Robert Pattinson's Thriller 'Maps to the Stars' Starts Shooting & We Get A NEW Synopsis

UPDATED: To Add "The Film Stage's" report
Robert Pattinson's Thriller 'Maps to the Stars' Starts Shooting & We Get A NEW Synopsis

If you're following things over on the "Maps To The Stars" Movie Blog (that Tink and myself are part of) you'll know that "Map To The Stars" started filming started last week and now we have a new synopsis



From The Wrap:

A contemporary tale exploring the demons of our celebrity-obsessed society, story follows the Weiss family, which is led by Stafford (Cusack), a psychotherapist and life coach who made his fortune with self-help books. His wife (Williams) is the overbearing mother-manager of their 13-year-old son (Bird), a TV star recently out of drug rehab. Their estranged daughter (Wasikowska) has just been released from a psychiatric hospital and befriended a limo driver (Pattinson) who is also an aspiring actor.

One of Stafford’s celebrity clients is Havana (Moore), an actress with an unusual new assistant. Havana’s dream of reprising her dead mother’s (Gadon) starring role from the 1960s slowly crumbles while ghosts, death and all manner of vices collide.

Screen Daily  reported on official word of principal photography beginning:

eOne and Prospero Pictures executives reported on Monday [15] that principal photography has begun on David Cronenberg’s Maps To The Stars.

The shoot in Toronto and Los Angeles is expected to last 30 days. eOne will distribute directly in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia and New Zealand, while eOne Films International handles all remaining international rights.

Check out this great write up from The Film Stage :

David Cronenberg has begun shooting a new film, and today is officially a good day for cinema. You’ll recall that his social satire / ghost picture, Maps to the Stars, was in casting stages for a few months prior, our most recent report adding the talents of Mia Wasikowska and Olivia Williams to an already stacked lineup — Robert Pattinson (the director’s Cosmopolis star), Sarah Gadon (also of the 2012 picture), John Cusack, and Julianne Moore all being tapped to lead. Everything’s been coming up Milhouse.

With cameras officially rolling — and this endeavor, at some point, seeing Cronenberg make a directing debut in the United States — some fresh, worthwhile information has begun to file in. Of an appreciably spoiler-free manner is the following plot synopsis, which, in widely expanding the scope on Bruce Wagner‘s screenplay, alters a few personal expectations

Here’s hoping Maps to the Stars is only part two of a Cronenberg-Pattinson “limo trilogy.” Prospero Pictures and SBS Productions have backed the title, for which eOne — yet another Cosmopolis holdover — are to provide domestic distribution. Expect the cast and crew to show off their work in 2014, most likely premiering the title at Cannes.

If you want to find out MORE about the characters in "Maps To The Stars" check out the character descriptions HERE

I can't wait for Robenberg to be reunited again...........

365 Days of Robert Pattinson: May 31 ~ Pic of Rob from Toronto Cosmopolis Promo

365 Days of Robert Pattinson: May 31 ~ Pic of Rob from Toronto Cosmopolis Promo

Guys! It's our last day for Cosmopolis month!




I know, I know. BUT how exciting that Maps To The Stars is filming in a little over a month and we'll have more Robenberg!



Also, our giveaway is being posted soon so stay tuned you guys!



Now on to Toronto Cosmopolis PromoRob....he was oh so cute and sexy....like always!



Kate:
"I’m going with this one from the Press Conference because Dear God LOOK at him!!! Mr Sexy with his toothpick, his VNeck tee with chest hair peeking out and the forehead vein! Of course he’s all smiles while listening to David but he KNOWS what he’s doing to us! GAHHHHHHHHH"



Tink:
"i love you for sentimental reasons"

Kat:

"Why so serious Roberto?"



