Were you happy with how Cosmopolis was received?
No, I would’ve liked it to have made half a billion dollars at the box office! [laughs] The movie was received like an art film, which is to say it did OK in the big cities. Naturally you always want the biggest audience you can get, just as long as it doesn’t cause you to compromise your moviemaking.
Why did you cast Robert Pattinson as limo-riding antihero Eric Packer?
Eric is in absolutely every scene, so you need an actor who is interesting and charismatic enough to look at for the entire movie. You want someone who can really come up with surprises and angles, and has a level of stardom that will support the movie. He also had to do a credible New York accent. All of that led me to Rob.
Thinking of Rob 