Oct. 5, 2007

No, Owen Wilson was not in attendance at the "Darjeeling Limited" press day in Los Angeles and his co-stars did not want to discuss his recent medical emergency, but after one daring reporter brought the subject up with director Wes Anderson, the 800-pound gorilla in the room was finally acknowledged.

Before the reporter can barely get a word out, Anderson interrupts, "Are you going to ask about Owen?"

The reporter then asks Anderson to let everyone know how his creative collaborator on films such as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" is faring.

"The thing is, I don't like to talk about how he is doing, because I've answered that question two billion times," Anderson says. "The real story is when Owen speaks for himself, because all I can do is repeat myself."

And -- as is seemingly becoming more commonplace at these press events -- that was that.

Filmed almost completely in India, "The Darjeeling Limited" follows three brothers, played by Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, as they journey across the continent to meet their secluded and daffy mother (Anjelica Huston) and heal some old family wounds. It's a well-crafted and beautifully filmed picture that earned major box-office receipts while playing on only two screens in New York last weekend.

The production wasn't easy, with many of the scenes shot on a moving train in tremendous heat. The three stars were not familiar with each other before production began, so filming across the world became a tremendous bonding experience.

"I love Owen so much I wanted to try and get him to laugh. I love Adrien so much I wanted to tell him stories," Schwartzman says. "The friendship was efficient, the filmmaking was efficient and the way we lived was efficient, too."

The production was housed in a small hotel, but it was more of a home with everyone staying in one of eight rooms. Schwartzman recalls, "We would go around all day in India. [Afterward, we'd] walk upstairs, have dinner and then go hang out in someone's room and watch a movie. We were all alone in India. Nothing for us to do except be together. A really wonderful experience. I not only got to work with Owen and Adrien, but I got to live with them."

Another benefit was the relative anonymity among the local population, who obviously hadn't seen Wilson's "Wedding Crashers" or Schwartzman's "Rushmore." For Brody, it was a completely different story. The Academy Award-winner for "The Pianist" felt relatively unknown until two weeks before the end of the shoot.

"'King Kong' played on TV and all of a sudden I was the guy who was on 'King Kong' on TV," Brody recalls of his subsequent public excursions. "I have this great picture of me and all of these fans. From one airing of it on TV, everybody caught that episode. I was amazed."

The entire "Darjeeling" experience featured one amazing and emotional event after another. Let's hope the film makes it to DVD in one piece.

"The Darjeeling Limited" is now playing in limited release.

Sound off: Comment on this story | Also: Features archive

Next: 'Lust' Fuels Lee's Return Home