David Cronenberg Gives Mia Wasikowska a “Map to the Stars” With Robert Pattinson

May 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 4 Comments

mia-wasikowska David Cronenberg continues to build an impressive cast for his next feature, and today has added Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams and “The Killing” kid actor Evan Bird to “Map to the Stars.” The trio join previous cast members Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon for the LA-set drama.

Bruce Wagner wrote the script on the long-gestating project, which involves Hollywood characters like actors, agents and managers, with both Cronenberg and Pattinson using words like weird and absurd to describe the tone of the piece. Deadline also gives us our first hint of the characters that will populate this world, with Bird as a troubled child star, Williams as his mother and Wasikowska in apparently a very juicy role as his “disfigured, schizophrenic, fame-obsessed sister.” “Map” will be Canadian director Cronenberg’s first time shooting in the US, Los Angeles, specifically. Filming will begin in July.

After breaking out in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”, Aussie Wasikowska has stuck solely to small, interesting films like this one, earning raves for her portrayal of “Jane Eyre” and most recently in Park Chan-wook’s “Stoker.” She has wrapped filming on a few more intriguing projects, including Jim Jarmusch’s Cannes-bound “Only Lovers Left Alive” opposite Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, Australian outback set survival tale “Tracks” and Dostoyevsky adaptation “The Double” with Jesse Eisenberg.

Sarah Gadon to Reunite With Robert Pattinson For David Cronenberg’s “Map to the Stars”

April 18, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

sarah-gadon The “Cosmopolis” duo of Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon are reuniting, and will star together in their director David Cronenberg’s next feature, “Map to the Stars”, according to Deadline. John Cusack and Julianne Moore have also joined the cast of the LA-set thriller, replacing previously-rumored cast members Viggo Mortensen and Rachel Weisz.

Bruce Wagner wrote the script on the long-gestating project, which involves Hollywood characters like actors, agents and managers, but beyond that there’s very little plot details, though both Cronenberg and Pattinson have used words like weird and absurd to describe the tone of the piece. It will also be Canadian director Cronenberg’s first time shooting in the US, Los Angeles, specifically. No word yet on when filming might begin, but the film will be out to buyers next month at Cannes, and with such stars attached, it probably won’t take too long to get funded.

Gadon can surely be considered a Cronenberg regular by now, even more than Pattinson, with this being her third film with David Cronenberg (“Cosmopolis” and Michael Fassbender-Viggo Mortensen period drama “A Dangerous Method” came previously), and she’s also done a movie with his son, Brandon Cronenberg, “Antiviral.” She recently wrapped up filming on thriller “An Enemy” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent historical drama “Belle” with British thesps Sam Claflin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Full Cannes 2012 Lineup: “Twilight” invasion, Sarah Gadon on double Cronenberg duty and the return of Jessica Chastain

April 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, General News Leave a comment

The official Cannes Film Festival lineup has finally been unveiled and looks like we can expect a more than usual number of up and coming young actors to head to the French Riviera next month. As expected, teen phenomenon “Twilight” will be well represented with stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart each headlining a Cannes-bound flick for the very first time. Pattinson stars in David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo novel “Cosmopolis”, while Stewart plays a supporting role in Walter Salles’ long-gestating, highly anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac classic “On the Road.” Also perhaps hoping to shed that teen idol image and gain some serious acting cred at the festival is former “High School Musical” star Zac Efron, who stars in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy.” Daniels’ “Precious” played Un Certain Regard two years ago and went on to earn a boatload of Oscar nominations.

“Cosmopolis”, “On the Road” and “The Paperboy” will all play in competition and will be eligible for awards at the end of the festival. “On the Road” will also bring to Cannes promising young talents Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund, as well as a return for last year’s Best Actress winner Kirsten Dunst.

Meanwhile, Pattinson’s “Cosomopolis” co-star Sarah Gadon, also a first-timer, will represent not one but two Cronenbergs a the festival. In addition to “Cosmopolis”, she is also the star of David’s son Brandon Cronenberg’s first feature, the futuristic sci-fi thriller “Antiviral”, accepted into the Un Certain Regard lineup for this year. “Antiviral” co-stars “X-Men: First Class”‘s Caleb Landry Jones.

