It's about time. And, well, a little late. It would have made perfect sense to release a Criterion Collection DVD of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket last year, when it quietly celebrated its tenth anniversary. But hey, better late than never, right? While promoting his latest film, The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson told MTV Movies Blog that he's begun work on a Criterion edition of his debut feature. The director said there's a lot of stuff to go into it, including a lot of footage that was left on the cutting room floor. And certainly he will have to put his original black-and-white short, also titled Bottle Rocket, on there. For those Anderson fans who haven't seen it, the short is basically just early versions of scenes that ended up in the later film, including the part in which Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Anthony (Luke Wilson) rob Anthony's parents' house -- with the soundtrack set to jazz rather than Love. When I first saw it -- Lincoln Center screened it with The Royal Tenenbaums on the eve of that film's release -- I thought it was a little bit funnier than the full-length. But looking at it now, I just think it's a neat curiosity for the fans. You can check it out on YouTube if you aren't willing to wait to see if Criterion includes it.

Bottle Rocket can feel pretty slow and uneven compared to Anderson's later releases, all of which have already received the Criterion treatment. But the crime caper comedy does feature a younger, funnier Owen Wilson, back when he was even more wide-eyed and excited than we're used to now. And it does at least have the obligatory homages to J.D. Salinger (think of Anthony as a grown-up Holden Caulfield) that links it up with the rest of Anderson's work. The main thing missing, of course, is Bill Murray, who has appeared in all of Anderson's films after this one. Maybe, as I suggested last week, somebody can do a special alternate version in which Murray is inserted into the film, possibly replacing James Caan. That would be a fun bonus feature. Or maybe Anderson and Murray could stage some fake auditions (like the real ones on the Criterion Rushmore) where Murray tests for each of Bottle Rocket's characters. Currently there is no release date, nor any news on the Criterion site, for Bottle Rocket, but hopefully we'll hear more about it soon.

There are many iconic pairings of actor and director: DeNiro and Scorsese; Bogart and Huston; Mifune and Kurosawa; Depp and Burton. One of the best recurring collaborations, though, is Bill Murray and Wes Anderson. The comedic actor appears in almost all of Anderson's movies (maybe one day he can be digitally imposed into Bottle Rocket a la Jabba in Star Wars), including The Darjeeling Limited, which opens tomorrow. I haven't seen the new movie yet, but I did read a great piece about Anderson in this week's New York magazine, and I have to say that Murray and Anderson were made for each other. Whether it is true or not that the filmmaker really had to deliver a suitcase with $14,000 in cash from Murray to a guy named Luigi is beside the point; the story just proves the duo have a fun sense of humor that can involve the other at any given time.

That's why it isn't surprising to learn that Murray will be voicing a character in Anderson's stop-motion-animated film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox (and I don't mean because Murray would avail his voice to anything). MTV Movies Blog chatted with Anderson about the film, which is still a few years in the making, and got other confirmations on its cast of voices. Yes, George Clooney is definitely on board as "Mr. Fox", and also Jason Schwartzman is doing a voice, too. There is no mention, however, of Cate Blanchett or Angelica Huston, both of whom are said to be part of the film. It also wasn't revealed which characters Murray and Schwartzman would be doing. The Fantastic Mr. Fox will be Murray and Anderson's fifth movie together (and Schwartzman's fourth with the director, if you count shorts), and will likely be far from the last. The film also reunites Anderson with his Life Aquatic co-writer Noah Baumbach; the script is based on the book by Roald Dahl.

It was during a playwriting seminar at the University of Texas at Austin where Wes Anderson first met Owen Wilson. In 1992, Owen brought along his brother Luke and the three created a 16mm short film called Bottle Rocket. The short, which can be viewed online (in very poor quality), caught the attention of one James L. Brooks. The producer loved Bottle Rocket so much he helped bring the project to Columbia Pictures, where it was then expanded into a feature film. Luckily for us, though unknown actors at the time, Owen and Luke Wilson were able to remain in the lead roles.

For those of you who have never seen nor heard of the film, pic tells the story of Dignan (Owen) and Anthony (Luke), two bumbling wannabe thieves determined to take their newfound career to the next level. Anderson has said the original script (which he co-wrote with Owen Wilson) was 275-pages long. Seeing as how Bottle Rocket is all about the dialogue between characters, I can see how that may have happened.

Why is this is a guilty pleasure? Well, it's weird, but most people I come across don't like Bottle Rocket. In fact, they hate it ... and I'm not sure why. Also, being Wes Anderson's first film, Rocket usually falls into the category of annoying younger brother to Anderson's second film, Rushmore. However, I love Bottle Rocket, so much I would place it among my top 15 of all time. Crazy, right? The cocky, moronic Dignan is, by far, Owen Wilson's greatest role. While its dry comedy may not be for everyone, Bottle Rocket is definitely a fun film to watch, if only to see how Anderson and the Wilson boys got their start.

Note: Those of you in and around New York City can check out a free outdoor screening of Bottle Rocket this August 1 at the McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn.