Keira Knightley Replacing Marion Cotillard In Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’

Many a young fangirl (and boy) has spent countless hours bickering with their friends over which of them gets to pretend to be Robert Pattinson’s wife. Marion Cotillard and Keira Knightley were much more amicable in their dealings to become Pattinson’s spouse in David Cronenberg’s next film, Cosmopolis.

Cotillard has officially stepped down from Cronenberg’s adaptation of Dom DeLillo’s strange day-in-a-life novel, and Keira Knightley may be taking her place opposite Pattinson as the lead.

Members of the Cosmopolis fansite noted that production company Alfama Films no longer listed Cotillard – last seen playing wife to Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception – as a cast member. The Playlist contacted the Oscar-winning actress’ representatives, who confirmed that she is no longer onboard for Cronenberg’s latest tale of transformation due to a scheduling conflict. She is the second big name to leave the project for that reason, following Colin Farrell’s departure – which was essentially due to his starring in the Total Recall remake.

Knightley is now listed as a cast member for Cosmopolis and will presumably be replacing Cotillard as the sole main female character in the film. That the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy star is only one year older than Pattinson (whereas Cotillard was eleven) and recently worked with Cronenberg on his Sigmund Freud drama, A Dangerous Method, only lends further credence to this idea.

Knightley in 'A Dangerous Method'.

Pattinson will star in Cosmopolis as newlywed billionaire Eric Packer, who awakens one morning and realizes that “he didn’t know what he wanted. Then he knew. He wanted to get a haircut.” That seemingly innocuous desire leads the cocky, adulterous young man on an odyssey across Manhattan that results in him being stalked, attacked, and losing the entirety of his fortune – all over the course of 24 hours.

Themes of metamorphosis and changing identity have long been staples of Cronenberg’s twisted breed of storytelling and Cosmopolis looks to be an appropriate addition to his filmography. While the involvement of Twilight star Pattinson and Knightley – who more often appears in artsy fare like Atonement or Never Let Me Go, rather than blockbuster material – may not sit so well with Cronenberg fans, the two are arguably perfect fits to play a young, superficially-minded couple who realize that leading a life of extravagant wealth is not per se equivalent to a happy existence.

Cronenberg is gearing up to begin shooting Cosmopolis in Toronto and New York City by May 2011, which means that the film will likely not reach theaters until 2012.

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Source: Alfama Films (via CosmopolisFilm), The Playlist

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Paul Giamatti May Join David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’

If Cosmopolis – a story about a 28 year-old billionaire who takes a jaunt across town just to get a haircut from a proper barber and ends up blowing his fortune – sounds peculiar, just remember it’s being brought to life by the guy who made movies about mutant children, evil gynecologists, and Jeff Goldblum as a giant insect.

David Cronenberg is the man behind the Cosmopolis film adapation and he’s already lined up Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard to star in the film. Now it seems that Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti may sign up for this strange cautionary tale as well.

According to The Playlist, Giamatti’s rep says that the actor is in active discussions to join the cast of Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, but denies that a deal has been secured. The John Adams star signed on for The Hangover 2 recently, but his upcoming schedule is otherwise fairly open. Cosmopolis is unlikely to begin production for few months anyway, since shooting on the Total Recall remake is tentatively scheduled to begin by Spring 2011 and that could keep Farrell busy for the next while.

Cronenberg is currently in the midst of post-production on his latest collaboration with actor Viggo Mortensen, the Sigmund Freud pic A Dangerous Method, which will also prevent Cosmopolis from beginning production in the immediate future.

Cosmopolis is an unorthodox horror tale that deals with the transformation of a character’s existence (a theme Cronenberg has explored throughout his filmmaking career) over the course of a single day. Farrell is set to play Eric Packer, the rich protagonist who cheats on his wife (Cotillard), is attacked by a bizarre assortment of individuals (stalkers, protesters, etc.), and finds his life spinning utterly out of control as his fortunes start to dwindle away.

No word yet on who Giamatti would portray in Cosmopolis or if he’ll play a central or supporting role in the film, but he’s a flexible character actor who can portray anything from a hammy, guns-blazing villain (Shoot ‘Em Up) to an officer of the law in a period piece (The Illusionist) and still be convincing. We have little doubt that he is up for whatever Cronenberg throws at him.

It’s also good to see Cotillard getting more work and sticking with projects that involve quality filmmakers. She was good as Leonardo DiCaprio’s deceased wife in Inception, but hopefully the actress will get to play a larger and more fleshed-out part in Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis.

We’ll keep you posted on the development of Cosmopolis.

Source: The Playlist

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