‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Press Conference with Cast and Director

In director Wes Anderson’s 11th full-length feature film, ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’Benicio del Toro stars as Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, a wealthy 1950s industrialist who somehow keeps just barely avoiding death as he pursues his greatest venture yet, rebuilding the infrastructure of the obscure region of Phoenicia. To make sure his affairs are in order, Zsa-zsa reaches out to his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to join him on his quest and take over if necessary.

Accompanied by administrative assistant Bjørn (Michael Cera), pursued by assassins, and challenged by a business consortium that hopes to foil his plans, Zsa-zsa and Liesl hit the road to meet with Zsa-zsa’s own network of investors and raise the money necessary to cover the shortfall (‘The Gap’) in his funding. Along the way, Zsa-zsa (sort of) rediscovers his own humanity and begins to repair his relationship with Liesl.

As with all Anderson movies, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a mix of whimsy, deadpan comedy, and emotional truth, set in Anderson’s distinctive, colorful, and surreal world, and stacked with a cast of both Anderson regulars and new players that this time includes Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray (as God, of course). Anderson, del Toro, Threapleton, Johansson, Cera, and Cranston were on hand recently for a press conference about the film, and Moviefone was there to get the details.

Related Article: Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera and More Talk ‘The Phoenician Scheme’

1) The Main Character Was Inspired by Wes Anderson’s Father-In-Law

Wes Anderson says that the movie’s protagonist, business tycoon Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, was based partially on his father-in-law, a Lebanese businessman named Fouad Malouf to whom the movie is dedicated.

Wes Anderson: I had a sort of idea of a tycoon, a Euro-tycoon, like somebody who would’ve been in an Antonioni movie or something. I did have this idea that he was probably hurting, that he was going to be in physical distress. Somehow, that was the image, of this guy who you sort of can’t kill, and he has a very expensive watch, something like that. But in the course of time, it started mixing with my father-in-law, my wife’s father, Fouad, who was an engineer and a businessman and he had all these different projects in different places. He was a kind, warm person, but very intimidating, and he had all his business in these shoeboxes. He walked [my wife] through his work at a certain point, because he thought if he is not able to see everything through, she needs to know what he’s got. And her reaction was what [Mia’s character says] in the movie: “This is just crazy.” So it was a mixture of those two things.

2) The Opening Credits Sequence Was Shot In Slow Motion

For the sequence that plays under the opening credits – a single take filmed from overhead in which an injured Zsa-zsa recovers from his wounds in a bath as a fleet of nurses tend to him – Benicio del Toro says that Wes Anderson proposed a strange way to shoot it.

Benicio del Toro: I sat in the bathtub and Wes walked up to me and he said, “We’re gonna shoot this in slow motion.” And I said, “Oh, cool”…And then he said, “But I need everyone to act really fast.” And now I went, “Wait a second, if we’re gonna act fast and you’re gonna be doing it in slow motion, doesn’t that cancel the slow motion? Let’s do it in normal speed.” And he said, “No, no, no, no, it’s gonna be different.” And then I got to see it after he put it together. We were there for a long time ’cause it was all done in one take. We did it, I don’t know, like, 30 times? It was a lot of moving pieces. There’s a lot of nurses, I think six or seven, they’re doing different things…But basically, I think that when you see it, it’s unique.

3) Mia Threapleton Did A Lot Of Research To Play A Nun

To prepare for her role as Liesl, Zsa-zsa’s estranged daughter who has become a nun, Mia Threapleton dove into studying Catholicism before heading to the shoot at Studio Babelsberg in Berlin.

Mia Threapleton: I had, I think, three months from the time of finding out that I had been offered the job to when I landed in Berlin. So that felt like a good amount of time to just get claws-deep into this as much as I can. Which included, but was not limited to, talking to a deacon of a Catholic church, going to Rome — because I had to go there for a fitting — absorbing as much Catholicism that was there, and reading the Bible, chatting with Wes about portions of the Bible…I did send [Wes] my little to-do list of things that I was doing and he said, “Yes, this all looks very, very good.”

4) This Was Michael Cera’s First Wes Anderson Filmmaking Experience

A new member to the Wes Anderson stable of players is ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ star Michael Cera, who recalled his initial rehearsals with Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and the director.

Michael Cera: It was really the first time we’d all met, and it was just like developing a sense of our little team, our little unit. We did rehearse and we read the scenes, but I mostly remember our lunches together, and just getting our little rhythm going together. For me, it was sort of the first time saying the lines out loud and trying the accent — kind of like lightly getting in, dipping into it slowly. But it didn’t kind of get up to speed until we started, I feel like. And then we just picked our lane.

5) Mia Threapleton’s Veil Originated With Tableware

While doing costume tests for her role as Liesl, who is a nun, Mia Threapleton says she came upon a very unusual inspiration for her veil.

Mia Threapleton: There was some sort of mock nun habit, and some polite little plimsoll shoes, and it was very nice. But the one thing that was missing was a proper veil. I think all we had were nurse’s caps or something like that and [Wes] just was like, nah, it’s not quite right. It was reaching the end of the day, and we were trying to figure out how to make this work. I looked over to the coffee table and there was a napkin from lunch that was not stained with anything, so I said, “Does anybody have any hair pins?” I quickly pinned this thing to my head, and Wes came over and [he adjusted it], and took a photo of it, and that’s apparently where the veil came from.

