Canadian director David Cronenberg never ceases to deliver unpredictable, buzzworthy films.
His latest venture, "Maps to the Stars," is no exception. "Maps" follows a bunch of Hollywoodites who are searching for fame in their own individual ways -- and underneath it all is a (very) dysfunctional family drama.
Moviefone Canada spoke to Cronenberg about this project, and the filmmaker talked openly about choosing specific actors for his movies, why "Maps" has been described as a "fever dream," and whether or not this will be his last film.
Moviefone Canada: John Cusack has described this movie as a "fever dream" -- a description I've always really liked. What are your thoughts on that, in terms of this film?
David Cronenberg: I think that's a better description than saying "satire," because it's easy to just say "satire" and move on. Bruce [Wagner] and I always object to that, because I think the meaning of the word has been diluted over the years. These days, anything nasty and somewhat funny is called a satire. ["Maps"], we thought, was much too realistic. Bruce has even said that every conversation in the movie, he's heard.
And yet, there's a sense in which life in Hollywood is a fever dream. Everybody is in a state of high-temperature anxiety, so in that way, I think it's an accurate appraisal. It doesn't mean that it's dreamlike in the sense of not being realistic. I know that John [Cusack] has said to me that he was Benjie. He was a child star and went through that kind of stuff. People automatically assume we modelled the character after Justin Bieber, but Bruce wrote this before Justin was even born, so no, it's not about Justin Bieber. [Laughs]
A lot of the humour in the film is undercut by a deep sadness ... you seem to isolate your characters in the frame. No one is paired.
That's exactly true. The humour comes from within ... it's the absurdity of the human condition that's the source of the humour, not some sort of self-parody, eye-winking kind of humour. Julianne Moore noticed what I was doing. She said, "You're isolating us all. We're all in our own little bubbles. I like the security of the frame on me."
It's a subtle way of suggesting that, even though these people are speaking to each other, they're not really communicating with each other. There are very few two-shots, and I think only one over-the-shoulder shot. Most audiences won't notice that, but they'll feel it -- that no two actors really occupy the same space.
The dialogue is so spot-on it's almost scary.
Exactly. Bruce has a really wonderful ear for that, he's living it. He was raised in Hollywood. I have enough experience to know the veracity of it, to know that it's not fantasy and satire. It's like a docu-drama.
You've cast Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in multiple movies now. Do you have an affinity for these specific actors? Or is it just coincidence?
You know, it's fun! First of all, though you might love an actor, you don't do him or her a favour by miscasting them. I didn't have a role for Viggo [Mortensen] in "Cosmopolis," so as much as I would want to work with Viggo, there was no point in fitting him in. On the other hand, it's exciting if you can get an actor who you love to work with -- like Viggo as Sigmund Freud in "A Dangerous Method" -- and it's kind of unexpected.
So you have someone you love working with, have confidence in, have a really good flow with them already so you don't have to establish that, and the fun is putting them into a role that's really demanding and something different for them. I know Sarah and Rob are very fearless in their own ways. Rob didn't want to play the star and have the movie be all about him -- and he said he'd love to play a role in an ensemble piece. I said to him, "This role [in "Maps"] is it."
Rob mentioned something about you not making any more movies. Is that true?
I tempt fate and the devil by saying things like, "'Cosmopolis' will be my last movie." I don't know why I say things like that, I just do. I had lots of fun doing "Maps," I had a lot of energy. Sometimes I think I'll stop making movies and just write novels, but then my accountant says no. [Laughs] Where I find myself right now: I don't make rules for myself. If some project came along that was wonderful, I don't have a rule that says I'm not making any more movies.
But it would have to be something really great, something very seductive. I'm just keeping my options open. What I'm not saying is, "I think I'll write another original screenplay." I haven't done that for a long time. You can spend two years writing a screenplay and then never get it made. I don't close any doors, but I like to shock people by saying I'm finished with movie-making.
"Maps to the Stars" opens in theatres on October 31.
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