Maps to the Stars (2014)

A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

Bruce Wagner (screenplay)

Stars:

Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Havana Segrand
Mia Wasikowska	...	Agatha Weiss
John Cusack	...	Dr. Stafford Weiss
Evan Bird	...	Benjie Weiss
Olivia Williams	...	Christina Weiss
Robert Pattinson	...	Jerome Fontana
Kiara Glasco	...	Cammy
Sarah Gadon	...	Clarice Taggart
Dawn Greenhalgh	...	Genie
Jonathan Watton	...	Sterl Carruth
Jennifer Gibson	...	Starla Gent
Gord Rand	...	Damien Javitz
Justin Kelly	...	Rhett
Niamh Wilson	...	Sam
Clara Pasieka	...	Gretchen Voss

Storyline

The Weiss family is the archetypical Hollywood dynasty: father Stafford is an analyst and coach, who has made a fortune with his self-help manuals; mother Cristina mostly looks after the career of their son Benjie, 13, a child star. One of Stafford's clients, Havana, is an actress who dreams of shooting a remake of the movie that made her mother, Clarice, a star in the 60s. Clarice is dead now and visions of her come to haunt Havana at night... Adding to the toxic mix, Benjie has just come off a rehab program he joined when he was 9 and his sister, Agatha, has recently been released from a sanatorium where she was treated for criminal pyromania and befriended a limo driver Jerome who is also an aspiring actor.

---

Plot Keywords:

aspiring actor | male frontal nudity | dysfunctional family | male full frontal nudity | sex | 

---

Taglines:

Eventually stars burn out.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong disturbing violence and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some drug material

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska previously played a mother and daughter in The Kids Are All Right (2010), in which Wasikowska's character also came from an unorthodox family with a lot of baggage.

---

Goofs

At the courtyard restaurant, the shadows formed by the retaining wall move around between shots. In Christina's shots it's clear the sun is over her left shoulder, with the wall in shadow and the shots completed, perhaps, in the morning. In Harriet's, the shadow of the railing is on the ground, it must be around noon. In Stafford's the wall is lit up, so maybe it's the afternoon. Everyone's going to know the truth now.

---

Quotes

Agatha Weiss: [Agatha recites poetry from Paul Éluard's poem, Liberty, translated from French] On my school notebook, on my desk and the trees, on the sand and the snow, I write your name. On all the flesh that says yes, on the forehead of my friends, on every hand held out, I write your name. Liberty.

---

Connections

References The Godfather (1972)

---

Soundtracks

Hell Blazer
Written by Supafly and Omar G

User Reviews

Cronenberg now an 'auteur' of weirdness

We used to expect gross-out horror from David Cronenberg. Now he gives us weird and weirder. MAPS TO THE STARS is set in a Tinseltown of designer homes, designer shops and exclusive restaurants. The background 'sheen' is reminiscent of an Almodovar movie, plus there's a Gothic element borrowed from Shyamalan (Agatha and Benjie see dead people). Julianne Moore's performance is in the kind of hyper-drive she brought to BOOGIE NIGHTS, which helps to power the movie's gearshift from Hollywood satire into violent melodrama. One of the themes is incest, which surely needed a deeper and subtler exploration.

Robert Pattinson takes another step away from the Twilight Zone in the role of a limo driver with screen writing aspirations (like every other chauffeur in Los Angeles). Cronenberg is clearly reaching out towards a more discerning class of viewer. MAPS TO THE STARS is very much an 'auteur' movie, highly intelligent and stylized, but perhaps perched uncomfortably between satire and psychodrama.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Canada Germany France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bailey's Quest

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$143,422, 1 March 2015

Gross USA:

$350,741

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,510,934

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prospero Pictures, Sentient Entertainment, SBS Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1