What do you think?
Asteroid City
The screenplay of the new film by Wes Anderson.
ASTEROID CITY (adapted from a "hypothetical" play) takes place in a fictional desert town, circa 1955. the itinerary of the annual Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. A theatrical ensemble character piece; a poetic meditation on the meaning of life.
The film stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Jake Ryan, among others.
This edition features the complete screenplay, 8 pages of full-color images, and a conversation about the film with Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Jake Ryan.
ASTEROID CITY (adapted from a "hypothetical" play) takes place in a fictional desert town, circa 1955. the itinerary of the annual Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. A theatrical ensemble character piece; a poetic meditation on the meaning of life.
The film stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Jake Ryan, among others.
This edition features the complete screenplay, 8 pages of full-color images, and a conversation about the film with Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Jake Ryan.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2023
About the author
Wes Anderson
49 books410 followersWesley Wales Anderson is an American director, writer, and producer of features, short films and commercials. He was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 28, 2023
i bought this screenplay in the hopes that it would help me understand the movie slightly more. it did not. 5 stars
August 7, 2023
no thoughts just jason schwartzman
August 21, 2023
The book of the script of the movie about a TV show about the making of the play.
Am I playing him right?
Am I playing him right?
Want to Read
July 29, 2025my dad bought me this lol
August 17, 2023
Aaaaaaand now I’m due for a rewatch! This film and screenplay just have so much to say and I know I am going to take something different away each time.
February 6, 2024
“What’s it about? The play?” “Infinity, and I don’t know what else.”
August 5, 2023
“I guess the way I read it: he was looking for an excuse why his heart was beating so fast.”
A sprawling cast of characters in Wes Anderson’s best film that briskly jumps between reverie, art, and reality. While most try to imitate Anderson’s author- and craftsmanship with an A.I, Asteroid City with its layered depths and scenes that wonderfully stick has proven that task is quite impossible.
The true American movie of the year, beating Oppenheimer by little.
A sprawling cast of characters in Wes Anderson’s best film that briskly jumps between reverie, art, and reality. While most try to imitate Anderson’s author- and craftsmanship with an A.I, Asteroid City with its layered depths and scenes that wonderfully stick has proven that task is quite impossible.
The true American movie of the year, beating Oppenheimer by little.
August 25, 2026
came to this off of Camp Miasma b/c "Schoenbrun unleashes an outpouring of imagination and invention that places the film on a level of intricacy and extravagance comparable to that of Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City”" (thank u Richard Brody ! We disagree often but not on Shoenbrun!). And also: "when a director makes a film about filmmaking, pay attention: it’s a sign that the movie, however grand or stylized it may be, is also deeply personal, tapping into the nerve center of the maker’s creative drive and self-image." .
Is asteroid city about filmmaking? Kind of, sort of, maybe. But it is about artifice ("I still don't understand the play"). anderson stages the Stage to.... what? "throughout this and subsequent scenes, a slightly stunned/dazzled quality of uncertainty and disbelief informs the speech, department, and expression of the entire cast" . "What?" and then "what does that mean?".
in the preface, anderson mentions Didion's magical thinking: "even though you can say 'Yes, he's gone, she's gone', your body, nevertheless, can't accept it. It changes the reality too much'. Augie (the character) loses his wife, the actor playing augie loses his playwright. "What?" And then "what does that mean?". Earps death bookends the script as Augies wife opens it. We go back, "what?" And then, "what does that mean?". The alien comes back "alone in a bright spotlight". Earp, dead and alive, revived for one scene, "laughs, confused/enchanted". everyone is taking stock. Good stuff !
Is asteroid city about filmmaking? Kind of, sort of, maybe. But it is about artifice ("I still don't understand the play"). anderson stages the Stage to.... what? "throughout this and subsequent scenes, a slightly stunned/dazzled quality of uncertainty and disbelief informs the speech, department, and expression of the entire cast" . "What?" and then "what does that mean?".
in the preface, anderson mentions Didion's magical thinking: "even though you can say 'Yes, he's gone, she's gone', your body, nevertheless, can't accept it. It changes the reality too much'. Augie (the character) loses his wife, the actor playing augie loses his playwright. "What?" And then "what does that mean?". Earps death bookends the script as Augies wife opens it. We go back, "what?" And then, "what does that mean?". The alien comes back "alone in a bright spotlight". Earp, dead and alive, revived for one scene, "laughs, confused/enchanted". everyone is taking stock. Good stuff !
October 5, 2025
In a way, better than the film(??) ☄️
October 19, 2025
it was so fun to pick up this screenplay and read it along the movie!
June 25, 2026
strangely the wes anderson movie i've seen the most and now the only one i've read the screenplay for. i still don't for the life of me understand the sleep scene except that it communicates the terrifying energy of avant garde theatre classes. the woodrow/augie/sisters/tom hanks grief storyline is very sweet on the page. i think it's also sweet in the film! but in written form, it doesn't bear as much of an influence of anderson's directing style towards clinical whimsy so the sentiment reads clearer.
July 18, 2026
Deception, grief, unresolved personal issues: the story of the USA.
December 10, 2023
at first it was a bit confusing and i found it hard to get into but once i did i really loved it. i’m ready to watch the movie now
July 29, 2023
Aside from a brief introductory discussion and an "Additional Scene" included after the play's conclusion (which I should note is not the Bill Murray one that was released as promotional material around the time of the film's release), it's perhaps no great surprise that this is more or less precisely what ended up on screen.
Having seen the film a couple of times now, I only noticed a couple of minor changes. What's presented as a tender embrace between Earp and Hill in the film is left marginally more ambiguous on the page. Certain lines from the script seem likely to have been excised in the edit - perhaps in the interest of streamlining things, and perhaps due to the fact that no additional clarity was needed or desired. And, probably most tellingly, the brief appearance of Bryan Cranston's "Host" character in the Technicolor Asteroid City backdrop seems to have been added in the moment, as it doesn't exist here at all that I could tell.