If you post your 365DoR links in the comments, give us time to approve them so the DR can see :)

365 Days of Robert Pattinson: May 1 - Fave Robenberg

365 Days of Robert Pattinson: May 1 - Fave Robenberg

Do we love Robenberg or do we LOVE Robenberg?? I can't even start talking about how awesome it was that David saw Rob's performances in Little Ashes, Remember Me and Twilight and that made him know Rob was the man to bring Eric Packer to life (and beyond). Such a great relationship was formed during the filming that he knew he wanted to work with Rob again on his next project. We're lucky enough to see that moving full steam ahead with production on Maps To The Stars starting in July!

Robenberg 2.0 here we come! But first we honor where it all began. *sigh*

Kate:
"Always this! Or at least until we get some new Robenberg when they work together again!"



Tink:
"Here comes the sun! Happy May with a pic that always makes me smile. Hope it brightens your day too."

Kat:

"Easy, this one… all the captions floating around in my head! Too many to write… I’ll just chuckle over here!"



Click for HQ!

If you post your 365DoR links in the comments, give us time to approve them so the DR can see :)

Robert Pattinson and David Cronenberg's Maps To The Stars cast praised!

Robert Pattinson and David Cronenberg's Maps To The Stars cast praised!

I love when news drops for Rob films because we get to have these awesome roundup posts of the positive buzz. We aren't the only ones excited for Robenberg 2.0 and the cast that's coming along for the ride. Check it out!

CriterionCast:

It’s about damn time this picture gets ready to go….the auteur will be joined by one hell of a cast. This sounds like yet another superb satire from one of today’s great satirists, and it’s interesting to see Pattinson re-team with his Cosmopolis director for another film. I was a huge fan of that picture, and really think this could be the start of a really exciting friendship. Hopefully this one can arrive sooner rather than later.

ScreenRant:

Pattinson has been attached to the project almost since its conception and, as was the case with Cronenberg’s 2012 thriller Cosmopolis, it’s largely thanks to the involvement of the highly bankable star that Maps to the Stars has received funding and is heading into production.

CinemaBlend:

Few directors have had such noticeable career arcs as mad genius David Cronenberg. His early career was filled with paranoid science fiction that thrived on mutilated humans, and that aesthetic was left behind and a more thoughtful approach to the stranger plateaus of the human condition took over his work during the 1990s. And in the last ten years, he’s given us a handful of stories drowning in gritty realism as well as an uncharacteristic novel adaptation and the birth of psychoanalysis.
So of course it makes sense that his next project would have one of the stranger plotlines around, but as per usual, he’s got a great cast already involved.

TheFilmStage:

Yeah, it sounds like something we’re very much looking forward to…

DreadCentral:

A-list cast lines up…

ThePlaylist:

…It’s also a “ghost story,” which certainly raises an intrigued eyebrow. The cast is top shelf…

MTV:

“Cosmopolis” director David Cronenberg may have found his new muses. The auteur has just enlisted Robert Pattinson and his “Cosmopolis” co-star Sarah Gadon for his next project, “Maps to the Stars.”

There are a few more excerpts on MapsToTheStarsFilm. Kate and I will be over there covering the film and all involved and of course bringing you the Rob specifics here. :)

New/Old Video Of Robert Pattinson & David Cronenberg At The "Cosmopolis" Premiere In Berlin

New/Old Video Of Robert Pattinson & David Cronenberg At The "Cosmopolis" Premiere In Berlin

Gah I LOVE Robenberg. Can't wait for them to work together again


via RobertPattinsonMoms

How does David Cronenberg describe Robert Pattinson? Intelligent. Sweetheart. Ferrari. Serious Actor. Cinephile. PLUS More Best Of lists for Cosmopolis!

How does David Cronenberg describe Robert Pattinson? Intelligent. Sweetheart. Ferrari. Serious Actor. Cinephile. PLUS More Best Of lists for Cosmopolis!

Are you excited Rob and David are working together again?



*giggles* I hear the resounding YES. Well here are two great interview excerpts from David Cronenberg that will make you giddy for Robenberg 2.0. Can't wait for these two to get together again to make Maps To The Stars.

You also said the characters of Cosmopolis attracted you. What was it about Eric Packer’s character that resonated with you? 

