The two directors Jane Fonda would do anything to work with
Jane Fonda is perhaps one of her generation’s most iconic actors, with achievements spanning her roles on-screen, off-Broadway and activism work. It seems she has done it all, winning Tony awards for her performance in There Was a Little Girl and Academy Awards after starring in the likes of Klute and Coming Home, also being nominated for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They and Julie. However, despite the long and glittering list of accolades and achievements, Fonda still has two directors on her bucket list that she’d kill to work with.
Fonda has worked with some of the most influential directors of all time, collaborating with Paolo Sorrentino, Sydney Pollack, Roger Vadim, Hal Ashby and Jean-Luc Godard. But the work of the actor is never done, and many people in the performing arts find that they are never satisfied with their work and develop an infinite itch to try something new. And when describing the directors that Fonda still has on her bucket list, she first listed the infamous auteur Wes Anderson.
At first, it’s hard to imagine Fonda within Anderson’s world, but perhaps this is why it would work. Known for his whacky and eccentric style that combines peculiarity with intense symmetry and order, the director has a curated a huge body of work that follows bakers, criminals and aliens, frequently working with actors like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman.
When asked about her career bucket list, Fonda said, “What I want is for Wes Anderson to come along and cast me in something that I never, ever would have thought of for myself”. If there’s anyone that could surprise Fonda, it would be the quirky world of Wes Anderson, in which she’d imaginably end up voicing a stop-motion farm animal or something.
But in complete contrast to the sweet and endearing world of Wes Anderson, Fonda also described her fascination with the work of Quentin Tarantino and intrigue in starring in one of his films. The independent director is most well-known for his sprawling storylines, fast-paced dialogue and extreme violence, often working with Samuel L Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio. He is rumoured to be working on a film about the life of legendary film critic Pauline Kael, with few details being released about the status of the project and when it might be released.
When asked about which role she could see herself playing in one of his films, she replied, “Whatever he wanted”. Anderson’s work is fairly twee compared to the blood and gore on display in the likes of Inglorious Basterds and Pulp Fiction, and admittedly, the image of Fonda participating in his extremely violent stories is quite a funny one.
However, the actor is no stranger to stunts and action, and after shooting Barbarella in 1968, perhaps she would be the perfect addition to the Tarantino universe. There is no doubt that her vast experience and magnetic screen presence would serve well within his electrifying story worlds, so perhaps this goal is closer than we may predict.
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