Le Figaro (scans e traduzione)
Le Figaro: How does it feel to be at Cannes?Rob: It's crazy. I was at the screening of On the Road the evening before yesterday. It was intense. At every scene, I felt terrified, blown away, captivated. On the Road and Cosmopolis are kind of similar in a way, they talk about a journey. They're road movies. In a way, they talk about the same thing, freedom, this desperate attempt to look from something different than the sad daily reality.LF: You and Kristen Stewart, both actors from the Twilight Saga, are in competition at Cannes. Is that a game, a coincidence or a challenge?Rob: I don't think of it as a challenge. I admit that it's really strange. The year when Twilight ends, Kristen and I end up in Cannes ... For me, Cannes is the most important competition in the world. When I was a kid, even before I knew I wanted to be an actor, I would rent DVDs with the Palme logo on it to impress my friends. As an actor, you dream that one day all your movies could have that logo on their DVD cases. My secret goal was to one day be invited at the Festival. I thought it could happen in 10 years and it happens now! I think the phone call I got to tell me that Cosmopolis was selected for the official competition, was one of the happiest moments of my life.LF: What push you to make this movie?Rob: The script. I read it in half an hour. It was perfect. The only thing that terrified me was that the fear that I could screw everything up. What helped me decide too was the conversation I had with David Cronenberg. I asked him why he chose me and he answered: 'I don't know!'. Then, I asked him if he understood anything about the script and he simply told me that he didn't but that it wasn't important. I hesitated for a week then I called him back one night, almost in tears: 'I want to do it, as soon as possible!'LF: Who's Eric Paker?Rob: He's a guy who did everything to empty himself. A lot of people think he's nihilist. On the contrary, I think he hangs on to the slightest bit of hope. But every time, he's disappointed.LF: How did the filming go?Rob: David Cronenberg did everthing he could to unsettle me. Eric Packer slipped through my fingers like an eel. David constantly told me: 'If you understand anything to what we're doing, it's over!' So I played my role like a melody to a song. I didn't understand the lyrics but I felt like I was in tuned to it. After one week of acclimation, we often filmed scenes in one take. Even the 15 minute scene with Paul Giamatti was done in one take! At the end, this is the movie that gave me the most confidence.LF: Will Cannes be a launching ramp for you after Twilight?Rob: People don't watch Twilight for what the movies are but more as a global phenomenon. Edward Cullen is like a superhero A superhero who doesn't do anything but be super. In Cosmopolis, I'll finally be judged for my performance. That's why I'm scared!
USAToday (usatoday.com)
Some rumors are so good, that they even get the movie stars involved believing. Even if it's only for a few minutes.Robert Pattinson woke up Saturday morning at the Cannes Film Festival, the morning after his triumphant premiere in Cosmopolis, and saw internet reports that he was being considered for Catching Fire, the sequel to the The Hunger Games."I woke up this morning and saw all these things about me being cast in The Hunger Games," Pattinson tells USA TODAY. "I was kind of curious for a second. So I called my agent."The response?"My agent was like, 'No,' " Pattinson reports."(My agent) was like no one's going to offer you that part," Pattinson says, breaking into a laugh. "I was like, thanks for the reassurance."But Pattinson was riding a high after his new film Cosmopolis (due out in the U.S. in August) received a standing ovation in Cannes with girlfriend Kristen Stewart in attendance.Even that was stressful. The ovation came after director David Cronenberg warned him that the Cannes audience can be harsh."David tells me the night before, 'I'm fully expecting some boos,' " says Pattinson. "I was literally like, 'Why are you telling me this?' ""I literally didn't watch one second of the movie, I was waiting for people to walk out," says Pattinson. "I was expecting a fight."It was only hours afterwards that Pattinson was able to wind down at the film's afterparty."It took a full three hours of continued panic," says Pattinson. "Full adrenaline. It was just too weird."
