Ryan McNeilIt may sound strange to say this, but I have the sneaking suspicion that Robert Pattinson might actually be a better actor than most of us give him credit for. Sure he’s been spinning his wheels with movies about Elephants, and movies that want us to remember him…but I get the hunch much that went into those decisions was about capitalizing on his fames a the lead in a particular story and its particular fans.
I can’t help but wonder what a director like David Cronenberg might get out of him, and if everyone’s favorite Canadian weird-o might help usher him into a whole new chapter.
This looks insane. I don’t know if I’ll really like it a lot, but I am curious.
Regarding Pattinson, and I’ve been saying this for a while now, I think he is sort of like Keanu Reeves. I don’t think he can be overly emotive in his face, but the blank look sells perfectly if done right. He can be a good actor.
The Keanu comparison might be apt, since he too can be well used in the right film.
As for how insane this looks, I vote you look into some classic Cronenberg as a primer – specifically THE FLY, EXISTENZ, and if you want to embrace some of the craziest of the crazy, VIDEODROME.
Oh my gosh, so excited! I’m really ready for Cronenberg to get weird again, I don’t even care if Robert Pattinson is there.
And yeah I have a feeling he’s secretly a decent actor anyway. He’s pretty much outwardly anti-TWILIGHT, I figure he’s phoning it in.
Aren’t they all outwardly anti-Twilight now? In some cases they have it to thank for their careers, but it’s like most of them can see the reinvention of their image that they will be facing now.
(For what it’s worth, I think Kendrick has navigated this all the best, and Lautner will have the most uphill battle)
Unlike most, I count Cronenberg’s recent work to be among his best (still need to see SPIDER, though), but I can’t wait for a more stylistic return to form, even if he’s only refined a lot of his themes (even the body horror angle) with stuff like EASTERN PROMISES and A DANGEROUS METHOD.
Oh dude, SPIDER is killer! It was actually my introduction to Cronenberg at TIFF 2002 (The day I met Lindsay if my memory serves).
After watching much of the man’s filmogrophy for The Film Locker last summer, I too am quite drawn to his offerings from the last decade. Could be the fact that I’m drawn to filmmakers who like to tell different sorts of stories (read: Soderbergh, Steven)
I’m trying to break in
Oh I know it’s not for me
And the sight of it all
Makes me sad and ill
That’s when I want
Some weird sin…
-Iggy Pop “Some Weird Sin”
This will be awesome and maybe, Robert Pattinson can prove that he’s not some mopey vampire.
After almost five years of blogging, I coulda sworn the song title gimmick wasn’t landing anymore. Glad you caught the reference.
Count me in as one that hopes this movie is awesome!
Though I haven’t seen much of Cronenberg, I’m down for anything he does … he’s just a fascinating filmmaker.
I can’t recall, did you listen to the Cronenberg episode of The Film Locker? There’s some good “Cronenberg 101” in that conversation.
A lot of people have been down on Cronenberg since A History of Violence, accusing him of pretentious navel-gazing. I don’t really fall on that side of the fence– loved History and Eastern Promises, while I have yet to see Method— but there’s no denying my excitement at the idea of him getting back to what he’s largely known for, namely making graphic and totally batshit nuts films.
The fact that he’s teaming with Pattinson on this is almost like icing on the cake. Makes me admire Pattinson that much more, at least.
I don’t go for that sort of criticism of the man either, hence why my post never made any mention of a “return to form”. I like directors who experiment, who try to tell different stories…and I’d put films like HISTORY OF VIOLENCE or SPIDER right next to DEAD RINGERS any day.
We had a pretty good discussion about him on The Film Locker last summer. You should give a listen!