The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Wes Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on December 25, 2004. It was written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach and was filmed in and around Naples, Ponza, and the Italian Riviera. The film stars Bill Murray as the eponymous Steve Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer who sets out to exact revenge on the "jaguar shark" that ate his partner Esteban. Zissou is both a parody of and homage to French
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou diving pioneer Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997), to whom the film is dedicated. Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Seu Jorge, and Bud Cort are also featured in the film. The film was released to mixed reviews and was a box office flop. Since release, it has garnered a cult following, and is now viewed more positively by critics. While oceanographer Steve Zissou is working on his latest documentary at sea, his best friend and chief diver, Esteban du Plantier, is eaten by a creature Zissou describes as a "jaguar shark". For his next project, Zissou