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SYNOPSIS
Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. Chas started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of fifty thousand dollars in the ninth grade. Richie was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault.

"The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.

BEHIND THE FILM
Wes Anderson and his writing partner, Owen Wilson, wrote the screenplay for "The Royal Tenenbaums" over the course of a year. Anderson describes the Tenenbaum family by saying, "We had the idea of a family of geniuses, each member being exceptional and adept at a particular skill. But family life was so awful that it left each of the children as they grew older particularly ill-suited to deal with any of the problems that most people are able to handle."

Owen Wilson says "What the story says is that even though everyone goes through hell with their family, still - as corny as it sounds - family members are still the ones you have to be close to, and really the only ones who will understand what you're going through. We don't balk at showing some of the rough stuff families endure, but we show in the end that it's worth it."

Anderson and Wilson are the duo behind the critically acclaimed films, "Bottle Rocket" and "Rushmore." Incorporating many of the cast and crew from their previous films made working on "The Royal Tenenbaums" feel like old home week for some of the cast, including actor/funny man Bill Murray. Murray plays Gwyneth Paltrow's neurologist husband, Raleigh St. Clair. "The sad thing I'd like to say is, I'm in this movie about a family of geniuses, but I'm an in-law." Speaking seriously on the film's meaning, Murray adds, "It's about a family which has everything going for it but still ends up being deeply troubled. I think most families have everything going for them, so it's not much of a reach to say it's every family. A child's love is a very powerful thing. Parents have a responsibility to deal with it carefully."

Producer Scott Rudin believes that "The Royal Tenenbaums" is a step above Anderson and Wilson's previous films. Rudin states, "I think 'The Royal Tenenbaums' represents a big advance over Wes' earlier films in terms of complex, fully developed, sophisticated adult relationships." Rudin adds, "The relationship between irony and emotion is unique here. Most films tend to use irony to distance you. This film uses irony to bring you in emotionally."

Wes Anderson's inspiration for the film has its roots in his personal vision of New York. Owen states, "Wes wanted to try to do a big ensemble movie and wanted to do something that would involve New York. But New York in a romantic way that doesn't really exist." Anderson pulled elements from New York's literary history and combined them into his characters' personalities, temperaments, and habits. Anderson notes that authors such as Joseph Mitchell, J.D. Salinger, and E. B. White all provided inspiration for the film. According to Anderson, "The movie's about New York but from the perspective of someone who has come to the city with enthusiasm, not somebody who has known the city his whole life. It is much more of a dream idea."