New Trailer for David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars' Goes a Little Crazy

Julianne Moore won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance in David Cronenberg's Hollywood drama Maps to the Stars, and the film has received strong reviews elsewhere, as well. So does that mean we'll be seeing it in time for the Oscars? Uh, no. The distributor eOne gave the U.S. rights over to Focus World who are considering a digital-only release some time in 2015, putting it effectively out of the awards race. Oh well. The film still looks like a terrific slicing up of celebrity culture, with Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, and Olivia Williams joining Moore in giving top notch performances. And considering what Cusack has been doing lately that's a pretty big deal.  Here's the synopsis followed by a brand new trailer ahead of its release in Canada on October 31st.

With this tale of a secret-filled Hollywood family on the verge of implosion, award-winning director David Cronenberg forges both a wicked social satire and a very human ghost story from our celebrity-obsessed culture. From a screenplay by acclaimed author, screenwriter and West Coast chronicler Bruce Wagner, and featuring an ensemble cast that includes Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams and Sarah Gadon, MAPS TO THE STARS tours the seductive allure and the tender, darkly comic underbelly of contemporary success.

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New Trailer for David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars' with Robert Pattinson

Considering how far away the Twilight cast have tried to get from the spotlight one could be led to believe they didn't enjoy the experience. In the case of Robert Pattinson he has been taking on roles in movies that seem specifically designed to keep his fanbase away, and he's done a pretty good job because few turned out to see stuff like Bel Ami, The Rover, and Cosmopolis. But that hasn't stopped auteurs from reaching out to him, and his latest film Maps to the Stars is a reunion with his Cosmopolis director, David Cronenberg.

A new trailer for Maps to the Stars has been released and it's easy to see why this was such a favorite at Cannes earlier this year. Pattinson stars alongside Julianne Moore (honored at Cannes with Best Actress), Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, and Sarah Gadon, in a send-up of Hollywood and celebrity culture in general. Here's the official synopsis:

The Weiss family is the archetypical Hollywood dynasty: father Sanford is an analyst and coach, who has made a fortune with his self-help manuals; mother Christina mostly looks after the career of their son Benjie, 13, a child star.
  
One of Sanford’s clients, Havana, is an actress who dreams of shooting a remake of the movie that made her mother, Clarice, a star in the ’60s. Clarice is dead now and visions of her come to haunt Havana at night. Adding to the toxic mix, Benjie has just come off a rehab program he joined when he was 9 and his sister, Agatha, has recently been released from a sanatorium where she was treated for criminal pyromania… 

Maps to the Stars has yet to gain a domestic date but opens in the UK on September 26th. 


Maps To The Stars UK TRAILER 1 (2014) - Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson Movie HD. by Buzz Films

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*UPDATE* Two Trailers for David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars'

*UPDATE* A second, NSFW trailer has been added that I think is far more coherent than the one from last night. It's also much sexier and more chatty, resembling Cosmopolis in that way.*

David Cronenberg may be the master of the body horror, but of late he's been slicing up the psychology of people in A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis. For his next film, Maps to the Stars, Cronenberg takes on perhaps his nastiest subject yet, exploring the corrupt and twisted psyche of Hollywood royalty.

Starring his newfound muse, Robert Pattinson, along with Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Olivia Williams, and Sarah Gadon, the film follows the Weiss family, who all come with their share of unique personal demons. The father is a writer of self-help manuals, the mother steers the career of their 13-year-old son, while the other kids are getting out of rehab programs. And then there's Havana, who hopes to be an actress and star in a remake of the film that made her deceased mother famous.

It's hard to tell what's going on here but this is Cronenberg and no trailer is going to fully encapsulate what he's trying to get across.



«Maps to the stars» - второй трейлер by Only_Robert

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Mia Wasikowska and Olivia Williams join David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars'

After Cosmopolis turned out to be a little too "out there" for audiences to really get invested in, even with the likes of Robert Pattinson in the lead role, David Cronenberg is pushing ahead on his long-developing Hollywood ghost story, Maps to the Stars. As usual he's gathered a star-studded cast, bringing back Pattinson and surrounding him with Julianne Moore, Sarah Gadon, and John Cusack. But it keeps getting better as two more big names and one newcomer have just come aboard.

Mia Wasikowska (Stoker), Olivia Williams (Rushmore), and Evan Bird (The Killing) have joined what is said to be a scathing look at Hollywood culture and a paranormal ghost story. There are a few additional details to be found in the character descriptions, with Bird as a troubled, drug-addicted child star, Williams as his manipulative mother, and Wasikowska as his disfigured, schizophrenic, fame-obsessed sister.

This definitely sounds like it should be right in Cronenberg's sweet spot. Filming is set to begin this July, so we can probably expect to see it in 2014.[THR]

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Julianne Moore, John Cusack, and Sarah Gadon join David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars'

David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars has been developing for quite some time, and despite landing Robert Pattinson as the lead it was beginning to look like the film might get pushed back or not happen at all. Rachel Weisz came aboard last fall, but dropped out last month. At the same time, Cronenberg seems to have failed in his attempts to lure in frequent collaborator Viggo Mortensen. The director recently took an acting role in Luca Guadagnino's Body Art, further muddying up the waters.