Premiere France (x)
P: Is there some part of you that is thrilled to surprise your Twilight fans who would see Cosmopolis?RP: When my casting in Cosmopolis was announced, I saw many of them buying Don DeLillo's book. And it doesn't shock them at all that I'm playing a role like this one. On the contrary, I feel liek they want to see us succeed, for us to be successful after the saga. They want us to be loved and respected. They're aren't fans like any others, they might not all be movie fanatics, but I can feel in them a desire to become one. They're interested in what we do, even if it's an usual movie like Cosmopolis. Actors that are in popular hits or franchises, often feel like they have to do things that would please 'this' audience. But I think that they underestimate their spectators. I know that Twilight fans want to adapt themselves. If you've played in Transformers, it doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to that all your life.
P: Cosmopolis press promise to be ... interesting. In hope that all the interviews won't focus only on one particular scene.RP: I don't see which scene they could focus on that would reduce/narrow down the movie ...
P: I do ...RP: You mean the check-up scene, I guess? Having said that now, it's a pretty good promo for the movie: "So, you get your prostate checked in Cosmopolis?" *laughs* As soon as I have an erotic scene, teh most commun you could imagine, I know I'll hear about it.
P: In Cosmopolis, there's one where a taser is involved?RP: The one in the hotel .. We shot that one in one take. Patricia (McKenzie), the actress, was really at ease with her body. When we had to rehearse the scene, she almost took all her clothes off. I just stood there in my underwear, so embarrassed! After the scene was done, I went to see the cameraman and asked him: "Is it me or what just happened was really intense? I almost felt like I really had sex!" The sex scene in History of Violence was already incredible. I don't know why but David Cronenberg is really talented for that. It's a surprising speciality for a director, but it's his.
P: David Lynch is pretty good too for that. It's funny because when you see Lynch and Cronenberg, the first thing that comes to mind isn't: "I'm sure those guys shoot amazing sex scenes."RP: It might be due to the fascination that David has with the human body. Even in a movie like Videodrome, he sexualizes everything - the orifice that James Woods has on his belly looks a lot like a vagina. And I can really see David thinking about it and tell himself: "MMMh, I like that." We see less and less filmmakers having enough confidence that would let them flaunt and dig their obsessions. It's like Tarantino and women's feet. It's his thing, he likes that and thus going to put it iin all his movies. I'm not attracted to feet but when they film those of Bridget Fonda in Jacky Brow, it's sexy.
P: In Cosmopolis, you get a visit from Juliette Binoche in the limp. She uses the space in a very creative way ...RP: Originally, the sex scene with Juliette was supposed to happen in a hotel room, but found it more interesting for it to happen in the limo. You have to ask yourself a question: how to you film, with success, a sex scene in a limo? Well, you end up bumping yourself everywhere in the car *laughs*. The worst is that I met Juliette Binoche, who is one of my favorite actresses, right before filming the scene. And 5 minutes later, we were writhing in the limo ... Very strange. But yes, it was more appropriate in that space.
P: What about Mathieu Amalric, the other French of the movie?RP: He's amazing. I'm sad he's mostly filmed in wide shots because you can't really enjoy the crazy facial expressions he did. Does he work a lot in France?
P: Not enough. But he directs too.RP: It doesn't surprise me. By the way, did you see the trailer for Rust and Bone? If only Audiard decided to film in English .. He's probably the biggest director active, able of making movies that touch the general public while still being, indisputably, art. The performances in his movies are the best, his action scenes are the best ... Not a lot of filmmakers can reach his level, except for maybe James Gray, with whom I dream of working.
P: What attracts you in project today?RP: I want to do a movie that would make people want to hang its poster on their wall. Like with Trainspotting before: everyone had that poster in their room, me being the first. It was a way to declare one's identity. I dream of being in movies that would inspire the same thing.
METRO France (metrofrance)
From Twilight to the cinema of David Cronenberg, that's a big step. It is the beginning of a new career for you?Firstly, to be here with this movie, it's amazing. For a young actor like me, for people who really like cinema, it's the ultimate festival. One of the only ones that considers cinema like an art form. Here it's not about being a celebrity and all that comes with it. To go back on the subject of my career, it's probably the start of something. Because shooting Cosmopolis gave me the confidence I needed to invest myself in projects that really interest me.
