Maps to the Stars

Maps to the Stars Information

Maps to the Stars is a 2014 Canadian-American satirical drama film directed by David Cronenberg and starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, and Evan Bird. The screenplay was written by Bruce Wagner, who had written a book entitled Dead Stars based on the Maps to the Stars script, after initial plans for making the film with Cronenberg fell through.

This is the second consecutive collaboration between Cronenberg and Pattinson (after Cosmopolis) and marks the third collaboration between Cronenberg and Prospero Pictures, who previously collaborated on A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis. This is also the third Cronenberg film made with Canadian actress Sarah Gadon. It is the first Cronenberg film shot in the United States.

The film concerns the plight of two former child stars while commenting on the entertainment industry's relationship with Western civilization as a whole. The film premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2014. Moore won the festival's Best Actress Award. Following its premiere at Cannes, the film had a theatrical release in France on May 21, 2014.

Plot

Agatha (Mia Wasikowska) arrives in Los Angeles and employs limousine driver Jerome (Robert Pattinson) to take her to the site of the former house of Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird), a child star. Agatha has severe burns to her face and body, and is seen taking a multitude of medication. Benjie visits a child suffering from non-Hodgkin"?s lymphoma in the hospital, however the girl later dies. Benjie"?s father, Dr. Stafford Weiss (John Cusack) is a TV psychologist who is treating aging actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) for abuse she suffered at the hands of her deceased mother, also an actress. Havana"?s agent struggles to get Havana a role in a remake of her mother"?s film Stolen Waters.

Benjie and his mother, Cristina negotiate a role for Benjie in a film as his comeback after drug rehabilitation. At the suggestion of Carrie Fisher, Havana hires Agatha, whom she had met on Twitter, as a personal assistant. Agatha continues to see Jerome, and a romance forms, though Jerome appears resistant at first. Stafford learns through Havana that Agatha has returned to L.A, and it is revealed Agatha is their daughter - however they shun her completely, with Cristina breaking down at the thought of Agatha contacting Benjie.

Using Havana"?s role in Stolen Waters to gain access to the production lot, Agatha visits Benjie on set and it is revealed she is schizophrenic, and that the burns she suffered were from a fire she lit in her parent"?s house whilst they were asleep. She indicates she has returned from a sanatorium to make amends. When Stafford learns Agatha visited Benjie, he visits her in a rage and warns her to leave L.A.

Benjie breaks his sobriety, getting high on GHB, and accidentally shoots the dog of his only friend. Agatha visits her mother, Cristina to make amends. It is revealed that Cristina and Stafford are brother and sister, making Agatha and Benjie children of incest - though Cristina insists it was unbeknownst to them at the time. Stafford comes home, and when Agatha reveals she knows about their familial relations, Stafford violently beats her, until Cristina intervenes. During the altercation, Agatha steals Cristina"?s wedding ring. On set, Benjie is haunted by the girl from the hospital, and during a hallucination he strangles his young co-star. The child survives, though Benjie is now to be replaced in the film.

Havana requests Jerome as a driver and seduces him in the driveway of her house, as Agatha watches from the window. Havana enters the house and berates Agatha for her poor performance at work. Agatha beats Havana to death with one of her awards.

Stafford returns home to see Cristina on fire outside near the pool. Though not explicitly stated, it is suggested this is an act of self-immolation after the series of traumatic events leading to Cristina"?s depressed state. Benjie and Agatha reunite and perform an impromptu wedding ceremony with their parents' wedding rings. In order to commit suicide, they take an extreme amount of Agatha"?s pills together, before lying down to watch the stars.

Cast

Main cast

Julianne Moore as Havana Segrand

A very famous but aging and quickly-fading actress, living in the shadow of her legendary movie-star mother and feeling abused by her. Moore based the character on "an amalgam of people I've known and observed. She is someone who lives completely isolated in this make-believe world. She doesn"?t really have a family and she"?s still very angry with her mother because she feels she was abused. She"?s always lived in her mother"?s shadow, and in her mind, it"?s all a kind of mixed-up, Freudian mess."

Mia Wasikowska as Agatha Weiss

The badly-scarred and estranged pyromaniac daughter of the Weiss family who takes a job as Havana's personal assistant, while waiting for the opportunity to make amends with her family. Wasikowska said, "I love Agatha because she"?s dark inside but at the same time in a lot of ways she has this very positive outlook. There"?s something very sweet and sad about this girl who, in the midst of these celebrity-obsessed parents, and this troubled past, really just wants to connect with them. They've totally rejected her, but in a way, she's desperately trying to mimic their lives. She"?s desperately trying to find her identity." She further added, "She has the gloves she wears over her burns, the facial scar, and all these rituals with the poem and the pills she takes, it's all very distinct to who she is."

