As Eric, Pattinson is in every scene of the film, portraying a character
unlike any he's tackled before. And in our exclusive interview in
support of Cosmopolis' theatrical release by eONE Films, writer/director
Cronenberg explained why Pattinson was right for the part of Eric and
how he went about tackling the adaptation of DeLillo's novel.
In casting Robert Pattinson, it's kind of a double-edge sword, isn't
it? You have his Twilight fans anxious to support him in whatever he
chooses to do and then you have the people who dismiss him because he is
'that guy from Twilight'.
"Yeah. In a weird way, on the one hand of course I'm completely aware of
all of those elements and also of course when you're making a movie
that for an independent movie was relatively expensive, you have to have
a leading character who is very charismatic and who can carry the
weight and has the star quality and so on, because you're going to be
looking at him. He's literally in every scene in the movie, and that's
pretty unusual. I mean even in Tom Cruise movies, Tom is not in
absolutely every scene of the movie - but Rob is. So he has to have
that. But at the same time, you want to forget the movies, you know? You
want to forget his movies and my movies because we're creating this
completely new thing and you don't know what audience you're going to
get. You can anticipate it, you can think about it, but really you don't
know. So ultimately when you're making the movie you're saying, 'Okay,
I'm here with these actors. They're wonderful actors, I cast them
because they're terrific and they will bring great stuff to the script,'
and then at that point you're just making a movie and you're not
thinking about any other movie."
Needing an actor to carry the film by being in every scene, how did
you figure out Robert Pattinson was the right guy to play Eric?
[Laughing] "Well, this is the magic of casting! I think as a director,
it's part of your job. It's a really important part of your job. I think
a lot of people don't even realize that the director's involved in
casting. Some people say, 'Did you choose your actors?,' and I say,
'Yes. You're not a director if you don't.'"
"Of course, you're juggling many things, like I say. You're juggling,
for example, their passports. This is a Canada / France co-production
and we were limited to one American actor. Most people of course don't
know that - nor should they. Paul Giamatti is the only American in this
movie even though it takes place in New York City. So from that kind of
aspect to just finding the right guy...of course he's got to be the
right age, there are a lot of things that are just basic. And then after
that, though, there are no rules. You as a director just have to intuit
that this actor will be able to carry off this role."
"We often talk about chemistry, for example, in movies between actors,
let's say. When I was doing A Dangerous Method, Keira Knightley and
Michael Fassbender - how do I know they have chemistry together because I
had never seen them in a movie together? They've never been in one;
they've never met each other. I don't see them together until I'm
actually directing them, so I have to be this kind of dating master who
can anticipate that this couple will be good together. It's a strange
kind of thing. So you give yourself credit when it works, and you have
to berate yourself when somehow it hasn't worked. That's basically where
you're left."
It strikes me with Cosmopolis that the chemistry actually needed to
come between you and Robert more so than between Rob and any of his
co-stars.
"There's truth in that too. That is the unspoken thing is the chemistry
between the director and the actors is the key. And at a certain point I
think Rob would...you know, he's a serious actor and he didn't want to
be the one who was going to blow this movie. He was kind of thinking,
'Well, I'll be alone in that limo because I won't have one person who is
always playing opposite me. It's really a one-man show with a lot of
day players coming in.' And I said, 'No, you won't be alone because I'll
be there. I'll be with you every moment.' And so that is a real
element."
Do you think that you view the character of Eric the same way that
author DeLillo did? Or do you think that you two don't necessarily agree
on how an audience should look at him?
"I think we actually illuminate things for each other. I've been on the
road doing publicity with Don in several countries and I think he was
pretty intrigued by seeing what would happen. Because, after all, once
you put Rob Pattinson in that role, that's a very specific thing. You've
got a particular face and a particular voice and a body, and that's
something that the novel can not have. That's one of the things that
movies can do that novels can not do, and so it immediately shapes the
character in a way that he wasn't shaped in the novel. So, there are
differences, I think, but it's not a major split or divergence. It's
just really shading and shaping things. It's just really hearing the
dialogue spoken, which was something that when I read the novel, I
thought, 'Yeah, I really want to hear this spoken by really great
actors.' Just doing that immediately changes your reaction to the
characters and to the words. So there is a difference, definitely."
Source Robsten Dreams
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