You started in England but you became famous because of Hollywood. Do you think young american actors see Cannes like you do?Maybe ... until the day their movie gets selected *laughs*. In the US, Cannes isn't given a lot of media coverage, we talk about it more in a professional environment. Whereas in London, the festival is on the first page of the newspapers for two weeks. The thing that is weird here is all these people that clap for you at the end of the screening. I went to the one for On the Road (note: wednesday night) and it hit me. In the USA, people leave as soon as the credits roll. I asked David what would happen if we were booed with Cosmopolis. Do we have to stand up for 20 minutes anyway? *laughs*
Apparently, you're a fan of Cronenberg. Did you sign on for one of his movies without reading a script?Absolutely. I did so last week! My agent asked me if I was ready for the next movie with David and I said yes without thinking *laugs*. For Cosmopolis tho, I read the script one year before it got offered to me and I found it excellent. On the first read, I felt a connexion. It talked to me, without me even knowing what it was about.
Cronenberg didn't make you rehearse or explain to you that he wanted to discover the meaning of the movie during the shoot. It didn't scare you?Its' pretty understandable because the script is really complicated and can be taken in many different ways. David didn't talk to me a lot, indeed. We had a brief conversation, that's it. I remember sitting in my hotel room two weeks before filming; telling myself: "My god!" The very first days, I was terrified. We did camera tests. I was sitting in the limo, I didn't have anything to do ... and I almost threw up. My heart was beating so fast, I was scared David was going to fire me, that he thought I was a faker. But he was really relaxed. His crew explained to me that for the first week, he didn't know what he was doing, but that it was normal ... That he was trying to find a meaning to the movie. As soon as we found our rythm, we went faster and faster. At the end of the filming, we only did one take per scene. It was crazy. For the last one, we had 4 days scheduled, we did it in one day and a half.
What was the hardest for you? The dialogues that are pretty literary?Most of the time, dialogues in movies aren't very good. And actors change them, it's part of the job. In this one, they were so good ... What was difficult was that David tended to change the program of the day depending on a technical problem or another. Which meant that I had to have the script memorized, every day, like a play. But it was nice because most of the time, when you go back to your hotel after filming, there's not much to do but then I had to go over the script ever night.
What about the sex scenes? Are they fun and exciting at the same time?The most difficult one was the one with my bodyguard played by Patricia McKenzie. At first, we were supposed to see us climax at the beginning of the scene, and then talk after. But David suggested that we talked while we fucked *laughs*
And the scene where your prostate gets examined?5 minutes before we filmed, David told me 'I want to see the bottom of your balls on the top of the frame.' *laughs* At the moment, I reminded myself that I would do anything for him. So I went back to see him and told him that wouldn't happen. He took it really well. At the start, it's a very bizarre scene that you won't see again in another movie, I promise.
Don DeLillo wrote the book before 9/11 and the financial crisis. But his characters in Cosmopolis deal with current dilemmas. Did you try to make yours as contemporary as possible?It wasn't done on purpose. Except that tons of things came on during filming. Like the Occupy Wall Street movement that happened at the same time as we were filming the riot scene. And then Rupert Murdoch got a pie in the face, like my character! It's funny, because at first I didn't see Cosmopolis like a description of reality, more like a poem. That's how the book is read and what makes it timeless. Now about the financial crisis, its virtual side, the fact that we could replace money by rats and that it wouldn't change anything ... I completely agree. To be honest, I never invested money in anything. It doesn't make sense, it's all in people's heads.
Did you think of a speech if you win?Absolutely not! I'm terrified by only the idea of going on stage and to get booed!
It would be your first big award ...Hey, I won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards for Twilight. Three years in a row!
Well now we could as well give you the price of the best finger in the a..*roars with laughter* That would be amazing, that was be an incredible price. For the best prostate scene in the history of cinema.
Your next movie will be with Cronenberg then?I don't know when exactly we're going to shoot. It will be David's first movie in America. In Los Angeles, to be exact. It will be about the industry of cinematography and I promise that it's going to be really weird. Till then, I'm doing Mission: Blacklist with the French director, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, who did Johnny Mad Dog. It'll be about the search of Saddam Hussein and we want to film in Iraq, in Tikrit, even tho it's complicated. But I'm 26 and it's the kind of thing that tempts me. If someone should do it, it will be me!