John Cusack as Dr. Stafford Weiss

The head of the Weiss family, a TV psychologist with a number of high-profile celebrity clients, and immensely egoistic about the success of his son Benjie. Stafford exploits people's emotions and takes advantage of them. Stafford Weiss and his wife Cristina are brother and sister; they were separated at birth and discovered their relation after meeting in college and becoming a couple. According to Cusack, "He sees himself as a healer. He"?s part Tony Robbins, part Reiki Master, part shrink. But his son is the real star"?he"?s a massive teen star of Bieberesque proportions." Describing the script he said, "It was the most savage destruction of Hollywood fame and secrets and that whole toxic brew that I'd ever seen."

Robert Pattinson as Jerome Fontana

A limousine driver and struggling actor who wants to be a successful screenwriter. Jerome is inspired by Bruce Wagner, who, at the time when he conceived the idea for this story, was himself a struggling actor and writer working as a limo driver. Pattinson described the character as most sane and ordinary but like every LA dreamer in the story and said, "Jerome would never accept that he is just a limo driver. I think he feels he"?s just waiting for his break. And yet, he"?s seemingly the only one in this story who's not going insane"?or who isn"?t a ghost." And about the script he added that "It's really about people who lie to themselves - right up until the end."

Olivia Williams as Cristina Weiss

Ambitious and controlling, she manages the career of her son. Cristina Weiss and her husband Stafford are sister and brother; they were separated at birth and discovered their relation after meeting in college and becoming a couple. According to Williams, "She is a very ambitious woman and we get to see her downfall from the very heights of her power. She operates in a world where someone could be the nastiest person on earth and make your life hell, but you might still want them in your movie because they'll make you money."

Sarah Gadon as Clarice Taggart

An iconic Hollywood movie star who died in a fire and appears as a ghost to her daughter Havana. Cronenberg said that "it's such a lovely, unusual role, because she"?s simply this ghostly memory." Gadon said, "I really want to do the film because I thought it was a critique about contemporary Hollywood. And, specifically, of a woman's place in Hollywood."

Evan Bird as Benjie Weiss

A teen sensation and controversial star, who is trying to get his career on track after his stint at rehab while simultaneously battling demons from his past. Cronenberg was not sure that any child actor could play Benjie's character successfully until he saw Bird in the TV series The Killing. Bird said about his character, "[H]e doesn't really have love and yet he doesn't really have limitations, either. So he"?s searching for both of those things. He"?s making way too much money, he"?s being taken advantage of by his parents, and he"?s really screwed up."

Secondary cast

Carrie Fisher as Herself

Fisher has a cameo appearance in the film. Agatha Weiss befriended her on Twitter to write a novel and on her recommendation Havana hired Agatha as her new personal assistant.

Jayne Heitmeyer as Azita Wachtel

An actress and Havana's rival for the coveted role in the remake of Clarice's 1960 movie Stolen Waters.

Amanda Brugel as Victoria

An entertainment news reporter, who gets the scoop on Benjie Weiss.

Justin Kelly as Rhett

A young Hollywood actor and co-star of Benjie.

Kiara Glasco as Cammy

A girl who died young and appears as a ghost to Benjie because he visited her in the hospital before her death with the intentions of making a film on her life, and used his visit as a publicity stunt.

Ari Cohen as Jeb Berg

A Hollywood producer working on the sequel of Benjie's blockbuster film, a fictitious teen comedy titled "Bad Babysitter".

Dawn Greenhalgh as Genie

Havana's agent who assists her in landing the role in the remake of Clarice's film.

Domenic Ricci as Micah

Azita's young son who died in a tragic accident.

Sean Robertson as Roy

A four-year-old costar of Benjie, whom Benjie perceives as competition and injures him during his hallucination believing him to be Cammy.

Gord Rand as Damien Javitz

A rising talented director of the remake of Stolen Waters, and described as "He"?s no P. T. Anderson, but he resurrects actors."

