After nearly two years of speculation and expectation it appears that the Canadian master of body-horror,
David Cronenberg, is almost ready to begin his movie version of Don DeLillos 2003 novel,
Cosmopolis. With Twlights irksomely handsome Robert Pattinson, Keira Knightley (although not confirmed) & Paul Giamatti already set for the lead roles, the final cast list seems to be taking shape with the news from
Screen Daily that
Juliette Binoche and
Mathieu Amalric have also been hired for, as yet, undetermined parts. The source text for Cosmopolis is among the most celebrated novels of the celebrated DeLillo, and concerns a self-destructive day in the life of a billionaire named Edward Packer (Pattinson) as he cheats on his wife (originally Marion Cotillard, then Keira Knightley, but perhaps Cronenberg has returned to France and cast Binoche), is stalked by Paul Gimatti and loses his whole fortune in a day. For Pattinson, who replaced Irish actor Colin Farrell who dropped out in order to accept a part in the remake of Total Recall - the movie is clearly 10 levels above anything he had to do in the Twilight saga.
No word yet on what role Amalric has (and there really isn't many characters in the novel). The primary production company for Cosmopolis will be Alfama Films (In the Four Winds) and the music will be composed by
Howard Shore with
Peter Suschitzy having been assigned DOP duties - both of whose work on Cronenberg's Eastern Promises was spectacular. Filming is set to begin in Toronto in May, with even more high calibre names set to be announced prior to principle photography; so there is every chance the film may surface late 2011/early 2012.