Les InRockuptibles (RPLife, qui trovate anche l'intervista a David Cronenberg)
Robert Pattinson grew fangs after the Twilight saga. He's bringing them out to portray a greedy golden boy for Cronenberg. Charming and honest, he welcomed us in Los Angeles. By Jacky Goldberg.
The interview took place on the last floor of the Soho House that overlooks Sunset Strip. It was on the patio of the private club where cameras and telephones were forbidden. He was without his press agent. He wore a three days beard, a cap, brown chino cloth pants, and a plaid shirt.
The interview lasted one hour.
You live in LA now?RP: Yes, for a little while now. At first I didn't know what to do there and now when I'm far away I miss it. Even more than London where I grew up but that all my friends left. My family still lives there but they want to come here, same for my friends. It's crazy, all you need is to spend a day in LA to want to move in. *laughs*
The movie breaks away from your image of the proper young man molded by Twilight and the few films that you filmed since then. Did you realise that as you were filming?RP: Of course. I'm scared of being typecast *he thinks for a moment* ... like most actors who starts for that matter: it's important to branch out very early on. That's the whole point. In fact, I got offered the lead in Cosmopolis on my last day of filming Breaking Dawn. Right at the moment when I thought I was scared of repeating myself and bam! Cronenberg is calling me! It's better than anything I could ever dream of. Now I'm curious to see how the movie is received.
On the contrary, restrict yourself to only independent movies and not doing blockbusters anymore, doesn't that scare you?RP: Honestly, if I could only play movies like Cosmopolis, it would be amazing. But they're hard to get. To tell you the truth, I'm not really interested by being at the head of big movies. First, it's harder to do: you have 20 people to answer to - in Cosmopolis: just one.
Then, in general, there's one two possible roles in those movies: you're either a teenager who becomes a man, or a teenager who's completely screwed up. when you're barely twenty, it's okay, you're having fun, you discover an incredible world, girls worship you. But it can't last forever.
What did David Cronenberg tell you when he called you?RP: My agent sent me the script over a year ago but at that time it was Colin Farrell who was attached to the project. I told myself: "Fuuuuuuck, this script rocks! Why can't I be offered something like that? And why do you send me the script if the role is already taken *laughs*?" And one year later, out of nowhere, David calls me: "Hey do you want to do this movie?" I was terrified! The script looked so complex to me. A year before I was dreaming of it and then I felt unable to make a decision. It took me one week to find the courage to call David back.
Did he explain to you why he chose you?RP: No, never. he didn't even make me audition. When I asked him about it, he told me he had a feeling ... when I told him that I wasn't sure what the movie was about, he replied: "Me neither, we're going to find out together." This is why I'm really curious to see people's reaction, even more so than usual.
Were you familiar with David's work before?RP: Yes, I saw almost all his movies.
Which ones did you prefer?RP: Probably Videodrome or Scanners. I like Crash a lot too. It did well in France, right? In England, I remember how people went nuts because of it. They even banned it! Of course, that made everyone wants to see it. When I watch it nowadays, it baffles me that it could have been banned. It's absurd.
Do you think it's your 'vampire' statut that attracted Cronenberg? In Cosmopolis, you play a trader, in a way, traders suck the blood of workers ...RP: *dubious* Maybe, yes ... We can draw a parallel between capitalism and vampirism but the movie doesn't focus on a character that would want to destroy everything. This guy is looking for something. He saw everything already and wonders what else is there - there HAS to be something else. It's a pretty sad movie in the end. The trader tries to be better but his instincts and urges catch up to him.
Do you feel close to him?RP: *swaying his head* Mmmyeah .. in a way. Insomuch as he sees something else than what's in front of him. He thinks that the world is not only the world, that there is a level of understanding far more elevated.
You said that the script was complex. The dialogue especially are very literary. Is this the firs time you face something like this?RP: David was adamant over the respect of the text, down to the last word. I loved the rhythm of lines as soon as I read the script, it was out of the question to damage them. Usually, the script only represent a raw material that needs to sound real when you say it on camera. Here, it was different. To make it sound real wasn't enough for David. He's looking for a level of realism much deeper. It reminded me of theater, which I haven't done in a long time. To spend nights memorizing lines ... ultimately, it's nice and even cathartic: by repeating the words, they almost become mechanical.
