Hart's autobiography Act One, as well as Hart and Kaufman themselves are also influences, as are stories by F Scott Fitzgerald, plays and journalism by S.N. Berhman, and Louis Malle's "The Fire Within." As well as literary inspirations, there were a number of personal inspirations that Anderson drew on in creating the world of the Tenenbaums.
"Certainly the inspiration for the characters comes from real people that Owen and I have known, people who have influenced us in life, not only family members but also good friends. But it's not really based on my family," Anderson points out. "My father is nothing like the character of Royal. But the way Etheline, the mother in the family, encourages everyone comes from my life, and also the way each of the characters connects to someone else. But the characters themselves are not really based on any one family. They're based on many different kinds of people."
In keeping with the inspirations of the world of New York literature, Anderson says, "I had this idea that rather than the movie being based on a book, the movie would be the book." The novel would function as part of the narrative and the movie would be structured like a novel, divided into chap ters with a narrator leading the audience through the story.
Because of the idea of the movie as a novel, it was important that story would work as a kind of fable, in a magical, literary, cosmopolitan Manhattan. According to Anderson, a native of Texas, "the movie's about New York," but from the perspective of "someone who has come to the city with enthusiasm, not somebody who has known the city his whole life. It is much more of a dream idea" of New York.
Once the screen p lay had been written and the setting established, Anderson set out to cast the film. According to Anderson, "The characters always had to be in the forefront when we were writing, and therefore we felt that what we were writing were eight roles for big stars. The roles are written to be somewhat iconic. And that was why the issue of casting was also so important. We wanted to cast the film with established actors, even in parts that may not have a lot of screen time, because the characters were written as larger-than-life people, people who can be seen as icons. I wanted to cast people who had the necessary presence and force, but who could also function as part of an ensemble."
Central to Anderson's process of writing and his vision of the film was the casting of Gene Hackman in the role of the family patriarch, Royal Tenenbaum.
Once the character was created "Gene Hackman seemed like the only choice for the part," Anderson says. "Usually in an ensemble piece, the central character is a kind of straight man surrounded by a group of eccentrics. In this case, however, he isn't the straight man. He's a wild character, a catalyst, a kind of primal force.
"With Gene Hackman in the role we felt it would be perfect casting. I don't know why—it wasn't as if there was a conscious reason we had our minds set on him. It just always seemed like a natural thing, that we would have him playing Royal. But then everyone else would have to be very strong, just to balance everything out. I don't know what we would have done if Gene turned us down, which he did."
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