Also pulling double duty this year is returning vet Jessica Chastain, who wowed with her performance in the Palm d’Or winner “The Tree of Life” last year. She returns this year as an Oscar nominee touting two films, the animated “Madagascar 3″ and John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era drama “Lawless” (previously titled “The Wettest County in the World”, and not to be confused with Terrence Malick’s next feature). “Lawless” also stars Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and recent “Chronicle” breakout star Dane DeHaan.

Other up and comers we’ll be keeping an eye on include Bella Heathcote in Andrew Dominik’s “Killing Them Softly”, Michael Shannon’s reunion with “Take Shelter” director Jeff Nichols on “Mud”, and Sundance breakout star Quvenzhané Wallis of “The Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

We here at Up and Comers will be at Cannes for the very first time this year too, so expect news, reviews and exclusives straight from the Croisette!

See the full line-up of films below.

Watch: Robert Pattinson is headed to Cannes, as confirmed in full length trailer for David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis”

April 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

We’ve probably all known this for quite a while, but the first full length trailer for David Cronenberg’s trippy adaptation of Don DeLillo novel “Cosmopolis” makes it official. “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson is heading to the Cannes Film Festival for the very first time as he stars as Eric Packer, a billionaire playboy whose quest to get a haircut is ran wildly off-course by mysterious assassins, sexual partners (none of which are his wife, played by Sarah Gadon), giant rats and several apparent suicide attempts. You know, the usual Manhattan rush hour traffic.

The trailer comes just hours before the official announcement of the final Cannes lineup will be announced by Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s General Delegate. We already know Wes Anderson’s latest offering, “Moonrise Kingdom”, will open the festival, and it was also recently revealed that the late French director Claude Miller’s final film, “Therese D” starring Audrey Toutou, will close it.

Other strong Cannes contenders include Walter Salles’ “On the Road”, starring Pattinson’s “Twilight” paramour Kristen Stewart, and Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy” starring Zac Efron. Looks like Cannes will really be drawing in the interest of that coveted youth demographic this year.

Watch the new “Cosmopolis” trailer below and check back soon for the full Cannes lineup.

Watch: Robert Pattinson shoots, swaggers and romps his way through David Cronenberg’s NSFW “Cosmopolis” teaser trailer

March 22, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Videos 7 Comments

The first teaser trailer for David Cronenberg‘s adaptation of Don Delillo’s “Cosmopolis” has been released today and there’s kink, crime and nudity; it would seem that Robert Pattinson sure is trying to break away from Edward Cullen.

As the British actor looks to shed his Twilight image, and the famed director aims to gain back some of the critical acclaim that rumours would suggest he has recently lost, we see Pattinson’s Eric Packer shoot himself in the hand, have sex in a limosine and ask us darkly to “show me something I don’t know”.

Actually, it looks like Pattinson is showing us something we don’t know.

“Cosmopolis” is rumoured to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and also stars Sarah Gadon, Samantha Morton and Jay Baruchel. See the first teaser below.

Jay Baruchel to play punk-rock pioneer Buck Cherry in adaptation of “The Rebel Kind”

December 16, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Jay Baruchel has spent the last couple of years moving into mainstream lead roles, with mixed success. It looks like he is slowly moving back into the indie fare though, recently completing production on David Cronenberg’s Robert Pattinson-starrer “Cosmopolis” and working on his upcoming project with Seth Rogen, “The Apocalypse.”

Up next for Baruchel will be his portrayal of John Armstrong (aka Buck Cherry), the frontman of 1980s Vancouver-based band The Modernettes. Variety reports that the film will be called “The Rebel Kind” and will “chronicle the emergence of [Vancouver's] punk-rock scene via a successful band that throws in the towel, realizing the deep cost of pursuing superstardom.”

Based on Armstrong’s memoir, Reg Harkema has penned the script and will also sit in the director’s chair. Production on the film is set to start next fall.

