Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom provided lighthearted comedy in summer that was chock-full of action tentpole films. Recently, the director has been courting a variety of names to join him for his new film The Grand Budapest Hotel. Johnny Depp and Jude Law – neither one of them have ever worked with the director – have signed on for unspecified roles. Frequent collaborators Edward Norton and Owen Wilson have been confirmed to have parts in the film as well. Now there is word that Bill Murray – another frequent collaborator of Anderson’s work – and Murder She Wrote star Angela Lansbury will join the cast as well.

In an interview with Vulture, Murray confirmed that he does have a part in the film and that production will take place in Germany. However, the actor did not elaborate on what kind of role he has in the film.

In a separate interview with the UK Magazine, The Gentle Woman (via The Film Stage), Lansbury confirmed that she has a role in the film and went as far as dropping a few hints to describe her character.

“I’m playing a woman of mystery, it’s a minuscule role. I’m on the screen probably for less than 5 minutes.”

Like I said, only a few hints. Lansbury may say that her role is “minuscule,” but she may have the most important role in the film from a contextual point of view.

The only names that are left on Anderson’s shortlist are: Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, and Willem Dafoe. We’ll have to wait and see if their schedule allows them to be a part of Anderson’s latest ensemble. The Grand Budapest Hotel is expected to begin principal photography later this year, which means we could be seeing the film late 2013.

[Source: Vulture | The Film Stage]