I’m going to just get this right out in the open: I don’t hate Robert Pattinson. Sure, the Twilight franchise is wretched, but that’s more the material than the person and his other roles (Remember Me, the upcoming Water for Elephants) prove that he isn’t just a pretty boy who is going to ride the coattails of a beloved franchise; this man wants to actually try. And as Deadline reports, he’s getting another role to branch out in: Pattinson has just signed on to play the lead in David Cronenberg‘s Cosmopolis, based on the 2003 novel by Don DeLillo.
Cosmopolis takes over the course of one day in the year 2000 and follows young Eric Packer, a financial wizard who is taking his fancy limousine out to go get a haircut and is prepping to risk his entire fortune on betting against the rise of the Japanese yen. He keeps getting sidetracked though, as he runs into a protest, a presidential visit, and a rapper’s funeral which keeps traffic at a stand still. During this time, he indulges in sadistic and voyeuristic thoughts and waxes philosophic about the state of the country from the back of his limo. In layman’s terms, the guy’s kind of a douchebag. Pattinson will be playing this character, and it’s also been rumored that Marion Cotillard and Paul Giamatti have also signed on.
See that sounds great…for a novel. As for a movie, I don’t know if it will translate as well since what I’ve read up on it makes it sound like the main character just sits in his limo and does a bunch of monologues about assorted things. But then again, Cronenberg isn’t a horrible director and I’ve got faith in his vision; not only is he directing the movie, he’s also written the script for it so he’s got to have something invested in the material. What I also like is that Pattinson didn’t take this movie for the money or the glory; instead, he signed on because he admires not only the work of the director, but Don DeLillo‘s novels as well. It’s reasons like those that keep me rooting for the pretty boy vampire; I just hope Cosmopolis gives him the chance to shine.
Have you read Cosmopolis and if so, do you think it will translate well on the big screen? And for all of us who are afraid of cracking open a book, any interest in seeing Cronenberg and Pattinson team up? Or just Cronenberg doing anything? Are these too many questions? Am I rambling?