For me, the whole idea that you must have a character who is perfectly sympathetic, is a very crude, and a very uninteresting kind of approach to cinema. I think the character has to be very interesting and fascinating and charismatic. I mean, he has to be somebody you want to watch and see what he says and see what he does. 

So what’s interesting about DeLillo’s book is that all the way through, the characters are not particularly sympathetic in an obvious way. But by the end of the movie, you see that this character is, somewhere inside there, a very naïve, vulnerable child, who’s only going to get a haircut, but what he’s really going back to his childhood. He’s going back to the barber who gave him his first haircut. And when he’s there, you begin to see the innocence that’s there underneath the hard surface, and I think it’s a really interesting transformation and transition that you see in this character. At the beginning you think that this guy is very unemotional and hard and cold, and cynical perhaps. And by the end of it, you see that there’s a lot of emotion and a lot of vulnerability underneath there and the character turns out to be far more complex than you might have thought. 

A lot has been said about your unconventional choice of Robert Pattinson for the lead role. 

The thing I liked about Rob Pattinson as an actor is that he’s a serious actor. And you could lose sight of that, because he’s had this big popular success with the Twilight movies, but he is not afraid to play a character who is difficult to like, you know, because some actors are afraid to do that, because they feel it is too personal, that they themselves will not be liked by their audience, and so on. But a real actor is not afraid to play an unsympathetic character, and Rob is a real actor. 

Also, I think to be an actor, you need intelligence, first of all. For example, Rob immediately realised that the script was quite funny, and most people don’t get that. Then you want sensitivity to the subtleties of the movie, in terms of what is going on in the movie, the dialogue and so on. And Rob, personally, is very knowledgeable about cinema.
(chuckles) I don’t think his Twilight fans realise this about him, but he’s really an aficionado about art cinema (Tink: Well, David is clearly not talking about the Robsessed. *wink*). I mean, on the set I’d find him talking to Juliette Binoche about obscure French cinema, (chuckles) so you know, he brings a real depth of understanding of the history and art of cinema and all of those things mean that you have a lot of power and a lot of responsiveness from your actor as a director. It’s like driving the Ferrari instead of driving, you know, a Volkwagen Beetle. And you get that with Rob. I must also add, he’s very down to earth and very easy to work with. He’s not diva at all, you know. He’s really a sweetheart. (Tink: I think David is campaigning for the ROBsessed Awards next week!)

David also spoke to Some Came Running in detail about Cosmopolis. I enjoyed this read beyond the quick Rob mention so check out the full interview at the source if you want to have more insight into the film and David's thoughts. He is Rob's future director again after all. :))))

SCR: A lot of people didn't see the irony or the satirical posture behind you and Pattinson ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. 

CRONENBERG: Yeah, I know, some people thought that we were betraying the movie by doing that. I thought, no, no, you're really not getting it at all. That was so perfect. I couldn't believe when they were asking us. But that was the perfect expression of capitalism. They were lovely there. They were so excited, they love their Stock Exchange and, after all, we were selling a movie and selling is what they know. So it was all perfect. A capitalistic enterprise, and there we were. Yeah, it's interesting, because Don and I on panels, in a way, that's when I kind of learn some things about his attitudes to things that I didn't really know or need to know but I'm curious about. We both don't feel that being a prophet is part of our job description. But if your antennae are sensitive enough to what's in the ether, you will inevitably anticipate some things that are just sort of accumulating but are not all that visible. And I think that's really the case here. As Don took pains to say, no, the book didn't begin with some grand, grandiose concept of coming to terms with financial responsibility globally and all of that kind of thing. It had to do with limos. It had to do with who would want one of those in the streets of Manhattan and why would you be in it, and who is it—and where do they go at night, and all of that kind of stuff. It begins with details. And it's the same with a film maker even more. You cannot film an abstract concept. We're in the concrete world, film makers.

And what are people saying in the concrete world about Cosmopolis on Best Of lists?



It charts, Rob!

