Scarlett Johansson and other actors starstruck to work on Wes Anderson's Asteroid City

LOS ANGELES - Wes Anderson's new film, Asteroid City, will tick many boxes for fans of the quirky American writer-director, who is known for his retro aesthetic, oddball characters and bone-dry humour.

Opening in Singapore cinemas on Thursday, the comedy-drama also displays another Anderson trademark: a sprawling, star-studded ensemble cast, with 21 names crammed onto the movie poster.

It is anchored by Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton, with cameos by Margot Robbie and Hanks' wife Rita Wilson.

Set in a quaintly futuristic version of the 1950s, this multi-layered tale follows a recently widowed father who travels with his children to a stargazing event in Asteroid City, a tiny desert town famous for its giant meteor crater.

But the arrival of an alien visitor leads to the town being locked down.

At a virtual press event, Johansson, Hanks and Brody explain why so many actors would kill to work with Anderson, 54.

The film-maker has received seven Oscar nominations - including for Best Director and Best Picture for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - and often works with the same actors repeatedly.

Says Johansson, 38: "What's unique about it is that sense of camaraderie.

"One of the things that touches me about the movie is how supportive all the performances are of one another," says the American actress, who starred in Marvel superhero films such as Black Widow (2021) and was Oscar-nominated for the divorce drama Marriage Story (2019) and war satire Jojo Rabbit (2019).

"Every performance stands out, but they make this beautiful orchestra (with) all the pieces together," adds Johansson, who in this movie plays Midge, an actress who befriends grieving dad Augie (Schwartzman).

And while actors often find themselves twiddling their thumbs between takes, Anderson's sets are different.

"A lot of time you're on set, it's a lot of waiting and downtime. And you lose momentum and it makes you question what you're doing with your life," she says.

"This doesn't have that at all - it's so vivacious and feels so exciting."

Hanks, who plays Augie's father-in-law Stanley, agrees.

"You know those old movies about Hollywood, where they're on the (studio) lot and somebody's a cowboy, and there's a show girl, and there's a Roman gladiator?

"That's what it's like," says the 67-year-old American actor, who took home Oscars for the dramas Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994).

"We're all in our costumes all day long; and we're on hold and ready to go to work on a set that's incredibly focused and concentrated."

Brody - who plays the director of a play about Asteroid City - has appeared in four other Anderson films, including The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch (2021).

The film-maker and his cast made quite the scene whenever they drove to set on this movie, which was shot in the United States and Spain.

"We all stay in the same hotel and several of us will hop on a golf cart with Wes - fully dressed and in character, and so there'll be an alien and a cowboy and some children hanging off the back," says the 50-year-old American star, who won an Oscar for the war drama The Pianist (2002).

"And we make our way in a golf cart on the edge of the road and through town, and arrive at this magnificent set that is just as spectacular as it looks in the movie."

But Anderson's formidable reputation and attention to detail made some cast members question if he would listen to any of their suggestions.

Like other first-time "inductees to the Wes Anderson gravy train", Hanks admits that he "wondered if we got to have ideas".

"So we asked some of the veterans and they said yes."

Anderson took one of Hanks' suggestions for the first scene they worked on - and the star was so thrilled, he called home right away with the news.

But as convivial as the atmosphere on Anderson's sets is, the director's perfectionism is undeniable, the actor adds.

"There's nobody who works harder at this than Wes. And it takes 60 takes in order to get down to it.

"I know a lot of guys who say, 'Take 3 is the truth I'm looking for', and then we move on. It's not the case with this."

• Asteroid City opens in cinemas on Thursday.