The five blockbuster “Twilight” films aren’t fondly remembered as an actor’s showcase, but since saying goodbye to the franchise that made them into overnight superstars, both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have proved their worth as performers by taking on challenging fare not tailored for the Twihards of the world.
This was especially obvious at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the duo were both on hand in support of what many deemed the best performances of their respective careers. For Stewart, that was as an assistant to an actress in Olivier Assayas’ “Clouds of Sils Maria.” For Pattinson, it was as Rey, a socially awkward American struggling to stay alive in the Australian outback in David Michôd’s grim follow-up to “Animal Kingdom.”
With “The Rover” opening in select theaters on June 13, Indiewire spoke with Pattinson about this challenging post-apocalyptic role.
David said he put you through the “wringer” during your three hour audition for the part. What did he make you do?
I mean, he did it at his house in LA. I don’t know, it was kind of, it was slightly nerve-wracking. I always get incredible anxiety attacks when I audition. I try to avoid them at all costs. But I loved the script so much. I had an idea of how to do it as soon as I read it.
[The audition] was just long. Normally you do two takes in an audition and that’s that. I think that’s why I’ve always messed them up over the years… I also had a really good actor reading with me as well, which helps. But yeah, I mean, it wasn’t like it was grueling or anything. It was quite exhilarating. You could tell that David was great even in the audition. I would have almost been happy not getting it. It was a great experience just doing the audition.
Australian director David Michôd’s (“Animal Kingdom”) much-anticipated crime drama “The Rover” will premiere out of competition at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, but before then, here’s an exclusive clip featuring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson.
In the scene we see an intimate and angry conversation between the Pearce character, who seeks revenge from a group of dangerous criminals after they steal his last possession, and Pattinson, one of the criminals left behind after being shot.
In addition to the clip, Michôd also gave an exclusive statement to Indiewire. Check them both out below. A24 opens “The Rover” June 13.
“The Australian Outback of The Rover is a world ten years after a great Western economic collapse. It’s a near future of social and economic decay. Services, utilities, law and order have fallen into dangerous disrepair. And yet people from all corners of the world have come to this place to work the mines that feed the new world alignment, that feed the great powerhouses of this, the Asian century.
The world of the movie, as such, mirrors the American and Australian gold rushes of the 19th century. People are drawn to the land’s mines and with them come the leeches, the refuse, the hustlers and criminals who hope to exploit the mines’ margins.
This isn’t a complete collapse of society – it’s an inversion of present-day global power dynamics. This is Australia as resource-rich Third World country. This is the violence and unrest of contemporary Sierra Leone or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
And at the centre of this world are two men – one, a murderously embittered Australian man, a former soldier who has lost his farm and his family; the other, a simple and naive American boy, too young to remember a time when things were anything other than what they are.”
204 critics voted across 10 categories for Indiewire’s seventh annual poll for Best Film. For each ballot in which critics were asked to create lists — Best Film, Best Performance, Best Supporting Performance and Best Undistributed Film — films were ranked using a simple point system, the results of which are visible in the numerical breakdown to the right of each film title. In the other categories, critics submitted single votes, with each vote counting as one point.
Best Screenplay …. Cosmopolis #14
Best Original Score or Soundtrack …. Cosmopolis #15
Best Film …. Cosmopolis #18
Best Performance …. Robert Pattinson (Cosmopolis) #40
Best Director …. David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis) #20
Best Ensemble …. Cosmopolis #8
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