David Cronenberg’s ‘Maps to the Stars’ Goes to Focus World

Focus World Acquires Maps to the Stars
Julianne Moore stars in ‘Maps to the Stars’

David Cronenberg’s tale of celebrity obsession, Maps to the Stars, has been picked up by Focus World for U.S. distribution. Maps to the Stars was written by Bruce Wagner and stars Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams, Evan Bird, Sarah Gadon, John Cusack, and Robert Pattinson (who also worked with Cronenberg on Cosmopolis).

Buzz for the film has been building following Moore’s win as Best Actress at the Cannes International Film Festival. It’s also set to screen at the New York Film Festival and at Toronto International.

“David Cronenberg is one of independent cinema’s greatest auteurs. He and Bruce Wagner have crafted an unforgettable film showcasing standout performances from a top-notch cast. Focus World is thrilled to bring Maps to the Stars to U.S. audiences,” said Anjay Nagpal, SVP of Focus World.

“We are delighted to partner with Focus World on Maps to the Stars, whose release model lends itself so perfectly to bringing this incredibly entertaining film to US audiences,” stated Harold van Lier, President, eOne Films International. eOne co-financed the film along with Prospero Pictures. “The response received in Cannes, including Julianne Moore’s much-deserved prize, was phenomenal and David’s masterpiece is now eagerly anticipated for Toronto and New York.”

Focus World is aiming for an early 2015 release.

The Plot:

In Maps to the Stars, Stafford Weiss (Cusack) is an L.A. psychotherapist and life coach who has made his fortune with self-help books promising happiness. His wife Cristina (Williams) is the overbearing manager of their 13-year-old son, Benjie (Bird), a TV star and recent drug rehab grad. Their estranged daughter, Agatha (Wasikowska), has just been released from a psychiatric hospital and befriends limo driver and aspiring actor Jerome (Pattinson). Among Stafford’s celebrity clients is Havana Segrand ( Moore), a fading star who dreams of reprising her late mother Clarice’s (Gadon) starring role. Ambitions, ghosts, death, and all manner of vices bedevil the cast of characters.