Production

Development

</ref>}} Plans for the film hit financial difficulties and it was in development for around six years. During promotion of Cosmopolis in May 2012 at Cannes, David Cronenberg said that "It's not a "go" picture. We have a script that I love that Bruce wrote, it's a very difficult film to get made as was 'Cosmopolis' actually. Whether I can get this movie to happen, I tried it five years ago, I couldn't get it made, so I still might not be able to get it made." He also added that "Maps To The Stars is very extreme. It's not obviously a very big commercial movie, and even as an independent film it's difficult. 'Maps To the Stars' is completely different [from 'Cosmopolis'], but it's very acerbic and satirical, it's a hard sell."

Talking about the script, Cronenberg revealed that "It"?s kind of a satire on Hollywood. It"?s very typical of Bruce Wagner"?s writing. And it"?s sort of a condensed essence of Bruce. And while it"?s satirical, it"?s also very powerful, emotionally, and insightful and funny. You could say it"?s a Hollywood film because the characters are agents, actors and managers, but it is not a satire like The Player." Producer Martin Katz described it as an "absurdist comedy about the entertainment business."

Casting

Viggo Mortensen and Rachel Weisz were initially cast but left due to scheduling difficulties. They were later replaced by Cusack and Moore. It is the second collaboration between Pattinson and Cronenberg after Cosmopolis.

On May 8, 2013, it was confirmed that Wasikowska, Williams, Gadon, and Bird joined the cast. Fisher joined the cast on July 9, 2013. The casting of Emilia McCarthy, Heitmeyer, and Kelly was announced on July 15, 2013.

Pre-production

Production began in July 2013. Cronenberg stated that "it would be the first time I've ever shot a foot of film in the United States. It's strange, just because of the way the co-production deals work, that even though I've had movies that are set in the U.S. like 'Cosmopolis' or 'The Dead Zone,' I've never shot in the United States. This would be the first time. And I'm really excited about it." He further add that "Well, 'Maps To The Stars' is an L.A. story and I really felt that is something I could not create on a set in Toronto, whereas the structure of 'Cosmopolis' allows me to create New York on a soundstage in Toronto.

Moore, who bleached her hair blonde for the part of Havana, said in a May 2013 interview about the film that, "It"?s not only about celebrity culture, but the pursuit of fame at any cost." She also added that "There"?s this weird disconnect that the celebrity culture enforces and I don"?t know how we got there. I feel like it happened really rapidly too because when I started out as an actor it wasn"?t quite the same."

Filming

Principal photography began on July 8, 2013 in Toronto, Canada and continued until August 12, 2013. Most of the shooting took place in Toronto and many of the interior locations in the film, were filmed at the Eastern Avenue side of Cinespace film studio of Ontario, Toronto. On July 19, some scenes were shot in and around the diner at Queen street in Leslieville, Ontario.

Filming then moved to Los Angeles, California. Most of the shoot was outdoors, at some landmark sites. On August 17, filming took place downtown at Union Station, Los Angeles with Pattinson and Wasikowska and on August 18 and 19, scenes were shot at Rodeo Drive and The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, L.A. Scenes were also filmed at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Boulevard and Runyon Canyon near Mulholland Drive on August 20 and at Park Way Beverly Hills L.A. on August 21. Cronenberg lit the Hollywood Sign for a scene on August 20, by using 4K HMI lights. He has said that "It's no different than shining a light from a helicopter." Filming wrapped up on August 22, 2013 in L.A.

Post-production

EOne presented Maps with its other films in post-production status at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. New stills of Moore and Gadon, along with the fictional Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Clarice Taggart, were also released. It was also included with films in post-production status presented at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival.

Music

Howard Shore composed the score for the film. He has collaborated with Cronenberg on all but one of his films since 1979. The album was released by Howe Records on September 9, 2014. The first single featuring a track from the soundtrack album was released on May 21, 2014.

Soundtrack listing

Marketing

Promotion

On July 16, 2013, the first image of Cusack and another image of Cusack, Williams, and Cronenberg preparing for a scene were released. EOne presented the first look of the film at the 2013 Locarno International Film Festival. A still of Kiara Glasco and Evan Bird from the film was released on September 22, 2013. On April 10, 2014, a still of Mia Wasikowska along with the Italian poster for the film were revealed.

On April 14, 2014, the first preview was released for sales and distribution. It was followed by the full-length official trailer of the film on April 15, 2014. On April 17, 2014, with the announcement of the film's premieres at the Cannes Film Festival, two images of Julianne Moore and Wasikowska were released. The first image of Robert Pattinson along with three other stills from the film were released on April 17, 2014. EOne revealed another trailer for the film on September 10, 2014, ahead of film's release in the UK and Canada.

