We’ve talked before about how a lot of big movie directors got their start doing music videos and TV commercials. Lately, there seems to be an interesting trend where companies hire well-established directors to direct a commercial, in the hopes of getting something rather unique and attention-grabbing. The latest filmmaker to “sell his soul” and direct one of these epic TV commercials is none other than Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), hocking good ol’ American Express plastic. I had read about this a few days ago but for some reason was under the impression it was an old commercial. However, I can confirm that a shortened version has been airing on TV quite frequently this week. Interestingly, the commercial is like a short Wes Anderson film starring himself as well as Jason Schwartzman and (I believe) the guy with the turban who was in The Life Aquatic. It’s filled with all kinds of Wes Anderson touches and his patented dry sense of humour. You can watch the full version of the video at the link below in Quicktime (or if that’s too slow, catch it on YouTube instead).