Were you familiar with Don DeLillo's work?RP: I only read Underworld forever ago. For the movie of course, I read Cosmopolis and since then all the others. I'm always asked this question and I don't want to sound stupid *laughs* But it's pretty difficult for me to talk about it. I love his style but I'm not sure I'm smart enough to understand all the range of his ideas.
Are you a big reader?I read more a few years ago but it's more and more difficult for me now to find the time and concentration necessary to do so.
I heard that you like Michel Houellebecq ...RP: Absolutely! You know we almost met in Paris? He must have read an interview where I talked about his novels and he called me while I was on a promo tour. But I was scared of meeting him *laughs* I regret it, it could have been nice to have had dinner with him. But I would love to work in an adaptation of one of his novels. What was the last one called?
La carte et le territoire. Did you read it?RP: Not yet but I read the summary and it would make an amazing movie. All his movies would make great films.
Some were adaptated on the screen except for the last one and Plateforme ...RP: Ah, I didn't know! Were the movies good?
Extension du domaine et de la lutte, yes, pretty well. I didn't see Les Particules élémentaires, directed by a german. And when it comes to La Possibilité d'une île, that he (Houellebecq) directed himself, it's a really stranger movie, with some beautiful bits and other that are completely failed ...RP: I'm really curious to see all that. Especially Extension ... my favorite.
What is that attracts you about Houellebecq?RP: He's described as a cynical novelist but they're completely wrong, just like for Cosmopolis: on the surface, these characters can seem like bad guys but they only try, desperately, to fufill their lives and to end up disappointed every time. This disappointment that animates them, and sometimes destroy them, is full of hope if you're willing to look at it. Martin Amis has a conception/view similar to that. But I'm probably talking nonsense right now, it's been years since I've read them. [he laughs and pour himself coffee again]. Did someone produce Whatever [note: the English title of Extension du domaine de la lutte.] in France? I can't believe it. This is the kind of movie that we can only see in your country. You have a funny view of what is commercial or not, you know that? Cosmopolis: only a French could produce it. [note: Paulo Branco.]
No doubt. It's like those big American filmmakers who have an audience onlmy or mostly in France: Coppola, Ferrera ...RP: I did an audition for Ferrera one day but I didn't get the role. It was before Twilight. I felt like I accomplished my best performance, I almost broke my arm and he said: 'yeah, okay, not bad.' I left in tears, it was really embarrassing *laughs*! I want to be able to speak French so badly. A lot of things I want to are in French.
Oh really? Like what?RP: I have a project with Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, who directed Johnny Mad Dog. It's called Mission: Blacklist, a movie about the search and capture of Saddam Hussein. And you know what? He wants to film in Iraq. Fuck yeah! Nobody else would have the balls to do that! Everyone wants him to go to Tunisia but he insists: it's happening in Iraq, I'm filming in Iraq. He's right! At least, as long as we don't get kidnapped *laughs*.
Which other French directors would you like to work with?[without hesitating] Audiard. He's one of my favorites. I'm gonna do everything I can to see his new movie in Cannes.
Is it the first time you're going?RP: No but I only came to do promotion. You feel kind of like a jerk in those situations, like a living banner. I imagine that when you're in competition, it's a completely different feeling. When I think about it, I tell myself: There, you didn't screw up your life entirely. Cannes ... I can't ever thank David enough for that.
Did you go often to the movies when you were a kid?RP: Not too much in theaters but I used to love to rent VHS. There were always tons of girls in the aisles of the video store *laughs*. I ended up becoming friends with the owner of the store, a real movie fanatic. I always tried to get R rated movies out of him. I wanted to see violent movies but he would give me movies that were pretty arty. That's how I saw some Cassavetes at 12, some Godard too ... [he pauses for a bit] I want to do a movie with Godard so badly. That's the kind of surreal things I dream about ... That's why I did Twilight *laughs then sighs*!