Really glad I picked this up, it's a nice hardcover presentation, and the script - like all of the other stuff I've read by Anderson (and his collaborator Roman Coppola) - absolutely flies by.
Having seen the film a couple of times now, I only noticed a couple of minor changes. What's presented as a tender embrace between Earp and Hill in the film is left marginally more ambiguous on the page. Certain lines from the script seem likely to have been excised in the edit - perhaps in the interest of streamlining things, and perhaps due to the fact that no additional clarity was needed or desired. And, probably most tellingly, the brief appearance of Bryan Cranston's "Host" character in the Technicolor Asteroid City backdrop seems to have been added in the moment, as it doesn't exist here at all that I could tell.
Really glad I picked this up, it's a nice hardcover presentation, and the script - like all of the other stuff I've read by Anderson (and his collaborator Roman Coppola) - absolutely flies by.
September 29, 2024
Reading the script has really cemented how special this movie is to me. I really love it but not in a “it’s so perfect, I love it” way. More like “Even in its faults, it means something to me. I really love it.”
So with that out of the way… SPOILER BY THE WAY
Wes Anderson made a really weird choice when directing the actors of Asteroid City. In the movie all the performances seem to bleed into each other in a stoic and deadpan manner (some would call that the Wes Andersonism of it).
I was expecting that sort of thing to have carried over from the script, but no, the script actually communicates the emotion that each character is feeling in regard to their backstory or conflict. I loved it. Characters that were robbed as a result of this were Woodrow, Angie, Stanley, and surprisingly Clifford.
Also… something about Margot Robbie’s monologue reads better than it sounds.
So with that out of the way… SPOILER BY THE WAY
Wes Anderson made a really weird choice when directing the actors of Asteroid City. In the movie all the performances seem to bleed into each other in a stoic and deadpan manner (some would call that the Wes Andersonism of it).
I was expecting that sort of thing to have carried over from the script, but no, the script actually communicates the emotion that each character is feeling in regard to their backstory or conflict. I loved it. Characters that were robbed as a result of this were Woodrow, Angie, Stanley, and surprisingly Clifford.
Also… something about Margot Robbie’s monologue reads better than it sounds.
December 31, 2024
Read (past tense; tangent, past tense of lead is led while the previously mentioned read is spelled unchanged, why?) while watching the movie. Educationally relevant to an ever-growing foundational screenwriting mind like yours truly. The biggest revelation was the comparison from script to screen. Simple dialogue improvisation was expected, but there were a few scenes that were completely written out. I'm curious and somewhat apprehensive as to why, but I ask too much, and I'm sure there is a designated answer.
Adding to that, extra features from outside the screenplay, cast/crew conversations, gallery of images, and an additional scene were included in the book, which was tasteful.
Adding to that, extra features from outside the screenplay, cast/crew conversations, gallery of images, and an additional scene were included in the book, which was tasteful.
December 28, 2024
As a film fan, I love seeing behind the scenes of films, whether that’s reading scripts or going to exhibitions featuring props, costumes, and photography of the project.
Wes Anderson is one of the most iconic and recognisable directors for his style, and Asteroid City is another of his great films.
There’s not much to add as the book is literally the script of the film, but it’s a much loved addition to my collection.
The humour and bluntness shine through and it was funny visualising Wes Anderson’s style within my own mind.
Wes Anderson is one of the most iconic and recognisable directors for his style, and Asteroid City is another of his great films.
There’s not much to add as the book is literally the script of the film, but it’s a much loved addition to my collection.
The humour and bluntness shine through and it was funny visualising Wes Anderson’s style within my own mind.
May 10, 2025
I've never been a huge fan of reading screenplays but this was one of the best gifts I've received. I loved the seeing the movie in theaters and being able to relive it through the screenplay was excellent. Wes Anderson clearly has his signature stylized story telling and the screenplay gives a deeper look into the actions of the character. Easy 5/5
March 3, 2026
Reading the script gives a much richer insight into the dark story of grief told throughout this narrative; the darkness being quite overshadowed within the film because of the bright and larger than life aesthetic and visual tone.
Gives greater revelation to what the initial aim of the piece was in the first place.
Gives greater revelation to what the initial aim of the piece was in the first place.
June 1, 2026
One of my favorite movies with the wonderful script being an important part of my love for it!
“I’d like to make a scene where all my characters are each gently/privately seduced into the deepest, dreamiest slumber of their lives as a result of their shared experience of a bewildering and bedazzling celestial mystery”
Beautiful stuff!
“I’d like to make a scene where all my characters are each gently/privately seduced into the deepest, dreamiest slumber of their lives as a result of their shared experience of a bewildering and bedazzling celestial mystery”
Beautiful stuff!
August 6, 2023
Loved the movie loved this and it's v pretty to look at :)
August 11, 2023
This is -- by miles -- the greatest screenplay I've ever read in my life. Each dialogue has so much depth to it.
August 19, 2023
Masterpiece. So complex under the surface, and so full of emotion and feeling.
August 28, 2023
Yes I read a published book version of a movie script
October 14, 2023
Loved the movie, loved the screenplay!
November 9, 2023
Basically one of the biggest masterpieces i've ever experienced. Film and book...
November 16, 2023
The June and Montana lore 🥲
November 23, 2023
So so so perfect; Wes Anderson’s script is a masterclass in writing screenplays
January 7, 2024
My first screenplay. Just as awesome written down:
February 11, 2024
Really cool to see how accurate this was to what ended up on screen—down to fine details and slight movements. Loved the interview/roundtable talk introduction. Time for a rewatch!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews