The new trailer for David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis has been released, and it reveals a very exciting glimpse of what some might call a triumphant return to Cronenberg’s surrealistic roots of the 1980s and ’90s. This movie, of course, stars Robert Pattinson, is based upon the Don DeLillo novel of the same name, and has been accepted into competition for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Honestly, this film looks to be the best damn thing that could possibly happen in Rob’s (almost) post-Twilight career. Sure, he did fine in Water for Elephants and Remember Me, but those films did very little to shift audience perception away from broody, vampire-with-a-conscience Edward Cullen. Pattinson’s hopes in proving his acting range seemed almost laughable with the Bel Ami trailer that features him gnawing upon his own fist in frenzied (hilarious) anger. With this Cronenberg project, however, things seem quite different, and Robert will be taken quite seriously as an actor if he succeeds in this role. Here’s the trailer, and we’ll regroup afterwards:
This movie looks compelling and trippy as hell, right? Rob stars as callous billionaire trader Eric Packer (who does not seem entirely unlike Patrick Bateman of American Psycho fame), who experiences quite the surreal day of sex, drugs, and violence while crossing Manhattan in his limousine. This film is pure Cronenberg madness (fraught with all sorts of symbolism), and Rob couldn’t be further from a sparkly vampire while brandishing a gun (at one point, into his own hand), losing control of his empire, and eventually realizing that someone means to kill him. His co-stars include Juliette Binoche (who looks sexy as hell here), and I’m so glad Paul Giamatti has a decent project like this in his near future (the better to wash away the taint of Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages). Samantha Morton is in this movie too! I love her so much.
The one moment of this trailer that gives me pause is Rob making this face. This particular expression does not bode well.
The blonde with the most lines is Sarah Gadon. She’s cute, but her voice bugs.
Photos courtesy of CosmopolisFilm.com
Yeah, I can’t wait to see this. I really hope it’s good, for Rob’s sake especially. Maybe he’ll finally be able to shake off some of that Twilight glitter
Agreed. I thought he was tremendous in Remember Me. Can’t wait to see this!
The trailer looks really good. And whether pre-hyping for his own movie or being quite sincere, Cronenberg has been dishing compliments on Pattinson for months now.
Which makes me wonder…
Is Rob Pattinson a genuinely nice guy whom everybody really loves working with, and has a great rep on the set, but unfortunately who’s performance is never really up to par on the screen?
We’ll see if Cosmopolis proves this wrong.
Honestly, I have this exact same question, too. He looks ok in this trailer though, quite in line with everybody else.
I think Rob has the potential to be one of the greatest actors. That said, I don’t think it’s that easy to shake off the Twilight mold because that series is 5 movies long and is a pop culture phenomenon in which he is one of the most major parts but if Cosmopolis is successful it could be a huge leap forward because it would open doors for other equally great films that challenge him as an actor. When he’s done at least 3 more lauded films then Edward will have mostly been gone. I feel as if he’s getting lots of role offers right now but they mostly play upon the fact that he’s so incredibly handsome and sexy and not the cerebral side of his nature that demand challenging roles that have nothing to do with his sexiness.
I hope Cosmopolis gets good reviews for him because it could be a game changer for him to be taken more seriously as an actor. However, Cronenberg’s work is sometimes very difficult to swallow and this DeLillo book was very challenging for critics as well who later came to appreciate it. If Cosmopolis doesn’t immediately get accepted, I think it’s one of those works that will be looked upon as brilliant in years afterwards on rewatch.
The trailers have been brilliant and Rob looks excellent in the role. Hopefully the movie lives up to how excellent it all looks.
Admission: haven’t seen Sparkles in anything except Harry Potter, so can’t judge him. And my first thought was that Cronenberg is too good to just cast for box office appeal irrespective of abiliy, so Pattinson must be, at least, OKAY.
But you know, I suspect he was cast on a perverse whim. To annoy people and to add an extra layer of symbolism. He could have gotten a really good actor for the role, but casting Pattinson lets him destroy a golden boy, a romantic icon – which is probably the point, as it seems like it parallels the role pretty well. Take the pretty teen idol and turn him into a shallow, nasty, violent, amoral, drug-abusing…well, whatever the hell he is in that trailer. Yay for obvious symbolism!
I really hope when I go see this, I end up next to a bunch of Twihards who don’t know who Cronenberg is.
I love your comment and I agree with almost everything you said (I hope I won’t have to watch the movie next to a bunch of Twihards — unless I can afford to watch it twice: one for the movie itself, the other for the lols).
I like everything about your comment.
Co-Sign.
Sparkles is only hot as Sparkles or someone who is close to Sparkles like his Tyler fail in Remember Me or Water For Elephants.
So he’s not a pretty boy to me. I do love his singing voice. Don’t know what the hell he is saying half the tim, but I like.
Will I see this movie? No. I live in Philly. I don’t need to pay to see fucked up shit when I can see it for free in Illadelph.But I like Cronenberg. He did A History of Violence which I only saw because Viggo was in it, but I ike my movies well done not bloody. This one looks real rare. lol
agreed.. I have a customer that is a huge Twi-hard, and I’m totally taking her to see it..
I agree 100% with this comment.
I love the delicious irony of this role. I’m not a big fan of Rob’s, but I like how both he and Kristen are working their way out of their Twilight roles. Good move for him.
Lenore, I love everything about your comment. I don’t think that’s what happened but it’s not a bad parallel at all.
he does not have the acting chops or weight needed to carry off a cronenberg film.
david, you disappoint! and since i am canadian, that is hard to do.
I think I will trust Cronenberg’s opinion before I trust yours. He obviously thought RP could handle the role. I highly doubt Cronenberg would cast someone he didn’t think had the acting chops – especially this movie where this character is in virtually every scene, he truly carries the movie. Cronenberg is one of the few directors who isn’t subject to studio pressures -he can make the movie he wants to make. He isn’t one to be pressured into hiring an actor he doesn’t want. Let’s see what he did with RP – should be interesting!
i will never understand why those who comment on celebrity sites get defensive about actors.
Defensive? You stated your opinion, and I disagreed and defended Cronenberg’s judgement. Disagreement is not being defensive! Isn’t discussion the entire point of these boards? Wow, relax.
I didn’t sense defensiveness, just a differing opinion. Even positivity.
*Puzzled expression*
I don’t think come on was the one being defensive….
@Jackie, @Come On was clearly defending the Director, I think you totally misread her comment.
And even if she were defending the choice of actor, it is a sign of maturity to not demean someone who is debating with you on the value of a renowned Director’s choice of casting.
The trailer looks really good, let’s wait and see for the movie to actually come out before deciding if Cronenberg had lost his touch. Whether Canadian or not.
Well, Jackie, I too am Canadian and I wholeheartedly disagree with your opinion.
Cronenberg has said he watched Rob in Little Ashes (which convinced him to hire Rob) and Remember Me. He has confidence in his choice, I would think he is more qualified to judge. Wouldn’t you say?
I can barely hear sparkles speak!?! He’s not just good enough, imo.
I really like him and I’ve been hoping that he’d find his path post twilight. Unfortunately he has no goodwill behind him. That hurts him more than lack of acting skills
Anyone from the UK remember band of gold? Samantha Morton was so good in that!
The picture where Pattinson and Sarah Gadon are looking at each other . . . anyone else think they could be brother and sister? Anyone? Or just me . . ?
Im not sure most actors are forced to carry the baggage of a role like Pattinson. The bias is pretty strong, I mean @Bedhead, who actually likes him, felt compelled to freeze ONE expression to point out how his acting may not be great. Who can stand up to that level of scrutiny?
Maybe it’s because so many people want to see him act well because they like him as a person… I don’t know. I know people hate Twilight and his brooding character (which is what that character is), and yes, Pattinson owes his success to this character, but man, it must be frustrating for him.
I thought about this because I caught Water for Elephants on cable this weekend and if this had been his first movie, Pattinson’s acting may not have be so criticized. I also watched Se7en at the same time and saw plenty of not so great acting moments in young Brad Pitt, but yet his acting was hailed as great It’s was interesting to juxtapose. Anyway…
Cosmopolis looks kick ass… I love Cronneberg and am looking forward to what looks like a good performance from Pattinson.
