Judging from our first glimpse at the plot of David Cronenberg‘s next film, Maps to the Stars, it sounds the director is moving further into unhinged territory following Cosmopolis. Described as “acerbic and satirical” by Cronenberg himself, the project is a Bruce Wagner-scripted ghost story which revolves around actors and agents, with a specific focus on two child actors ruined by Hollywood’s depravity.
We’ve now got new casting additions which reveal a bit more of our story, as a press release confirms that Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams and Evan Bird will be joining the ensemble already including Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon. Bird who popped up in The Killing, has the role of the “troubled, drug-addicted child star,” while Williams (Anna Karenina, Hanna) takes the role of his “manipulative mother,” and lastly, the talented Wasikowska is his “disfigured, schizophrenic, fame-obsessed sister.”
Kicking off production this July in Toronto and Los Angeles for a likely 2014 release, we simply can’t wait to see what Cronenberg has up his sleeves. Before we go, we’ve also got a brief update on a potential project from on of the film’s stars. We reported last fall that Pattinson was teaming with Carey Mulligan on a thriller titled Hold On To Me, from director James Marsh, but now it’s been but on the backburner.
Speaking to Perez Hilton, Mulligan said, “We couldn’t get it together in time. We still hope to do it. It’s just sort of hanging out there for a second.” If it ever gets made, the film will follow the true story of a girlfriend (Mulligan) and boyfriend who plan to kidnap the richest man in their town and hold a ransom. When they bury him underground, things start to go, expectedly, downhill. Pattinson comes in as the longtime love of Mulligan’s character, but is in no way part of the crime.
Are you looking forward to Maps to the Stars? What do you think about Hold On to Me getting delayed?