But the film is indeed happening, and looks to be progressing at a rapid clip with the addition of Julianne Moore, John Cusack, and Cosmopolis co-star Sarah Gadon. Bruce Wagner wrote the script, which is a ghost story dealing in some way with Hollywood's celebrity culture. Further plot details are being kept under wraps, and along with it any info on the characters.

Production is set to begin in July. [THR]

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Rachel Weisz joins Robert Pattinson and Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars'

David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis turned out to be quite the head-scratcher, and I'm not sure even his fans were able to get behind it. It looked for awhile like there would be something of a return to normalcy with the developing Eastern Promises sequel, but that flamed out. Fortunately one of Cronenberg's long-developing projects appears to be picking up steam.

Rachel Weisz is the latest to join Maps to the Stars, an industry satire penned by Brad Wagner that has been described as "very acerbic" and follows agents, actors, and managers with an emphasis on two children ruined by Hollywood depravity. In the works since around 2006, the film gained momentum earlier this year when Robert Pattinson came aboard, and Viggo Mortensen has now been confirmed as well. Pattinson, Mortensen, Weisz, and Cronenberg? Yeah, I'll take that.

I didn't enjoy Cosmopolis one bit, and Pattinson was awful in it, but maybe the second time will be the charm? Surely something will rub off on him working alongside Mortensen and Weisz. Filming is set to begin in May. [Allocine via ThePlaylist]

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David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen, and Vincent Cassel returning for 'Eastern Promises' sequel

In 2007, David Cronenberg followed up his surprise hit, A History of Violence, with the Russian gangsta film, Eastern Promises. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, and Naomi Watts, it was a film that a lot of critics loved, but I think is best remembered for being so vastly different from typical Cronenberg stuff. I think it sort of lives and dies by the one scene everyone remembers, with a buck naked Mortensen embroiled in a bloody, wet brawl in a Turkish bathhouse.


There have been rumblings of a possible sequel for awhile now, but it always seemed unlikely for a variety of reasons. It's not a film that screams for a follow-up, and all the principle players are extremely busy. But, what has been clear is that Cronenberg and Mortensen have a soft spot for it, and wanted to return. Now it looks like it's definitely happening, with Vulture reporting that Cassel is also set to reprise his role as the insane Kirill, the mobster's son and boss to Mortensen's Nikolai. Cronenberg will direct, based on a script by original writer, Steven Knight. The story would take place not long after Eastern Promises ended, with Kirill and Nikolai now apparently having inherited the Family throne from the former's father. We probably won't be seeing Watts come back, as her story wrapped up neatly enough.

If all goes according to plan, we'll see Eastern Promises 2 hit production some time next year. I'm interested in seeing where this one goes, mainly because it's so unexpected.

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Sure Shots: Neill Blomkamp's 'Elysium'; Alfred Hitchcock; Keira Knightley

* It didn't take long for Neill Blomkamp to secure distribution for Elysium, his sci-fi follow up to District 9. Media Rights Capital and Sony Pictures have joined forces to distribute the film globally. Blomkamp has reportedly signed a long term deal with MRC, with his next film already being planned. All we know about it is the title, 'Chappie', and that Blomkamp scripted it himself. Thanks to Deadline for that one.

* If you've yet to see Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, go rent it now! The director, Sacha Gervasi, is next in line to attempt an adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, based on Stephen Rebello's book. We'll see if this actually gets off the ground.

* Your movie can't go from Colin Farrell to Robert Pattinson without a few major ripple effects. Such is the case with David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, which had Marion Cotillard attached to star opposite Farrell. But now that he's gone, there needs to be someone more Pattinson's age for him to potentially make out with. So Cotillard appears to be gone, according to the production company's cast list, and Keira Knightley is in. She's been working with Cronenberg on his next film, A Dangerous Method, which should see release later this year.

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David Cronenberg loses Colin Farrell, gains Robert Pattinson for ' Cosmopolis'

Briefly...

Colin Farrell has chosen....poorly!! Not only has he chosen Len Wiseman's remake of Total Recall over David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, but his departure has led to an unforseen side effect: Robert Pattinson is now his replacement. D'oh! 

Cosmopolis is an adaptation of Don Delillo's 13th novel, described as a sort of modern version of James Joyce's Ulysses. It follows a day in the life of a young multi-billionaire as he attempts to get across town in his stretch limo.

No secret: me no likey Robert Pattinson. The guy's never seen a role he can't butcher, but dammit I have to respect his choices. Even though Remember Me sucked, but it wasn't empty in a Dear John kindof way. And putting on that silly mustache to play Salvador Dali in Little Ashes took some nuts. Water for Elephants, due out later this year, actually looks pretty damn good.

Deadline has more on this story, which you can read about here.

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