David Cronenberg's newest film has a trailer and a premiere now. Maps to the Stars will debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this May. The trailer (subtitled in French) is...something else.
I'm a huge Cronenberg fan. The only film I've missed in theaters since being old enough to go to them myself is A Dangerous Method, solely because the screenings never lined up in my schedule. Maps to the Stars seems to be in the weird world of Cosmopolis and Eastern Promises.
Really, he had me at Julianne Moore. I'm a big fan. Add in his second collaboration with Robert Pattinson (so great in Cosmopolis) and a juicy role for Mia Wasikowska and I'm in.
That's not even getting into the subject matter. I love a good showbiz drama. A showbiz thriller is even better. Julianne Moore as a struggling actress who gets offered a role after the mysterious hospitalization of her rival? With elements of is she or isn't she real on Mia Wasikowska's character? Sold.
Take it a step further. It's David Cronenberg playing with Hollywood. He really doesn't work in the Hollywood system, no matter how many big name actors he snags for his films. I'm most curious to see how he presents some of the oddities of the industry. The trailer, for example, focuses a lot on the recurring imagery of Julianne Moore meditating and doing yoga. It also shows a lot of people in suits just standing around rooms and not really doing anything. Then there's Wasikowska's character who is a PA/intern maybe? Another nebulous position made even more nebulous by the covered body and reputation.
No word on a theatrical release yet. It's a Cronenberg film. It will at least get a platform release in major cities. If it wins at Cannes, it could actually build to a wide release. It's impossible to say before it screens for real.