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Wes Anderson attends Focus Features’ “The Phoenician Scheme” New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Wes Anderson is coming home.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Houston-born and bred director of such hit films as “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Rushmore,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and “Moonrise Kingdom” is returning for a fund-raiser on July 17\u00a0<\/a>that is also a celebration of his career.\u00a0He will be on hand at the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall to introduce five of his short films, including the original “Bottle Rocket,” which became a feature film, as well as “Castello Cavalcanti,” “Hotel Chevalier,” “The Swan,” and “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner.”<\/p>\n When: 7:30 p.m. July 17<\/p>\n Where: Zilka Hall, The Hobby Center, 800 Bagby<\/p>\n Details: $300 (mezzanine); $500 (orchestra); $1000 (Founders Experience); \u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/4xFPX7o<\/a><\/p>\n Also: Doors open for the Founders’ Experience with a Q&A at 6 p.m.; Doors open for all others and live music at 7\u00a0p.m.<\/p>\n REVIVING THE GARDEN OAKS: Non-profit strikes $7.1 million\u00a0deal to preserve Garden Oaks Theater — but only has 90 days to raise the money.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n There will also be music from Houston’s Kelly Doyle Trio.<\/p>\n But the filmmaker isn’t just heading to Houston to show some of his early movies. The event, sponsored by the non-profit Arthouse Houston<\/a>, is a benefit for the historic, Art Deco Garden Oaks Theater, the former cinema turned house of worship that has been under threat of demolition after the Grace Church vacated the premises last September.<\/p>\n Arthouse Houston, formerly the Friends of the River Oaks Theatre, has proposed buying the venue, built in 1947, from the current owners, Heights Investment Fund, for $7.1 million. Whatever funds are raised through the Evening with Wes Anderson will go toward the preservation of the theater and the founding of a new Arts & Film Center.<\/p>\n Anderson even has recorded a video underscoring the architectural importance of the Garden Oaks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Garden Oaks Theater signs are taken down in Houston, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n The night includes a premium Founders Experience admission in which ticket holders will get a\u00a0Q&A with Anderson, a celebratory toast and a signed poster. Top Tier Founder donors, beginning at $100,000, will receive naming rights within the new Arts & Film Center and four complimentary Founders Experience tickets to the Anderson showcase. Founders Experience tickets are $1000 while orchestra seats are going for $500 and the mezzanine seats are $300. Also, there will be food, drinks and an auction.<\/p>\n “Your donation will directly help the effort to preserve one of our few remaining historic\u00a0cinemas and found a new cultural hub where cinema, live performance, production and\u00a0education converge. The restored Garden Oaks can help incubate future generations of\u00a0homegrown filmmakers like Wes Anderson!,” says a\u00a0release provided by Arthouse Houston.<\/p>\n THE CULT CLASSIC WITH HOUSTON ROOTS: The untold story behind Wes Anderson’s ‘Rushmore.’<\/a><\/p>\n Previously, Anderson had been involved with the efforts to save the ’30s-era River Oaks Theater which closed in 2021 but was restored and reopened in 2024.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In February, the organization was given a 90-day deadline to raise the money to purchase the theater. That has since been extended with another $25,000 due next week to push the deadline from June 30 to July 31.<\/p>\n Friends of River Oaks Theatre, DBA Arthouse Houston, is a 501c3 community arts non-profit that sponsors film-related events at various venues around Houston. For more information on the event and tickets, go to\u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/4xFPX7o<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n