What kind of childhood did you have?RP: Pretty boring to be honest. I wanted to be a musician. I did rehearsals, and tiny concerts. That's about it. Later on, I joined a drama club, lots of pretty girls hung there *laughs*. I wanted to stay backstage only, it didn't interest me to play. But one day, I just went for it ...
To impress a girl?RP: Exactly. I ended up playing in a few plays, an agent saw me and contacted me. It's still her that takes care of me today. The week after, I did an audition to play in Troy with Brad Pitt. I told myself What the fuck! At that time I didn't understand at all what I was doing, it took me 6 years to get there.
Does the over exposure surrounding Twilight piss you off? The fact that you're followed all the time by paparazzis?RP: Your world shrinks all of the sudden and it's unpleasant, yes. But at the same time, you can turn this attention to your advantage. Even if people hate you, they're thinking about you. As a simple spectator, I would maybe tell myself: What the hell is Cronenberg doing with that guy? It only gives me one more reason to fight, to prove myself, to prove them wrong.
I mean that's enough, we're allowed to do shitty things from time to time! *laughs*
Not everything needs to be throwned away in Twilight. The first one was beautiful ...RP: I agree. I saw it again recently. Catherine [note: Hardwicke, the director] is really talented. She directs and she's an audience member too, the kind that shivers when two characters kiss, and jolts when it's scary ... The first one was beautiful because it surprised: Catherine was in left in peace to film this little movie that no one cared about. the studio took less risks for the following movies. I find the mixture of erotism and prudery really strange. It's hard to do and sort of Cronenbergian. The characters don't have a happy and nice enough relation with bodies. It's really tortured.
What are you working on right now?RP: I'm going to do a movie about The Band, the one that played with Dylan: a beautiful script about the nature of songwriting. I'm preparing a thriller too, with a beautifully written script too. It doesn't have a director yet. Tons of French diretors are in line to to do. A few years ago, Latin America was where it's happening, it seems it's France turn now ... I'm filming another movie with Cronenberg but i don't know when he wants to start filming. It's going to be his first one in the US and he promises it's going to be very strange. The next two or three years are going to be crucial for me. It's now that that everything happens.
You're coming back from Coachella, we saw the pictures online. What did you listen to?RP: Well, nothing or almost nothing because of the paparazzis. It's really frustrating. All you want is to see a concert peacefully, dance a little, and you all 20 guys taking photos after photos. You feel like a dick in that case. I managed to see Radiohead ... Beirut, it was pretty good. And I saw a bit of the Justice set. I love their videos.
The one directed by Romain Gavras?RP: Yes, Stress. Another French that rocks.
Apart from the bands you mentioned, what kind of music do you like?RP: Not much lately, except for a hip-hop band. Death Grips, it's a mix of rap and techno music. It's pretty hardcore, not what I usually like but they have something, an undefinable genius. A few years back I had a big Van Morrison phase, a real obsession. I listen to Jazz and classical music a lot too. I must be getting old.
I read somewhere that you admired porn actors. Is that true?I said that? *laughs* I don't remember that but why not. The subject interests me. I've always wanted do to something around this subject. It's one of the most interesting thing happening in our generation, don't you think? Everybody watches it but don't want to say it out loud. It's heavy kind of event and no one wants to write about it. I tried to two years ago but it lead to anything. Did you ever watch the AVN (note: Adult Video News) Awards? It's hilarious. There are so many of these people and they're so proud of what they do ... And when it comes to fighting for freedom of speech, they're the first in line. We can only admire them.
Viva Press UK (viva-press)
CANNES – Having ended his vampire duties, Robert Pattinson is working hard to establish himself as a leading man where his acting skills eclipse his heartthrob status. His new film, COSMOPOLIS, directed by David Cronenberg, is a bold step forward in that direction. Pattinson’s striking features are a perfect match for the film’s eerie plotting that owes just as much to Cronenberg’s macabre vision as it does to the original source material, Don DeLillo’s eponymous novel. Making its world premiere as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s official competition, COSMOPOLIS sees Pattinson play Eric Packer, a Wall Street billionaire whose life undergoes a strange sequence of events against the backdrop of his rapidly collapsing Manhattan universe. Is this how the 26-year-old Pattinson hopes to conquer new audiences?
