Films with Rob, Kristen and Anna Kendrick among the 50 most anticipated for 2012

The Playlist's (50) Most Anticipated Films Of 2012

 

“Cosmopolis”  

Synopsis: Based on the novel by American authorDon DeLillo, it centers on Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson), a young multi-billionaire making an epic, ultimately doomed limo ride across New York City.  

What You Need to Know: David Cronenberg is enjoying an unparalleled level of critical and commercial acceptance after decades hovering on the fringe. At the outset, "Cosmopolis" seems to fall in line with the mannered, critic-friendly films of the recent Cronenberg era. It is, after all, an adaptation of a critically revered and best-selling novel and stars hunky heartthrob-of-the-moment Robert Pattinson. But on closer inspection, the movie seems more atypical and dangerous (a good thing, since "A Dangerous Method" felt far too safe for a filmmaker known for exploding heads and genital mutilation), taking place primarily in a stretch limousine as it crawls through New York City (not exactly a cinematic conceit). A number of Cronenberg's favorite thematic tics are explored, too, including man's relationship with modern technology, the messiness of murder and sexual obsession. So while it might be sold as another buttoned-up late era Cronenberg think piece, we're hoping it's going to be ruder, looser, and more like the days of yore, even if it has to be without the exploding heads and genital mutilation.

Release Date: With press for “A Dangerous Method” occupying much of Cronenberg’s time in the fall of 2011, our guess is the fall film festival circuit will be the earliest we see the picture.

“On The Road”

Synopsis: A long-time-coming adaptation of Jack Kerouac's famous Beat Generation novel. Drifter poets Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty travel across the country in search of themselves, colliding with a rigid and impermeable society along the way.

What You Need To Know: Over thirty years in the making, director Francis Ford Coppola has been trying to get this picture made since the mid 1970s. Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles signed on to make the picture in 2005, with Coppola exec producing, but none of it became a reality until  early 2010 when casting and financing finally coalesced. Starring Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley as the two leads andKristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi and more, rounding out the colorful cast, “On The Road” has been a labor of love for both Salles and Hedlund who has also been involved for years, biding his time for when funding would finally arrive. Having directed “The Motorcycle Diaries,” and other striking Foreign-language films, Salles has had an unlucky streak of late. After 2005’s semi-successful “Dark Water,” his 2008 co-directed film “Linha de Passe" failed to ever score distribution in North America. But having worked on ‘Road’ on and off for six years, we’re hoping this one is a major comeback.

Release Date: TBD, but we’re guessing a Cannes bow in May would make sense.

“The Company You Keep”

Synopsis: Jim Grant, a  former Weather Underground militant who has been wanted by the FBI for 30 years for a Bank Of Michigan robbery, must go on the run when his true identity is exposed by a young, ambitious reporter hell-bent on making a name for himself.

What You Need To Know: Following last year’s tepid “The Conspirator,” Robert Redford returns with a project that not only has a lot more mainstream appeal, but retains his interest in politically angular material while also marking his first starring role since 2007’s “Lion For Lambs.” Along with “The Wettest County,” this will be a significant change of pace for co-star Shia LaBeouf, who is making some big strides into non-franchise territory and hoping it will pay off. The pic will also be enlivened by more young talent including Sundance sweetheart Brit Marling and Anna Kendrick, along with an ace line-up of veterans like Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Richard Jenkins andStanley Tucci. But while the premise is sound, so was that of the “The Conspirator,” and that film soon got bogged down in Redford’s heavy-handed politics. If he has learned those lessons, though, and can keep the thriller elements brisk and the thematic undercurrents subtle, it could be his best effort since the mid-'90s.

Release Date: Not scheduled yet, though a festival bow seems likely.

You can read the full list at IndieWire

via TOR and rpattzkstewtwilightaddict