A film which lost financing five years ago and has had rumours aplenty surrounding it has finally seen the light at the end of the developmental tunnel. David Cronenberg’s Maps To The Stars has been in development since 2006 and today Variety have announced that a wedge of Hollywood talent have signed on to star. John Cusack, Julianne Moore and Robert Pattinson and Sara Gadon have all been confirmed to jump aboard the director’s first film following last year’s Cosmopolis.
A tale in sync with the director’s unique blend of the monstrous side of humanity, Maps To The Stars, penned by Wild Palms scribe Bruce Wagner, tells the story of two child actors ruined by Hollywood’s depravity. The film has undergone plenty of changes during its development, namely that it has shifted from a drama to a ghost story thrill ride exposing the grotesque side of celebrity-obsessed Los Angeles. Cronenberg has from the get-go stated the film will be “acerbic and satirical” and “very extreme.”
There’s no doubt that he’ll brand the film with his harrowing view of human relationships witnessed in his most recent efforts, A Dangerous Method and Eastern Promises. Unfortunately, there has been no mention of previously attached talent in the form of Cronenberg-stalwart Viggo Mortensen or Rachel Weisz, who was announced to be starring last year.
Screenwriter Wagner previously penned Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and it stands as his most noted resume entry, which considering Cronenberg’s attraction to the body horror rhetoric he exploited in the 70s and 80s, could forge a brilliant cinematic partnership.
Maps To The Stars will mark Cusack and Moore’s first flick with Cronenberg, while Pattinson and Gadon worked with him on Cosmopolis. Production starts in July, with shooting to take place in Toronto and Los Angeles.
What do you make of David Cronenberg’s latest casting additions for Maps Of The Stars? Lob your two cents in below!
