Cronenberg Does Delillo
Hmm, well, Pattinson does need a haircut. Great casting.
If Cannes makes a Robert Pattinson film a Palm d’Or winner, I’m never going back to Cannes.
Aw, you woulda said the same thing about Brad Pitt . . . or Adrian Brody . . . or John Travolta . . . or Nic Cage.
Brad Pitt has grown on me.
Adrian Brody will never grow on me.
you bandwagoners…Pitt’s always been good. Now shoo.
Cosmopolis doesn’t really have much of a plot, but it’s definitely one of those novels that could easily be made into a film. I re-read it just recently and it is better than i remembered.
Cronenberg bores me a lot now but this material is edgier than usual for him, at least in recent times. i.e since Crash.
That teaser trailer looks really interesting. It’s about time Cronenberg did some crazy shit again. (Not that his more recent “respectable” films are bad or anything, they’re just less interesting than his weirder earlier stuff.)
In Cronenberg I trust.
“you bandwagoners…Pitt’s always been good. Now shoo.”
This.
I honestly have no evidence that Robert Pattison is a bad actor.
“But DiB, what about Twilight"
Twilight is a bad movie by any measurement, an actor cannot really be blamed for the entirety of the nothing-he-had-to-work-with. I saw Kristin Stewart in What Just Happened? and The Replacements and she did decently in both — not great, but no worse than you can come to expect from modern acting.
And I’ve not seen Twilight, so I have no evidence that Robert Pattison is a bad actor.
—PolarisDiB
(Where’s the edit feature?)
Finally, it’s worth noting that Cronenberg relishes non-traditional, off-putting actors. He’s actually great at finding what is distinctly weird about the actors and turning it into part of the characterization. Especially his leads and his women, though that’s not to say he has a lighter touch on his supports and background.
—PolarisDiB
Q to Delillo/Cronenberg fans: Should I try to read Cosmopolis before I see this movie?
I have kind of a dilemma. On one hand, I’m a huge fan of the Delillo books I’ve read (White Noise, Underground, Libra), and if I’m going to read this I want it to learn the plot for the first time the way he wanted to give it to me.
Buuutttt, I also know that if I read the book first, then watch the movie, the plot points that got shaved down to fit into the two hour window will drive me nuts.
So, read the book first, enjoy the book more and the movie less, see the movie first, enjoy the movie more and the book less. What do all of you, who’ve read the book, advise?
Hard to say for sure, Jirin, not having actually seen the film, but imo, this is one of DeLillo’s lesser works, so you’d get more return on your reading investment from going back and reading Players, Running Dog, Mao II, and The Names. However, Cosmopolis is pretty sparsely plotted, and compressed to the point that it’s almost a novella rather than full novel (224 pages in hardcover), so I would imagine the film won’t end up being too terribly abbreviated.
I’m honestly not expecting the two to be that similar. I haven’t read the original but I mean… well, look at Naked Lunch and Crash. True to the idea if not the details, wherein exponent “true to the idea” = “Cronenberg’s particular fascination with the concept” the same way The Shining is a damned good adaptation of the book simply because it took the concept and made it Kubrick’s own.
—PolarisDiB
Jirin, i say you have nothing to lose. Cosmopolis isn’t brilliant, but it has its moments, plus it’s ultra short. You can read it in a few hours.
Ok, so it’s based on the book kind of like how Minority Report is based on a Philip K Dick book?
If that’s the case it doesn’t matter which one I read/see first. Thanks. :)
No way to tell for sure without having read/seen both. His more recent adaptations—Spider, A History of Violence, and A Dangerous Method—have tended to be more literal adaptations.
I’m also going to have to object to the idea that Twilight is a bad movie by any standard, and I particularly question that assertion coming from someone who stood up for the Harry Potter series. Heh.
“I’m also going to have to object to the idea that Twilight is a bad movie by any standard”
Be my guest. Just don’t write 5 long paragraphs about it though ok? ;-)
It’s bad.
Greg likes Twight?
Noted.
People I’ve talked to about Twilight seem to say the first one is god awful and the other ones are progressively slightly less awful. About the first one they say things like “Bella is the most depressing person in the universe and there’s no explanation why these two people are interested in each other.” I believe them.
Cronenberg, ever the pragmatist:
In deference to Joks, and even more due to knowing any argument I might make would fall on deaf ears in this instance, I won’t argue for Twilight other than to suggest that the things that seem to have put people off about the movies are exactly what makes them so interesting, which speaks to convention and expectation more than anything else, and that, I suspect taints the Robert Pattinson talk as well, as if anyone involved with Twilight couldn’t possibly be any good, ’cause, you know, teen girls like ’em.
“he Robert Pattinson talk as well, as if anyone involved with Twilight couldn’t possibly be any good, ’cause, you know, teen girls like ’em.”
well i’m prepared to give Pattinson a chance under the right direction. Cronenberg is very good with actors, and i doubt he would have cast him if the ability wasn’t there.
I wonder how horrible flat writing makes a film interesting but I’m guessing Greg might be a sucker for bad melodramas. The bad performances in Twilight are a product of the material and bad direction. But you can’t blame the actors – It’s like acting in the new Star Wars films. As Shattered Glass showed, even Hayden Christensen can act.
^^Apparently Christensen was well aware that he was giving a bad performance in the Star Wars films and even mentioned it to Lucas.
That’s how the story goes anyway.
As for Pattinson/Cronenberg, i get that it works to their mutual advantage. Cronenberg needs a ‘name’, of sorts—and if Pattinson is actually great in the film he will look like even more of a ‘genius’ for taking a risk—and Pattinson is desperately seeking credibility.
Taking a pay cut(presumably) and working with a great and respected director like Cronenberg is certainly one way to go about getting people to take you seriously.
Personally i admire them both for taking a risk. Let’s just hope the film is good.
The teaser is online for this and it actually looks pretty ****ing cool, Cronenberg just kind of IS so can’t say I’m too suprised!
Count me in.
I bought White Noise the other day, which will be my first DeLillio.
Looks really good!!
First Cronenberg film i’ve wanted to see in a long time.
DADA WEATHERMAN
Actually looks very enticing. This is quite an exciting development on this front.