6) Wes Anderson Creates Characters With Actors In Mind

Over the years, Wes Anderson has assembled a top-shelf troupe of actors who regularly appear in his movies, from Bill Murray to Owen Wilson to Scarlett Johansson (now on her third Anderson outing) to Jeff Goldblum. Anderson says that he (and frequent co-writer Roman Coppola) wrote several parts in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ with specific performers in mind.

Wes Anderson: The part for Scarlett we did think, okay, if Scarlett will do this, then we had her in mind for that. Bryan and Tom Hanks together, I think the characters partly came out of imagining them as much as it was the other way around. And Benicio too. So, yeah, many of the roles we sort of cast ’em as we go, and I tend to also, as soon as we have the idea, I tend to send the email and say, “this could be like maybe October” or something like that and try to get on the books if they’ll have me.

7) A Wes Anderson Script Requires Time and Concentration To Read

Bryan Cranston says that Anderson’s screenplays are so packed with details and information that a quick read is not only not possible, but not recommended.

Bryan Cranston: Until you see the cartoon, as Wes puts it, the animatic — the full animatic film that he voices all the characters on — until you actually see that, it’s not always clear where he’s going, because the scripts are very dense in detail. There is no skimming in a Wes Anderson-Roman Coppola script. And oftentimes, I go, wait, what was that? If you miss one little bit, it’s not going to track, so you have to really read them carefully to understand. That’s probably why you read it three or four times.

8) Benicio del Toro Wanted To Cut Dialogue – But Couldn’t Figure Out What To Cut

Benicio del Toro is in just about every scene in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ and delivers reams of dialogue as Zsa-zsa Korda. But when he tried to reduce the amount of lines he had to say, he couldn’t make it work.

Benicio del Toro: There were a couple moments where I went up to Wes and I said, “Well, maybe we can take this dialogue out.” And then I went back to it, and it wasn’t as good. So I had to go up to him and go like, “I think you need to put it back, ’cause we’re passing information that I think you need.” But that’s why I couldn’t join these people every day for dinner. I had to go up into my room and talk to myself, you know?

9) Wes Anderson’s Films Are Not As ‘Calculated’ As They Look

Even though Wes Anderson’s movies all share a look and stylization that makes them easily recognizable as his work, Scarlett Johansson says that within Anderson’s carefully composed framing and designs there is still lots of room for the actors to experiment.

Scarlett Johansson: The blocking may be specific, and the camera moves are specifically what they need to be, and there’s sometimes a timing element to it, which is a little bit more, I don’t want to say restrictive, but it’s just particular, I guess. But then the performances, I think [Wes is] very playful within that, because he’s just enjoying it and encouraging variety. I’ve gotten some questions when we’ve done press for Wes’s films, and it seems that it comes across that everything is so calculated. But I think the actual process of it doesn’t feel that way at all. Maybe, again, because the camera moves are very calculated, and sometimes there’s specific props and all of that stuff, and the edit is very sharp, it gives it a feeling that it’s so calculated, but I don’t think the performances are. If it becomes so calculated it doesn’t work, because then it feels like a schtick or something.

10) What Is ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Really About?

Wes Anderson says that he doesn’t always know what he’s trying to say with his movies, and that it sometimes takes seeing the completed film for him to understand what it’s about.

Wes Anderson: After making the movie and seeing it when we have it all put together, then I think sometimes you realize what you had in mind, but you’re not totally conscious of it. I told my agent my theory, and he was like, “That’s obvious — of course that’s what the movie is. I don’t understand, how could you not know that?” But I didn’t realize it was obvious. I think the whole story of the movie, this whole mission that [Zsa-Zsa] goes on in our movie, he’s being confronted with the possibility of his death again and again. And what he thinks he has is a business plan that he wants to make sure goes through. But I think maybe from the beginning, in a way, his whole business plan is really a mechanism for him to get back together with [his daughter]. He’s acting like he’s making her his successor, and really, it’s more about what’s going to happen between the two of them right now. The business plan almost becomes like a ritual for him to be reunited with his daughter, and in that sense, his plan goes great.

What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?

Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Phoenician Scheme?

• Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda
• Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl
• Michael Cera as Bjørn Lund
• Riz Ahmed as Prince Farouk
• Tom Hanks as Leland
• Bryan Cranston as Reagan
• Mathieu Amalric as Marseille Bob
• Richard Ayoade as Sergio
• Jeffrey Wright as Marty
• Scarlett Johansson as Cousin Hilda
• Benedict Cumberbatch as Uncle Nubar
• Rupert Friend as Excaliber
• Hope Davis as Mother Superior
• Bill Murray as God
• Charlotte Gainsbourg as 1st Wife
• Willem Dafoe as Knave
• F. Murray Abraham as Prophet

(L to R) Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda, Michael Cera as Bjorn and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in director Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

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