Releases

The film screened at 2014 New Zealand International Film Festival in the Legends section on July 25, 2014. It screened in the Gala Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2014 and also screened at the 2014 New York Film Festival on September 27, 2014. It was released in UK on September 26, 2014. It served as the closing film at the 2014 Tokyo International Film Festival on October 31, 2014, and was theatrically released in Canada on the same day. It was released in Australia on November 20, 2014. In September 2014, Focus World acquired the United States distribution rights of the film and gave the film an award-qualifying limited release in L.A. from December 5 to 11, 2014 before it's day-and-date release on February 27, 2015.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in France on September 24, 2014. It was available on DVD in UK on November 24, 2014 and will be on March 3, 2015 in Germany.

Lists

The film was included in many lists of most anticipated films of 2013 and 2014.

The 50 Indie Films We Want To See In 2013 by IndieWire.
At number 8 in Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 list by IonCinema.
25 Highly Anticipated Films for 2013 by Filmbalaya.
At number 3 in JigSaw Lounge's 50 Most Anticipated Films of 2013 list by Jig Saw Lounge UK.
At number 7 in MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES OF 2014! by ScreenCrush.
At number 14 in 50 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF 2013 list by Movie Mezzanine.
Most Anticipated Films of 2013 by Cinemablographer.
The 30 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 by BlackBook.
At number 15 in The 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 list by IndieWire.

Reception

Box office

The film had a limited release in France in May 2014 and since then has been released in ten more territories and has grossed $3,387,133.

<imagemap id=Usher (occupation)> Image:Map to the Stars Cannes 2014.jpg|320px|thumb|right|Map to the Stars premiere at 2014 Cannes Film Festival; use cursor to identify figures

rect 33 238 143 531 Sad Ben Sad rect 144 275 243 532 Martin Katz rect 245 257 342 531 Robert Pattinson rect 342 281 429 532 Sarah Gadon rect 437 270 510 531 Mia Wasikowska rect 515 275 602 533 David Cronenberg rect 605 293 695 531 Julianne Moore rect 696 251 781 530 John Cusack rect 4 21 630 228 Use button to enlarge or cursor to investigate

desc none </imagemap>

Critical response

The film generated mostly positive reviews, and performances from the cast were praised. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 68% of 47 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.8 out of 10. The site's summary states: "Narratively unwieldy and tonally jumbled, Maps to the Stars still has enough bite to satisfy David Cronenberg fans in need of a coolly acidic fix." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the films holds an average score of '71', based on 12 reviews, indicating a 'Generally Favorable' response.

Dave Calhoun of The Time Out stated that "This creepy portrait of Beverly Hills screw-ups is deeply silly, but it has just enough venomous bite." The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin gave the film five stars out of five and wrote that it "takes place in a kind of pharmaceutically heightened hyper-reality of its own: it's not so much a twisted dream of making it in show-business, as a writhing, hissing, Hollywood waking nightmare." He said that "Moore, in particular, is tremendous" and concluded that "Cronenberg has made a film that you want to unsee - and then see and unsee again." Oliver Lyttelton in his review for The Playlist, graded the film B+ by saying that "The film is a sickly enjoyable wallow in the scandalous, fucked-up side of showbusiness, and a real return to form for the filmmaker." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars and called the film "A gripping and exquisitely horrible movie about contemporary Hollywood - positively vivisectional in its sadism and scorn." Mark Kermode, also of The Guardian, compared the film to "Sunset Boulevard, with sprinklings of Chinatown, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Mommie Dearest thrown in for good measure." He called Moore "magnificently horrendous" with Wasikowska "provid[ing] ice-cool counterpoint", Williams "terrific" and Pattinson "nicely underplayed".

However, Peter Debruge of Variety criticized the film as "part showbiz sendup, part ghost story, part dysfunctional-family drama, [it] instead comes across as so much jaded mumbo-jumbo." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought that the film "comes off like a prank more than a coherent take on 21st century Hollywood, even if there are crumbs of truth and wit scattered throughout it." Lee Marshall of Screen International said that "The film doesn't quite get away with its attempt to reconcile satire with pathos, but it comes perilously close."

Accolades

Year	Group/Award	Category	Recipient
2014	Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or	David Cronenberg
2014	Cannes Film Festival	Best Actress	Julianne Moore
2014	International Cinephile Society Awards	Best Actress	Julianne Moore
2014	Sitges Film Festival	Best Actress	Julianne Moore