When it was first announced that arthouse fave Claire Denis was making a sci-fi movie, it already had us pretty excited. Now toss in acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith as a co-writer and frankly, just tell us where to show up when it’s done and we’ll be there. As if all that wasn’t enough, it looks like Denis is getting a big name to star in her first English language film.
READ MORE: The Films Of Claire Denis: A Retrospective
Screen Daily reports that Robert Pattinson will lead the untitled project. Denis, Smith, and Nick Laird are all writing the script, about which the details are being kept under wraps. All that is known is that Pattinson will play an astronaut in a story set "beyond the solar system in a ‘future that seems like the present.’ " So yes, this sounds awesome.
However, the bad news is that the movie is quite a long way off. Production won’t begin until late 2015 or early 2016 which likely means this movie won’t be in front of our eyeballs until 2017. A long wait lies ahead, but hopefully it’ll be well worth it.
Yes! Pattinson in The Rover! If you haven\’t seen it, go check it out. He was almost unrecognizable and he more than held his own with Guy Pearce.
It\’s not about the distribution but a date of release.Who decides to release a bleak,bloody indie movie in June instead of Fall.
@Lea,you don\’t have a problem with men who are writers and directors of movies with female leads?no wonder female film makers are disriminated if even other women have a problem with females in the movie business.
Pattinson\’s performance in The Rover was Oscar-worthy, people are still talking about it. It\’s a shame that distribution was so poorly done. He more than proved his acting chops, and his range, going from the cool billionaire in Cosmopolis to the damaged Rey in The Rover. Looking forward to seeing Life and The Trap, another study in contrasts. His future is very exciting and I can\’t wait.
Hang on negative nannies, Robert is so good even you will join his admiration society.
Great that Rob has a new project lined up but wish it wasn\’t a sci-fi/space film as I feel people are trying to emulate the success that Gravity had back in 2013.
Beakins, amen. Robert Pattinson is a fricking awesome actor.
I have the opposite problem of Lea. I\’m a fan of Rob\’s work (except for some of the Twilights), so I was glad to discover he has another role lined up. The sci-fi aspect of it is what ratchets down my excitement level. I\’ll see it, regardless, because I know he\’ll do a wonderful job, as usual. His portray of Rey in The Rover was phenomenal, and I\’m very much looking forward to Life.
LEA: " And two women co writing a story for a male character/actor?" Excuse me? Men have been writing women characters since film began. What makes you think women can\’t write characters for men? The male characters in her films are complicated, fully fleshed out roles.
I completely agree with @LEA
@Lulu
Robert Pattinson didn\’t follow acting school. He said himself that he\’s following "acting lessons" from acclaimed directors. That is humble and very smart from his part, other young actors with big egos should follow his example.
Those who\’ve read Cosmopolis know that Pattinson nailed to part(DeLillo himself was of the same opinion). Many cinephiles and some critics considered his performance in The Rover Oscarworthy.
He\’s doing fine, he\’s still young.
@LULU: I am a big Pattinson fan, but I have no problem with your comment. It\’s fine if you\’re skeptical, but you allowed for the fact that he might still surprise you, which says to me that you\’re open-minded. I don\’t think any reasonable Rob fan (and there are many) would find fault with that.
I was excited about this as I\’m a fan of Denis\’ work, but man did this casting brought that excitement down. And two women co writing a story for a male character/actor? Nah, you can miss me with this.
Pattinson more than proved his chops in The Rover, and his performances in Cosmopolis and MTTS were both critically acclaimed by a majority of critics. Anyone who is still complaining about him has an agenda and it isn\’t hidden. Directors like Denis, Gray and Corbijn wouldn\’t be casting him unless they were impressed with his skills. Pattinson has more than demonstrated his range, and demonstrated how he creates distinct characters from the ground up, giving them individual walks, accents, voices, and he can never be accused of just playing himself in every role (he was literally unrecognizable in The Rover, and he was the heart and soul of that film). It\’s beyond time to stop all this nonsense and embrace the fact that he is more than up to the challenge of working with these great directors.
No shade Pattinson groupies, he seems cool enough, however, James Gray & Claire Denis are two of the best, and among the last of the vanguard, and whilst Pattinson seems to have a real passion for film he\’s yet to show any of the required guts. His roles in Cronenberg\’s MOTS and Cosmopolis were ripe for murk and deviance but he just didn\’t seem to have the soul experience to make the characters fly. It\’s disappointing that he\’s been cast in both Denis & Gray\’s movies, I wonder if finance was a factor. I guess all is not lost and he may surprise us, in which case screw me, but this feels at the outset entitled and yet another signpost of a general decline.
I was excited about this but Robert Pattinson? Seriously?
I admire how he has moved out of the "limelight" and is just working on good films.