“Cosmopolis” star Sarah Gadon joins Caleb Landry Jones in “Antiviral” directed by Brandon Cronenberg

November 3, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Canadian actress Sarah Gadon is keeping it in the Cronenberg family. After starring in two consecutive films for David Cronenberg, she has now signed on to son-of-David Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial debut, “Antiviral.” According to THR, she joins star Caleb Landry Jones, as well as Malcolm McDowell, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts and James Cade.

Jones will star as a salesman who works for a clinic that has mastered the art of replicating celebrity diseases and sells them for public consumption. Jones’ character becomes obsessed with one celebrity in particular and injects himself with her disease, only to have to race to find a cure before it kills him. We were confused by this unusual plot when reporting on Jones’ casting yesterday, but perhaps it’s a simple commentary on the sad state of our celebrity-obsessed culture. People spend tons of money to dress and live like their favorite celebs, guess it’s not that much of a stretch for uber-fans to want to experience their sicknesses as well. Ick. But we digress.

After toiling on Canadian TV shows for years, Cronenberg (Sr) gave Gadon her big break into feature films by casting her in both Michael Fassbender-Viggo Mortensen historical drama “A Dangerous Method” and as wife to Robert Pattinson in the upcoming “Cosmopolis.” She’s currently filming miniseries “World Without End”, sequel to the massively popular “The Pillars of the Earth.”

New Trailer for Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’

September 1, 2011 | Posted by Tamara Manne in Videos Leave a comment

David Cronenberg’s adaptation of A Dangerous Method, starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Keira Knightley, is based on the Christopher Hampton play, The Talking Cure, which follows the conflict between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and his student Carl Jung (Fassbender). Knightley is Sabina, a disturbed patient whose treatment leads to breakthroughs in psychiatric treatment.

“A Dangerous Method” is premiering this week at the Venice Film Festival and will hit Toronto next week.

First Look: Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis”

May 26, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images 1 Comment

With filming on the “Twilight” saga officially wrapped for good, Robert Pattinson is moving on to his next role, as a slick financial wunderkind in David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis”, an adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel. Filming is now underway in Toronto and the first official still, featuring Pattinson and Sarah Gadon, has been released.

The story centers around Pattinson’s young billionaire Eric Packer, following him as he journeys across New York to get a haircut. Most of the action takes place inside the limo that takes him from place to place, and involves him cheating on his wife (Gadon), being pursued by shadowy assassins (one of whom will be played by Paul Giamatti) and losing his entire fortune in one day. Jay Baruchel will play a shy (but incredibly smart, of course) founder of a major financial company who acts as Packer’s conscience. Other adversaries include Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton and Mathieu Amalric.

No word on a release date yet, and Cronenberg still has yet to release the previously shot “A Dangerous Method”, which was only recently announced to be playing in competition at September’s Venice Film Festival.

See the full shot of Pattinson and Gadon chillin’ in a limo in “Cosmopolis” below. Although, is it just me or does it look more like a town car than a limo?

Jay Baruchel joins Robert Pattinson in “Cosmopolis”

April 6, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Robert Pattinson is getting the quintessential nerdy sidekick, as Jay Baruchel has joined the cast of David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis”, reports Deadline. Most recently, Canadian actress Sarah Gadon joined the cast as Pattinson’s wife, ending a long search process that had names like Marion Cotillard and Keira Knightley attached.

From the novel by Don DeLillo, the story centers around Pattinson’s young billionaire Eric Packer, following him as he journeys across New York to get a haircut. Most of the action takes place inside the limo that takes him from place to place, and involves him cheating on his wife, being pursued by shadowy assassins (one of whom will be played by Paul Giamatti) and losing his entire fortune in one day. Baruchel will play a shy (but incredibly smart, of course) founder of a major financial company who acts as Packer’s conscience. Other adversaries include Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton and Mathieu Amalric with other roles still to be cast.

Baruchel has stated he has no problem being typecast, and it’s a good attitude to have, as he’s made quite a name for himself playing shades of the same character in everything from “Knocked Up” to “She’s Out of My League”. He also voiced (the also weak and diminutive) Hiccup in Dreamworks’ monster hit “How to Train Your Dragon” and will reprise his role in the sequel, set for a 2013 release.

“Cosmopolis” begins filming on May 24th in Toronto.

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