PS sorry for the rant, in a bad mood bc my jeans are snug on me today which means I’ve been having too much of everything lately.
Agree with everything you said! He is under intense scrutiny, to the point to the point of ridiculousness. HOpe he is fairly judged in this role.
Agreed. I think because Twilight was such a success and he became an overnight sensation that the critics are going to have a hard time taking him seriously and dont even want to give him a chance. He has such a charming personaltiy that hes someone I want to do well. Funny that you mentioned Brad Pitt, I watched Moneyball last night and it was so boring. Ive always thought Brad was a mediocre actor and after watching that movie, he still is. Yet the critics love him.
This trailer is very intriguing. I have caught two of the Twilight movies for the pleasure of making fun of them, and I have to say, Robert Pattinson’s strategy of making it clear in interviews that he thinks the Twilight movies are crap…good strategy. That all made me very curious to see what he’s capable of, and for some reason, very sure that he’s way more talented than those movies allowed him to show.
I notice Kristen Stewart is starting to use that same strategy as well.
Excited for both Stewart and Pattinson breaking out of the Twilight cycle…good for them.
I just saw Water for Elephants on cable this weekend. My god, Pattinson is an awful, wooden, one note actor. With one facial expression-confusion. And no voice inflection, no matter what the line is. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and had to turn it off.
And before anybody says it, I’ve seen Little Ashes and How To Be and he was awful there too.
After watching this trailer I see no difference. I still see the same blank face, and unemotional, monotone voice. He’s absolutely no actor and he’s been given many chances to show his ‘chops’.
He doesn’t have any.
It’s possible that a lot of the forced expressions and the wooden one note are probably from him trying to stay in character and stick with an American accent. I don;t imagine it’s easy to speak consistently in a manner you’re not used to.
I haven’t seen him play any roles with his natural English accent, but I heard Bel Ami was terrible. Was he just as wooden or was the script and material just really bad?
I have no idea if he has problems with staying in character while also doing an American accent, but if that is truly an issue-well than he shouldn’t be an actor. He kind of has to walk and chew gum at the same time if he wants to continue acting on this level.
I haven’t seen Bel Ami but I’ve heard the reviews of his acting were pretty scathing. Apparently he had a lot of very distracting tics (eyebrows, nostrils flaring, very OTT stuff) and a he just wasn’t up to the material. Reviewers said he was out acted by his 3 leading ladies.
I really think he’s just a very flat and wooden actor and that more than Twilight is going to be the real career killer. He’s no DiCaprio, that’s for sure.
He’s still learning, so there is room for improvement, one would hope. Nope, he is no Leo. Leo at that age was already boss.
Let’s wait and see how Cosmopolis turns out, maybe Cronenberg squeezed a good performance out of him yet. I’m actually quite excited to see that movie.
LEB, you in danger, girl! You spoke ill of Sparkles’ “acting talent”.
IMO, he was hired for hype, not actual talent.
Mia, no one is mad at her or even disputing what she said. She and I were just having a civil discussion.
Like the “Ghost” reference.
i keep hoping for RPatz to land a role that (what I thought) Catch Me If You Can provided a stepping stone for post-Titanic Caprio. something to break him out of the pretty boy mold.
Or in RPatz case, glittery vamp mold.
p.s. on a slightly related note… the screen-caps and stills did RPatz no favors. and I keep seeing Christian Bale circa-American Psycho instead. gosh.
Meh. Doesn’t look like my type of movie, and if Robert Pattinson’s acting is anything like it was in WFE, that’s not good. But it’s just a trailer, so it’s not enough to determine that.
Can’t stand the idea of the Twilight sh-t (haven’t seen it or read it). But watched Water for Elephants and was surprised by how effing sexy I found him (even though the movie was crap). This film will probably up my obsession.
Love your moniker- called my youngest son that nickname until he was out of diapers!