“I didn’t expect to be able to find a project as brilliant as this even though I could spend my life working with directors like Cronenberg,” explains Pattinson. “I have led a charmed life so far as an actor but I’m trying to find as many different and complex roles as possible and being able to work on this film is another gift that I’ve been given. It’s up to me to show what I’m capable of now!”
Though his previous film, BEL AMI, failed to catch on at the box office, Pattinson has high hopes that COSMOPOLIS will be the film that redefines his screen persona. Pattinson was joined at Cannes by his equally famous girlfriend and TWILIGHT co-star, Kristen Stewart, although they typically avoided appearing together even though Stewart has repeatedly “outed” their relationship and Pattinson has similarly admitted their love affair and commitment to each other.
In conversation, Pattinson is exceedingly polite and responsive and utterly indifferent to his celebrity status. One gets the impression he would be just as happy if COSMOPOLIS was his first film and audiences would get to know him afresh.
Q: Rob, your role in Cosmopolis is very different from anything we’ve seen you in before. How would you describe your character, Eric Packer?PATTINSON: He exists in his own, separate reality in a way and in the course of the film he’s trying to discover something about the world he’s really living in and how he can adapt to it. Packer lives in this complex financial universe which is guided by trading algorithms and he plays the game which is dictated by those laws which are their own distinct reality. That’s his central dilemma. He’s dealing with financial data that is constantly projecting him into the future and he doesn’t know what it’s like to live in the present. Packer has become so disconnected from the world that it’s made it difficult for him to understand what the world is really like. I’m sorry if that sounds very metaphysical but that’s how the story unfolds.
Q: How difficult was it for you to play this kind of unworldly financial speculator?PATTINSON: This character is far more demanding than anything else I’ve done before. David (Cronenberg, the director) wanted me to work in a very abstract way in the sense that he didn’t want me to play the character as if I had a logical explanation for my character’s behaviour. That was an interesting challenge for me and I had to let myself be guided almost entirely by emotion and instinct rather than thinking about how one scene or one line of dialogue connected to the next moment or scene. David really wanted to create an alternate kind of reality for the film.
Q: You have some fairly explicit sex scenes in the film. Are they difficult to do?PATTINSON: I don’t really have a problem with those scenes or nudity in general. I think it’s more complicated for actresses who are worried about how those scenes can be exploited by the media and how naked photos are constantly getting posted on the internet.In Cosmopolis, the sex scenes with Patricia McKenzie (she plays his character’s bodyguard in the film – ED) were more difficuilt. It was kind of strange but in the script we were supposed to climax at the beginning of the scene and then have this discussion afterwards but David had the brilliant and inspired idea to have us talk while we were having sex. (Laughs)
Q: Are you pleased that a role in a film like Cosmopolis will go a long way to changing your Twilight image? PATTINSON: I hope it’s going to have that effect because when you’re part of an immensely popular film franchise like Twilight it tends to overwhelm anything else you’re doing while those films are still part of the public consciousness. Now at least a film like Hunger Games is gaining a lot of attention and that’s a good thing for me because I can break free more of a certain perception that’s been formed about me through my character in Twilight. It’s ironic but I was offered the part in Cosmopolis on the last day of shooting on Breaking Dawn. It was an incredible feeling to be getting a call from David Cronenberg at that particular moment in time. It also reminds me that I should be very grateful for what the Twilight films have done for me.
Q: Had you heard about the project before?PATTINSON: Yes, my agent sent me the script to read a year earlier but at the time Colin Farrell was attached to the project and I was bitching to myself about what I wasn’t being offered roles like that. I can still remember complaining to my agent about why I was reading a script for a fantastic film when the role wasn’t available. Then a year later David calls me and offers me the role.
Q: Did you accept the role right away?PATTINSON: No. Strange as it may seem, I was elated and terrified at the same time and I spent a week thinking about it before I finally called David back and told him I would do it.
Q: What made you hesitate?PATTINSON: Fear! (Laughs) I told David that the character confused and he actually appreciated that. He said that he didn’t necessarily understand the character either and that we would figure out who he is while we were shooting the film. That’s something I liked about David in that he didn’t try to give me answers about everything and that gave me more freedom to play the character according to my own instincts. Of course, that kind of freedom also presupposes you are able to find what you need in order to create a compelling performance and in a way I felt that I reached a new level as an actor while making this movie. I kind of manned up and stopped worrying so much.
