Wes Anderson Talks Strikes & Controversial Roald Dahl Book Edits: “I Don’t Even Want The Artist To Modify Their Work” — Venice
01.09.2023 - 11:05
/ deadline.com
Wes Anderson arrived on the Lido this morning with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, his second film of the year and his latest Roald Dahl adaptation following 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The 40-minute feature debuts this evening at Venice out of competition, and at the official press conference this morning, Anderson was asked about his opinion on recent efforts from Roald Dahl’s publishers to edit now-offensive material out of his work.
“I’m probably the worst person to ask about this because if you ask me if Renoir should be allowed to touch up one of his pictures, I would say no. It’s done,” Anderson said.
“I don’t even want the artist to modify their work. I understand the motivation for it, but I’m in the school where when the piece of work is done we participate in it. We know it. So I think when it’s done, it’s done.”
Anderson added: “And certainly no one who is not an author should be modifying somebody’s book. He’s dead.”
In February, Publisher Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, announced that it had edited Roald Dahl’s books in an effort to reflect more inclusive language. Titles like James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have been altered by modifying words that are now deemed offensive.
In a statement at the time, Puffin said the changes were made so that the books “can continue to be enjoyed by all today.”
Anderson’s Henry Sugar is based on a short story contained in a 1977 Dahl short story collection. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character alongside Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend, and Richard Ayoade.
Despite the A-list ensemble, Anderson appeared alone at this morning’s presser. Produced with Netflix, the pic