I am 51, and really liked the first Twilight movie, having heard some hoopla, but having never read the books. Thought it was kinda sweet & low-budget, but acquired a school-girl type crush on R.P. , even tho he could be my son! (My other crush is Fassy- love those accents & dry senses of humor.) Seems like a nice enough guy- but what do I know? Hope he finds success despite the Twilight debacles. At least they gave him his first real chance…
woohoo, looks like cronenberg is getting back to his nightmarish, pervy roots!
Good for Rob too, this looks like the perfect part for him to do post-sparkle tits.
I’m reserving full judgement til I see the movie.
One critique. I’ve said this before (not here). I think he needs to be more comfortable with his American accent. If he’s gonna be based in LA doing American movies, it’s something he NEEDS to work on. Quite frankly I think a lot of the time he sounds like somebody doing a bad imitation of generic New Yorker, or DeNiro or Nicholson. Which I’ve heard him say are his acting heroes but he needs to stop imitating them and find his own voice.
One technical aspect of a performance can ruin the entire thing. In this trailer it’s the same as before. He’s mumbles. His face does not change. It seems to all be stemming from his stale accent. But the character is very different which means he can prob go there but the accent, in this, is killing it.
Ex. There’s a line in the 1st Twilight movie and it’s a full on DeNiro reading. I mean I was sitting in the theatre when it came out and I busted out laughing. My friends didn’t know what I was laughing at. Now it’s all they hear.
*shuts down the Virgo gets off my soapbox* 😀 Going to laugh at pseudo royals.
As a New Yorker, I can say his accent definitely made me cringe.
Looks great. I’m gonna go see it.
I never thought this guy was the least bit handsome, but then I’m not a Twilight fan.
Trying to mantain an american accent is no excuse for being a crap actor, and yes, I’ve seen him in other movies besides Twlight & Harry Potter. He shouldn’t get a free pass just because he’s Edward Cullen.
Trying to mantain an american accent is no excuse for being a crap actor, and yes, I’ve seen him in other movies besides Twlight & Harry Potter. He shouldn’t get a free pass just because he’s Edward Cullen. He also looks better with facial hair.
I think he’s the male version of January Jones. A big, blank, stilted nothing of an actor.
Two thoughts. One, the trailer is wicked but if you notice, robert does nothing in the trailer. He seems as uptight and uncomfortable here as he does in twi or wfe. No range of facial expressions or emotions. . Guess i will see if there is more when the film comes out. Second, all this gushing about robert reminds me of cronenberg gushing about KK in adm amd we all know how that turned out. I feel like cronenberg needs to stop because he is setting too high expectations. Brilliant move by robert to be in a film with so much going on that it seems his role is to stand there with a few facial expressions.
I agree. He conveys no personality onscreen. He should go into music and stay there.
I’m in two minds about my opinion on Sparkles acting ability. I’m discounting Twilight since the material they are given to work with is so far beyond poo I wouldn’t give it to a dung beetle.
I thought Remember Me was quite a good film, but he was basically just broody, p*ssed off and smoking. A less sparkly Sparkles.
However, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was very good in How to Be. Cast completely against type and quite a funny film. Although his steady collection of Razzie noms is a bit disheartening.
He’s only been nominated for 2 Twilight films and that’s it. He was not nominated for Twilight and he was not nominated for Breaking Dawn. It’s also clear that those 2 nominations were simply piggybacking the Twilight hate and had nothing to do with him.
I’m REALLY excited. I don’t even care about Robert Pattinson – I’m all about CRONENBERG!
Looks good. Will definitely see this.
Meh, he may be a decent actor (I haven’t seen any of his other work except for HP), but I just can’t get over his face. He’s not attractive to me what so ever. o_O
He still has very limited acting talent. He still wears that mask. He has like one or two face expression. It’s like Edward went nuts or is having a bad nightmare. Sorry but he still looks like Edward.
Looking forward to the movie, looking forward to what Pattinson can bring. I think Cronenberg’s casting was an excellent move.
It took Leo a while to break out of the Titanic mold. Then again, the hype around him wasn’t as bad as Sparkles’. And at least Leo can act.
The movie looks amazing. I can’t freaking wait for it to come out.