Q: Did Cronenberg push you to reach a different level as an actor? PATTINSON: David helped a lot, but it was also a matter of dealing with the material and trying to throw myself into the character. This was the first time in any film that I was figuring out the character while we were shooting the film. It was very unsettling in the first few weeks while we were filming, but then I began to feel more confident about my work and that has given me a different perspective on my work in general. It’s a very satisfying feeling when you feel you faced up to your fears and accomplished something, especially when acting can leave you very insecure and unsure of yourself by the nature of the profession. You’re often occupying your own little world and you need to work harder to find what’s real in your own life.
Q: Your career as an actor has been an incredible journey thus far. How surreal or real does it feel now? PATTINSON: I’m very happy to be where I am now. I’m able to move on and make my mark and see how far I can go. As an actor, the Twilight films were serving as a safety net for me. I never had to worry if my other films failed because I knew that I always had another Twilight film to shoot in a few months. Now that sense of security doesn’t exist anymore and I’m in the same position as any other actor. I have to prove myself and find interesting films which I hope will have some level of success and build on that.
Q: Does it matter very much whether you’re making bigger studio films or independent films in the style of a Cosmopolis? PATTINSON: I like the idea of playing in smaller films because at least if they don’t succeed at the box office, your career is not necessarily going to be damaged. That’s not the case if you’re carrying a major studio film and you have a few flops back to back. Under those circumstances, your career is going to suffer and you can disappear pretty quickly.My main goal is to find interesting films and great characters although of course you do need to reach an audience and your films do need to make some money if you want to keep getting hired. But you can’t reduce yourself as an actor to that. Your main focus should be on the work and see where that takes you.I also love the fact that on a film like Cosmopolis you’re basically only listening to what the director is telling you and there’s much less involvement of other people in the creative process. I think filmmaking is much more authentic when it’s basically the director and the actors working together in as creatively pure an environment as you can make it.
Q: How hard has it been for you to adapt to all the fame and attention that you have to deal with on a daily basis? PATTINSON: (Laughs) You just learn to deal with everything and not be bothered by the attention. First of all, it’s flattering and as a performer you’re obviously seeking the approval of audiences. Secondly, it means that people appreciate your work. So it’s pointless to let that attention annoy you because it’s a contradiction and self-defeating.I live pretty much the way I want to and I simply have to be careful about where I go or how long I stay in one place. I have to be wary if people are tweeting my location at a café but usually I can find a quiet corner somewhere and not have a mob form outside the premises!
Q: What about getting followed? PATTINSON: It’s not hard to escape being followed. You learn with practice to become fairly expert at disappearing when you need to and avoiding that. But even if people do stop you, it’s usually quite pleasant and you can sometimes have good conversations with your fans who really just want to know that you’re not an asshole or horrible character in real life! (Laughs)It all comes with the territory. It’s the nature of the job that if you’re films are successful for a time there’s going to be a certain amount of craziness attached to your life. The worst thing is trying to go to big events like a rock concert or a music festival. I went to the Coachella festival (in California) and it was a nightmare because of the paparazzi. I basically only got to see Radiohead and after that it was just too complicated.
Q: What’s the best thing about your life as a movie star? PATTINSON: I love being able to travel all over the world. Going to festival like Cannes or promoting my films in other countries is an incredibly interesting experience. With the Twilight films, it’s more difficult because of the level of attention from the fans. But when you’re able to travel either to shoot a film in an interesting place or promote the film across Europe it opens up a different world for you.I love the experiences that come from travelling and even if I’m not working I enjoy being able to explore different cities and cultures. I thrive on that and it’s strangely comforting for me to feel that I’m not trapped in any one place even though I spend more time in L.A. rather than in London now.
Q: How do you think you’ve changed? PATTINSON: I’ve grown up. I feel like I know a lot better where my life is heading and it’s wonderful to know that the world is so open to you and it’s up to you to make the most out of your life.
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