwartzman on working on the film and with Scarlett Johansson:

“It was so fun. It was so interesting. I loved it.

“It wasn’t hard, I’ll tell you, because I felt like I was acting with – the movie was like, done, [Johansson]’s so amazing.”

Maya Hawke on the ‘impossible task’ she found herself trying:

“Getting to try something impossible is kind of freeing, you know? Versus having to sort of try to master – being asked to do something simple where you’re like, ‘Oh, no, I’m going to mess this up’.

“I felt that the impossible task that was asked of me was, you know, these people are all so intimidating and so talented, and to enter that environment as a new person, as a young person, as a person without that much experience, and to come in with confidence and to not worry that I was going to ruin the film, which very quickly I realised was actually impossible once I got there, because Wes is so masterful in the orchestra conduction of everything that you couldn’t ruin it if you tried your hardest.”

Rupert Friend on living and working together while making Asteroid City:

“One of the things that Wes not only encourages but really engenders is this spirit of community and what it means is that whether you are the main focus of a scene or not is completely immaterial.

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“You want to be there to support your colleagues, whether you’re in the deep, deep background out of focus, as many of us were, or you’re front and centre – that becomes immaterial, so you’re speaking about the egalitarian nature of it.

“I don’t know of a more genuine ensemble than what I saw on set and on the screen for this movie, I mean, any of these people could be the star and everyone gave it to everyone else.”

Asteroid City is out in cinemas now, hear more about it on the latest episode of Backstage – the film and TV podcast from Sky News.

Entertainment

Cara Delevingne reveals how Topshop inspired her fashion sense – as brand relaunches in London

Published

20 hours ago

August 16, 2025

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Fashion brand Topshop celebrated its relaunch with its first catwalk in seven years.

The company’s website promised everyone was invited as models strutted down a runway on Trafalgar Square in front of noughties fashion icons Cara Delevingne and Adwoa Aboah and the London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.

The label has been operating on the online fashion platform ASOS after ceasing to operate as a standalone business in 2020.

Its previous owner, Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group, collapsed into administration and all of Topshop’s physical stores – including the Oxford Circus flagship in London’s West End – closed soon after.

Delevingne told Sky News she was “totally blown away” by the relaunch event.

“It was like nostalgia mixed with something eclectic but also something brand new,” she said.

“For me, it really brings back a time of exploration of my own fashion sense because I think for me at Topshop I got to discover so much.”

The model, who is working on a capsule collection for next year, has already unveiled a choice edit in this year’s show and said her relationship with Topshop precedes her fame.

She said: “I would go in and my friends would be like ‘you would look good in that’ and I would go ‘no, that’s not really me’, and then you’d try it on and be like ‘oh maybe I can explore more’.

“They really have everything for everyone, and I feel like they brought that back.”

The runway showcased highlights from its Autumn-Winter 2025 collection, as well as an early preview of pieces set to drop later this season, including showstopper gowns, the classic white tee, and an aloe vera-coloured faux fur coat that surely should not have been on display – to prevent just about everyone rushing to buy it.

Reclaiming the high street

But sharp tailoring and statement outerwear suggest the brand is ready to reclaim the high street.

Must-have denim pieces completed the womenswear line-up while the Topman collection screamed modern utility by blending refined formal wear with sharp new silhouettes.

Casual pieces are grounded by authentic denim in deep indigos, which stood out on Trafalgar Square’s magnificent stone steps.

Topshop’s relaunch comes as the high street continues to struggle and as the UK operation of Chinese fashion giant Shein announced pre-tax profits of £38.3m for the year, up some £14m from 2023.

‘Top end of the market’

Moses Rashid, global marketing director at Topshop/Topman said they are competing in a different space.

“We’re at the top end of the market. We’re about elevation. We pride ourselves on the quality of the product,” he said.

Those products are being designed in north London, and managing director Michelle Wilson said the aim is to stay that way.

“We are a British brand, we want to be a positive force for fashion. We want to bring London to the world. It’s fundamental to who we are as a brand, our style is very much London-driven.”

The majority Danish-owned company has suggested it will slow fashion down by opening physical stores where customers can touch the products, browse collections and try things on, though the flagship on Oxford Circus is unlikely to return because a Swedish fast furniture brand has since occupied the space.

Designer Wayne Hemingway has previously collaborated with Topshop and said the relaunch must be more than nostalgia.

“They can’t rely on their old customers because their old customers have now got kids of their own to spend their money on, and they’ve got mortgages and all of those things of what being an adult means.

“They’ve got to have designers, marketeers, people who understand – who are on the pulse – who understood, number one, what was a success back then, and also a young generation of people who are there saying, ‘this is what our generation needs’, and who are bright and can help deliver that. They can’t rely on the past.”

Entertainment

Comedian Milton Jones reveals he’s cancer free

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2025

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Comedian Milton Jones reveals he's cancer free

Comedian Milton Jones has revealed he is cancer free after being treated for prostate cancer.

In April, the 61-year-old, who is known for his appearances on Mock The Week, announced he was cancelling a number of UK tour dates to undergo surgery.

Jones said in a statement: “A few months ago, I had to stop my tour HA!MILTON because I needed treatment for prostate cancer. I’m glad to say I’ve had that treatment and am now cancer-free!

“So, many thanks to all the doctors and nurses who helped me get better – I couldn’t do their job (I tried, but apparently you have to be qualified).”

Thanking his family, friends and fans, he went on to joke: “I have to admit there were a few dark moments when I wondered if anyone would ever see me again, but then I realised that I was leaning against the light switch.

“Thankfully, I’m now in a completely different place, and if you look at my website, you’ll see that very soon I’ll be in lots of other different places on tour too”.

Jones picks up his tour on 15 September in Stafford, touring until the end of November 2025.

The show, whose name is a play on the title of the hit musical Hamilton, promises laughter and unforgettable comedy moments, as well as jokes about giraffes and tomatoes.

The Richmond-born comedian has been hailed as the king of the one-liner, basing his jokes on clever wordplay and surreal humour.

He has performed on Live At The Apollo, Lee Mack’s All Star Cast, and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Published

3 days ago

August 14, 2025

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.

Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.

The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.

It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

The full track list is:

1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.

Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.

‘The hardest-working star in pop’

The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.

That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.

“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.