Episode 207: Robert Pattinson: Sexy Vampire or Arthouse Messiah?

== Show Notes ==
: We tackle the career of Robert Pattinson and discuss TWILIGHT, GOOD TIMES and COSMOPOLIS as we dissect the career who was believed by snobs to be a one-note joke but has turned into a performer who takes fascinating chances.
== Films Discussed ==
* Films starring Robert Pattinson
** Twilight (2008) Dir. Catherine Hardwicke
** Little Ashes (2009) Dir. Paul Morrison
** Remember Me (2010) Dir. Allen Coulter
** Water for Elephants (2011) Dir. Francis Lawrence
** Cosmopolis (2012) Dir. David Cronenberg
** The Rover (2014) Dir. David Michôd
** Queen of the Desert (2015) Dir. Werner Herzog
** The Lost City of Z (2016) Dir. James Gray
** Good Time (2017) Dir. The Safdie Brothers
** High Life (2018) Dir. Claire Denis
** The Lighthouse (2019) Dir. Robert Eggers
** Tenet (2020) Dir. Christopher Nolan
** The Batman (2021) Dir. Matt Reeves
* Jerry Maguire (1996) Dir. Cameron Crowe
* I Am Sam (2001) Dir. Jessie Nelson
* Underworld (2003) Dir. Len Wiseman
* The Road (2009) Dir. John Hillcoat
* The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Dir. Martin Scorsese
* The Revenant (2015) Dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
== Discussion Notes ==
* Robert Pattinson: An ethereal beauty turned from heartthrob to arthouse
** His icy demeanor can make him hard to like, in both early and current roles
*** Maybe that's why he gets more bearded in his recent films?
** Our hosts compare him against Tom Cruise
*** Cruise is desperately affecting a cool guy persona, while Pattinson is more of a 'minimalistic alien'
** Another comparison, this time to Leonardo DiCaprio
*** Both are pretty boys who have made strides towards legitimacy
*** DiCaprio seems to be always aware of his own commercial stardom, while Pattinson seems to care less about his public perception
** Can Pattinson ever go back to normal roles?
*** The 'DiCaprio problem' - you've never really heard or seen him not acting
** What are his next steps after The Batman and Tenet?
*** Our hosts: he seems to only be getting better!
* Cosmopolis
** Will on Pattinson: he has a "porcelain beauty" with "dead eyes"
** Justin: the film is challenging on a "Kaufman-esque level"
** Cronenberg wanted to create an off-putting experience
* Twilight
** Will: "a really fucking terrible movie"
** Ur-text to Pattinsons and Kristen Stewarts stardowm
*** The flat affect of the leads - done for audience projection, or is it stealth understated 'acting'?
** Has that iconic Underworld 2000s blue-tint!
* Good Time
** The Safdies succeed in playing on the personas of the stars they cast
*** Big and beautiful stars playing raw and scummy characters
** Pattinson's beauty works with the dirtiness of his performance, still manages to be 'of the world'
== Listener Letters ==
* Luke
* Will's thoughts on Gilbert Gotfrieds podcast?
** Happy that podcasts have made niche guests available to all
** Notable Drew Friedman episode, with stories about Groucho Marx and Jerry Lewis
** Episodes with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski - for when you want to hear about movies you've never heard of
* Our hosts chat about their other favorite obscure movie podcasts
** Podcasts like Movies that Made Me are gold for movie nuts like our hosts
** Leonard Maltin's Maltin on Movies Joe Dante episode, with stories of Huntz Hall of the Bowery Boys
** Fred Olin Ray's ten-episode Spotify podcast
* Shaun
* Have our hosts considered a Jay Roach episode, and what are their thoughts on the Austin Powers/Mike Myers boom?
** Will: Myers was the pride of Toronto at the time of Austin Powers
** Justin: doesn't think he would like any Jay Roach movies as of today
** Roach's political films: toothless telling of a story that offends no one
*** Who is Bombshell for? Or Trumbo? The Campaign?
** Will watched the original Austin Powers recently - had an OK time!
*** Posits that Judd Apatow killed fantastical wacky comedies with the new format of "dudes riffing"
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
*Will read Woody Allen's biography
**1/3 witty prose, 1/3 dry film details, 1/3 family drama
**Will: "Do I really need to know all this?"
***Kind of like reading Lolita, "inside the mind of a psychopath"
**A 'genuinely upsetting' experience for our host
Category:Episodes
Category:Robert Pattinson