• Cinemart: 1 out of 10 Best Films of 2012! - "...pseudo masters of the universe features an assured performance from Robert Pattinson."
• L Magazine: 4 out of 25 Best Films of 2012
• Some Came Running: 6 out of 25 Best Films of 2012
• Flavorwire: 27 out of 30 for Best Movie Poster of 2012 - "Elegant and dangerous. The art encapsulates everything about David Cronenberg’s brooding drama."
• Chicagoist: Part of the top 10 list of Best Films in 2012
• Cinemablend: 10 out of 10 Top Movies of 2012
• Yuppee Mag: 10 out of 10 Top Films of 2012. - "...that man is Eric Packer, played by Robert Pattinson in what turns out to be the best performance of his young career by a considerable distance."
• Cinemablend: 1 of the 12 most overlooked films of 2012
• Movie Maker: 9 out of 12 Best of 2012 - "...the actor has always teased a love for the unconventional...Producing an outstanding interpretation with R-Patz laying waste to the doubters, Cosmopolis showed no restraint in taking pot shots at the current climate."

David Cronenberg mentions Robert Pattinson in Cosmopolis interview for UK DVD release

David Cronenberg mentions Robert Pattinson in Cosmopolis interview for UK DVD release

Digital Spy got a chance to talk to David Cronenberg about Cosmopolis to coincide with the UK DVD release:

In terms of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, the casting of Robert Pattinson works extremely well. Was his current fame and adulation a key factor in choosing him to play Eric?

"Well not really, I mean the so-called 'baggage' a certain actor brings with him or her is something that is completely irrelevant once you're on the film set. As a director you can't worry about that - it's too complex, it's too shifting.

"Eric in the movie is not famous, he is like the London Whale - and I don't mean the baby whale that went up the Thames. I mean the investment guy called the London Whale because of the immensity of his trades. He's anonymous, not a celebrity, because as soon as people started tracking his moves, his power to make these trades was gone.

"Eric is like that, and the reason he has this one guy tracking him is because it's an obsessive guy who is anti-capitalist in the movie. He can be in a restaurant and not besieged by fans who are tracking him on the internet, he has a bodyguard because he's worried about normal threats that anybody with a limo might have. His situation is totally different from Rob's."

I can not WAIT for Rob and David to work together again. What a fantastic advocate for Rob. Great interview overall about the film and more so click HERE to read in its entirety.

UK ONLY

Rachel Weisz Joins Robert Pattinson & Viggo Mortensen In Cronenberg’s ‘Maps to the Stars’: Set For Spring 2013 Shoot

Rachel Weisz Joins Robert Pattinson & Viggo Mortensen In Cronenberg’s ‘Maps to the Stars’: Set For Spring 2013 Shoot



I can't wait to see Rob & David working together again and we don't have that long to wait either, MAY 2013!!



From TheFilmStage

Breathe another sigh of relief, for David Cronenberg is assembling his next film. As was reported just when Cosmopolis had a world premiere, Canada’s best-known cinematic artist is making another endeavor with that film’s star, Robert Pattinson, and his newest favorite collaborator, Viggo Mortensen, on a Hollywood satire called Maps to the Stars. Already good, right? Well, there’s even more too add.

French site Allocine report that Rachel Weisz is now the cast’s third member — who, however, it has not been said — while a production start is being eyed for next May. Described as “very acerbic and satirical” by Cronenberg himself, Maps to the Stars, from what we understand, is a Bruce Wagner-scripted film which revolves around actors and agents, with a specific focus on “two child actors ruined by Hollywood’s depravity.” This central content, no matter if what we’ve heard is even true, has made this a difficult-to-implement project — movement actually began in early 2006, for instance — but when you get (for lack of a better term) stars in line, it can fall together. Respected producer Saïd Ben Saïd doesn’t hurt, either.

They’re good stars, too. Cronenberg has already shown an ability to coax wonderful and unexpected performances from Maps‘ male stars, while, on the other side of the gender coin, I think Weisz has already secured her own image. It’s still a little while off until cameras begin rolling here, but the news should be coming in on and off for the next six months. Tune in, because I think this has a chance of being something special.

Saïd Ben Saïd will be producing.