David Cronenberg Talks about Working with Rob
"Maps to the Stars" takes aim at Hollywood excess, with an ensemble cast including a bleach-blond Julianne Moore playing a hysterical actress and Mia Wasikowska playing the mysterious, scarred young woman who suddenly appears in her life.
Although it marks the first time Cronenberg, known for "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises," has made a film about Hollywood, he said he has been trying to make the movie — based on a script by novelist Bruce Wagner — for a decade.
"I've never really been obsessed with doing a movie about movie-making or anything like that, but in a way his script was not that. It's about ambition and fear and desperation and a whole bunch of other things within the context of movie-making," he said.
The film reunites Cronenberg with "Cosmopolis" star Robert Pattinson, who the director called "a terrific actor."
"When we did 'Cosmopolis,' he didn't really want to do it because his character was in every scene. He really wanted to be in an ensemble piece, where he was one of a great cast of actors," said Cronenberg. "I said, 'We talked about that and here it is. Here's a perfect role for you.'"
