Cronenberg and DeLillo interviews – Rob mentions are bolded and underlined. The interview is pretty spoilery so read at your own risks!
ROB’S INTERVIEW
Were you familiar with Don DeLillo’s novel?
No. But I had read some of his other novels. I first read the screenplay David Cronenberg sent me, and then the novel. One is incredibly true to the other, it is faithful in a way that seems impossible, for a novel that see med impossible to adapt. But even before reading the book, what impressed me the most about the script was the quick-paced rhythm and the unrelenting tension.
What was it about this film that appealed to you the most?
Cronenberg, obviously! I have played in only a few films, and none of them came close to what I expected working with him would be like. I wasn’t disappointed… I knew he would be very creative, and that it would be a real experience. And I was appealed by the writing of the script, like a kind of long poem. And a mysterious poem too. Usually when you read a script, you quickly know what it is about, where it is going, how it will end, even if there might be unexpected or sophisticated twists and turns in the plot. But this time it was completely different, the further I read, the less I could figure out where it was leading, and the more I wanted to be a part of it. It doesn’t fit any film genre whatsoever, it is in a league of its own.
Q: Bel Ami describes a society not unlike the present one, a world where sex is power and celebrity obsession.
R: One thing that struck me about the script and the novel from which it was derived is this, its extraordinary actuality
Q: Who is Georges Duroy today then, a today’s world boy?
R: (He is) A boy of today and yesterday, one of the many men without conscience across the world. He has no ambitions, but he thinks that everything is due to him. And if someone does not approve, the most incredible energy explodes into him and transforms him into a demonic being
“I have a weird relationship with fame. It is sometimes hard to live, but I did not want to complain. Probably because the people are friendly with me – and it is that you released.
I’m thinking it has nothing to do with what lives Robert (Pattinson) This is a guy I really like – and no I do not have his laptop, and I say this, because every time it’s the first thing you wonder. He is a sex symbol. It’s sexy and it just makes her look “romantic” for girls tocrack. It is the perfect size to seduce girls – unlike me (laughs). He can be charming and cute, wild and sexy … I do not have this status: look at the photos in the press. When one puts us face-to-face, I always look a bit silly or I make faces, while he, he always has his eye as a womanizer!”
His film Cosmopolis, based on the novel by Don Delillo, is in post-production. It stars Robert Pattinson as a Manhattan millionaire.
The film was shot in Toronto, a favourite shooting location of Cronenberg’s.
“I’ve never shot a foot of film in the U.S., even though a lot of my movies are set there,” he said.
Toronto also provided a refuge for Pattinson’s international celebrity, he said.
“When we were shooting on the streets, [Pattinson] had a lot of fans crowding around, but he could go to bars and clubs in his street clothes and people didn’t recognize him,” he said.
While doing promo for ‘This Means War’, Reese Witherspoon talked about Robert Pattinson, who she worked with in ‘Water for Elephants’.
In the movie, the star of the Twilight saga, plays a vet student that joins the circus in the beginning of last century.
In the movie, Reese plays a character called Marlena, the circus’ star, engaged to an animal trainer.
“He’s great. And oh my God, so handsome!”
The actress praised Pattinson’s effort to manage two jobs at the same time.
“What surprised me was his dedication. He would film all weekend long, then spend the week on the Twilight [set], then another weekend filming, then more Twilight… And he still had that lightness, humility. He’s very grateful for everything he’s been living.”
You have a song called ‘How to Be’ that is the same name as the movie Robert Pattinson starred in. How did writing ‘How to Be’ come about?
I was speaking to my friend, Rob and he’d just been through an audition for a movie. He was telling me about the movie and telling me about this guy (his character) who was a complete loser and a failure. He wants to be a good musician, but he was rubbish. Rob thought the character was quite funny. I thought he seemed like a cool character. The film starts with the guy in a queue at a job center and ends with a guy in a queue at the job center; most of the actors and musicians in London are similar to that. I told him I was going to write the theme to the movie. I spent two days on my bed writing this song- I initially had a bit of writer’s block, but then it came to me. I took it back and played it to him and his family in his kitchen. I gave him the CD and said to play it to the producer and director.Then, Rob came back and told me that they had already picked out the soundtrack for it, but that it was a really good song. I thought to myself- ‘not to worry’, so I kept it and started playing it and it’s worked out really well. It’s not supposed to be about me, but everyone always assumes it’s about me. And, I think…. really?! Am I that much of a loser? (laughing)
Robert Pattinson
c/o Curtis Brown Group Ltd.
Haymarket House
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London, SW1Y 4SP
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or
Robert Pattinson
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