Video: The Royal Tenenbaums with Pop Hits of the Day

Talkhouse Film's very own Kentucker Audley swaps out vintage cuts for a little Staind and Creed as he reimagines Wes Anderson's 2001 magnum opus.

By Kentucker Audley

6:00 AM EST on November 30, 2017

Wes Anderson is good at picking weird old songs for his movies but not great at using the top hits of the day to express his vision. For his 2001 masterpiece, The Royal Tenenbaums, he chose to include songs from obscure bands like Nico and the Clash. But wouldn’t it have been much better to use music from the likes of Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul? After all, they were some of the most popular bands of the time. Well, that’s what I’m out to prove with this video essay. I’ve already shown without a shadow of a doubt this is true for Wes Anderson’s previous movie, Rushmore. Closing the film with "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette packs way more of a punch than "Oh La La" by the Faces. And the same is true with The Royal Tenenbaums. Just imagine how much of an audience it could have attracted if it had appealed to the fanbases of Staind and Creed, just to name a few. I won’t keep you waiting any longer, please enjoy my new mashup video set to the radio soundtrack of 2001. What a great time it was for music, not dissimilar in quality to the pop classics of today.

Kentucker Audley

Kentucker Audley is a filmmaker, film programmer, actor and (former) Movies hat salesman. His debut album, Old Amateur, is now out. His latest film, Strawberry Mansion (co-directed with Albert Birney), premiered at Sundance 2021. His previous directorial effort, Sylvio (also co-directed with Albert Birney), debuted at SXSW and was named one of the Best 10 Movies of the Year by The New Yorker. As an actor, he's starred in indie films such as Christmas, Again and Sun Don't Shine. He also founded NoBudge and Movies Brand.