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