Actors Luke Wilson and Wes Anderson, along with Oscar-winning director James L. Brooks, were among six people freed from an elevator at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on Monday evening. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the incident, which occurred around 7:49 PM, and successfully extricated the group within an hour.
The group was reportedly using a "secret passageway/elevator so celebrities can enter and exit without public interference," according to Save Your Cinema. The elevator malfunction happened after a 30th-anniversary screening of Anderson's debut film, "Bottle Rocket."
A video shared on Instagram by Carolyn Dunn showed Anderson asking a firefighter about the cause of the problem, to which the rescuer responded, "Probably too much weight in there." The fire department confirmed the rescue, and representatives for Wilson and Anderson were contacted for comment.
Also present at the event was Owen Wilson, who co-wrote "Bottle Rocket" with Wes Anderson. The 1996 film, starring Luke and Owen Wilson, is a comedy-crime movie about three friends orchestrating a robbery and going on the run.
Reflecting on the film's initial screening in 2023, Wes Anderson told IndieWire that the experience was challenging. "We had 86 people in the audience, I think, and by halfway through about 20 were left, and I watched them leave," he recalled. "You watch somebody get up and you say, 'Maybe this one’s just going to the bathroom. But they’re taking all their bags with them…" He added that the early reception "shaken" his confidence.
Luke Wilson, 54, was last active on Instagram in October 2025, posting about a book. In a 2021 interview with People magazine, the actor spoke about approaching his 50th birthday, noting he was beginning to understand the concept of a "midlife crisis" as he experienced physical soreness and occasional memory lapses.