Luke Wilson and producer James L. Brooks were also stuck in the elevator but later rescued by the Los Angeles Fire Department
After participating in a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Bottle Rocket on Monday, Wes Anderson found himself trapped in an elevator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The director was trapped in the elevator for roughly 30 minutes, alongside Luke Wilson and producer James L. Brooks, before the Los Angeles Fire Department came to their aid.
Save Your Cinema claimed the elevator was “a secret passageway/elevator so celebrities can enter and exit without” at the Academy Museum, though The Hollywood Reporter was not able to confirm if Anderson had taken an alternative entrance not made available to the public.
Video of the rescue
Carolyn Dunn, a production specialist for 20th Century Fox, did, however, share a video of Anderson and Brooks exiting the elevator on Instagram. In the clip, Anderson can be heard asking the LAFD what went wrong, to which one official responded, “Probably had too much weight in there.”
“Okay, thank you very much,” Anderson replied.
THR has reached out to the Academy Museum and the LAFD for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
About Bottle Rocket
Bottle Rocket marked the Oscar winner’s feature directorial debut. It was released in 1996, and starred Luke and Owen Wilson, with the latter actor also being present for Monday night’s event. Anderson and Owen Wilson penned the script.
Anderson’s most recent feature, The Phoenician Scheme, starred Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright, Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson, and came out in 2025.
