We all know Wes Anderson has his repertoire of actors: Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and on and on and on. And over the course of his career, they have all grown accustomed to – and perfectly fit – his signature style. But that’s really hard to do early on, when none of this has been established and you’re just trying to get that first film completed. Now imagine doing it while a sometimes short-tempered Oscar nominee watches it all unfold.

Wes Anderson recalled that when making his first movie, James Caan didn’t understand just what this rinky-dink, $5 million production was even going for. “I remember James Caan came to the set of Bottle Rocket, and he was really saying, ‘What are you guys doing?’ We were doing things that he thought, ‘This is not how movies are made,’ but he sort of adapted to us.”

Wes Anderson...