David Cronenberg’s oft-copied but rarely bettered visual techniques are what enabled his shift from body horror expert to twisted auteur, and his eye for the unusual is front and center in the the latest trailer for Maps To The Stars. An expose on the bizarre inner workings of Hollywood, it’s garnered a wealth of strong advance reviews since it debuted at last year’s TIFF. With this, its SIXTH trailer in the space of a year, is there really anything else new we need to see in order to be convinced of its madness?
This latest preview completely harnesses the tedious idea of a blow-by-blow story breakdown. Instead, some staccato editing and pushy soundtrack choices elevate this into a jarring glimpse at the crazy underbelly of the industry.
For those who don’t know, the movie stars Mia Wasikowska as a young ingenue who arrives in Hollywood eager to make it in Tinseltown. Befriending a handsome limo driver, she winds up becoming a personal assistant to Julianne Moore’s self-obsessed actress, and the personal details of her own life eventually come to light.
Overall, it’s a brilliant little trailer that serves as cinematic amuse bouche before Maps To The Stars hits theaters and VOD on February 27th.
Meet the Weiss family, who are making their way in Hollywood rife with money, fame, envy, and relentless hauntings. Stafford Weiss (John Cusack) is a famed TV self-help therapist with an A-list celebrity clientele. Meanwhile, Cristina Weiss (Olivia Williams) has her work cut out managing the career of their disaffected child-star son, Benjie (Evan Bird), a fresh graduate of rehab at age 13.
Yet unbeknownst to them, another member of the Weiss family has arrived in town – mysteriously scarred and tormented Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), just released from a psych ward and ready to start again. She soon works her way into a friendship with a limo driver (Robert Pattinson) and becomes personal assistant to unraveling actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), who is beset by the ghost of her legendary mother, Clarice (Sarah Gadon). But Agatha is on a quest for redemption – and even in this realm of the artificial, and the unearthly, she’s determined to find it, no matter what it takes.
