Perhaps this is why the new transparency sucks and why a salient argument can be made for the halcyon days of film development behind closed doors: watching the back and forth progress and decline of David Cronenberg‘s gestating “Cosmpolis” is heartbreaking. First, it’s an A-list project out the door with Colin Farrell, Marion Cotillard and Paul Giamatti and then it’s a slightly less desireable project with Robert Pattinson and Keira Knightley in the leads instead of Farrell and Cotillard who bailed for a tentpole (“Total Recall“) and a baby, respectively (Cotillard is pregnant, the dream for Playlist suitors is collapsing).
Knightley is part of Cronenberg’s upcoming “A Dangerous Method” co-starring the excellent cast of Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen, so co-signed by them, hell, co-signed by us. But her confirmation in the film was never 100%. She must have been in some sort of discussion as French financiers Alfama Films jumped the gun and listed Knightley as part of the cast in January and tipped us off to the fact that Cotillard had left.
Perhaps they spoiled the deal entirely because if Knightley was in talks to take the lead female role in the picture, it appears she’s not now.
While reps for the actress have declined to comment thus far (including several of our inquiries to U.K. and U.S. reps) according to Up and Comers, Knightley won’t be working on back to back Cronenberg films as confirmed by her PR folks. That’s a shame if only because a name like Keira Knightley does make a David Croneberg film easier to finance. So now it’s just RPatz and Giamatti. A match made in heaven, no?
Who will fill into the high heel shoes she almost took? Your guess is as good as ours, we’re just glad that “Twilight” fans know who David Cronenberg is now. Isn’t “The Brood” wicked!? Still a couple of months to find a lead actress as production on the film is now scheduled to start on May 23rd.Update: Reps for Knightley confirm the Up and Comers report stressing that she was never actually “on” the project.