The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

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Wes Anderson Director previously directed The Royal Tenenbaums

This film is a comedic homage to Jacques-Yves Cousteau. It follows Steve Zissou as he tries to get his failing career back on track, connect with his estranged son Ned Plimpton, save his marriage and most importantly exact revenge on the "Jaguar shark" that ate his partner Esteban.
Reference: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The credits sequence is similar and almost mimicking Buckaroo Banzai's

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Quote: Steve Zissou

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.

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Writers
Cast
Bill Murray Steve Zissou
Owen Wilson Ned Plimpton
Cate Blanchett Jane Winslett-Richardson
Anjelica Huston Eleanor Zissou
Willem Dafoe Klaus Daimler
Jeff Goldblum Alistair Hennessey
Michael Gambon Oseary Drakoulias
Noah Taylor Vladimir Wolodarsky
Bud Cort Bill Ubell
Seu Jorge Pelé dos Santos
See Full Credits

Overview

The Life Aquatic is the most expensive Wes Anderson project to date, as well as the most polarizing. There is an original soundtrack by Mark Mothersbaugh and Seu Jorge, as well as a licensed soundtrack consisting of various David Bowie songs, including Queen Bitch.    

Plot

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Anderson’s 4th film, about a washed up oceanographer and documentary maker Steve Zissou ( Bill Murray). His crew is eccentric and varied, including Klaus Daimler ( Willem Dafoe), his wife, Etheline ( Anjelica Huston), and 8 others. After the premiere of the first part of his new film, which includes footage of his life long friend Esteban being killed by a shark from an unknown species, Steve is confronted by Ned Plimpton ( Owen Wilson), who is presumably Steve’s son. Ned’s mom just died, and he just wanted to meet Steve.

Steve invites Ned to join his crew and help him kill the shark that ate his friend. Ned agrees to go, along with a pregnant journalist ( Cate Blanchett), so that Steve can get some publicity. When the expedition is attacked by pirates, the crew must travel to an abandoned island resort to save their "bond company stooge" ( Bud Cort).
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General Information Edit
Name The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
US Release Dec. 10, 2004
UK Release
AUS Release
Runtime 118
Language(s)
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English
Genre(s)
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Comedy
Drama
Adventure
Theme(s)
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Rating R
Alias(es)
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  • In today's dollars
    Domestic $24,020,403
    Foreign +10,788,000
  • = total worldwide gross $34,808,403
  • - a reported budget of $50,000,000
  • = a -30.4% net profit of $-15,191,597
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