Filmmaker Wes Anderson has tackled the animation genre with his lovely stop-motion pics “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Isle of Dogs.” Although, he has revealed a deep love for one of the most popular sci-fi anime franchises as Anderson mentioned to Goop that he was enthralled with the Japanese anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion” from 1995-1996. 

“This is a Japanese cartoon that is very difficult to describe and might not sound that great if I tried anyway. It is 24 episodes, and we watched them all in less than a week because you start to want to believe it’s real. This could spawn something like Scientology,” Anderson told Gwyneth Paltrow for a directors’ list of favorite DVD rentals for her website Goop. 

The quote was spotted by IndieWire and added to their list of Wes Anderson’s favorite films.

Once upon a time, a live-action “Neon Genesis Evangelion” movie was in development with Peter Jackson‘s Weta Workshop hired to come up with a bunch of neat concept artwork that went nowhere. A director was never attached despite the hiring of Weta and was placed into limbo due to various legal battles entangling the rights. It’s yet another what-if project alongside Jackson’s live-action “Halo” movie he tried to make with newcomer director Neill Blomkamp at 20th Century Fox before they pivoted to make “District 9” when “Halo” dissolved. 

Maybe, one day, Wes Anderson will attempt his own “Pacific Rim“-type project (animated?) like Guillermo del Toro before he retires from filmmaking. His latest pic “The French Dispatch” hit the Cannes Film Festival last week and is gearing up to shoot his next film, starring Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray, later this year in Spain.

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION – When the Angels start attacking the planet Earth in the year 2015, only a handful of 14-year-old EVA pilots are able to stop them. Young Shinji Ikari suddenly finds himself forced to pilot EVA-01, a giant organic mecha, designed and constructed by NERV, that is the only thing that can stop the Angels.”

SOURCE: GOOP