Will Fans Turn Out for Cosmopolis?: Pattinson & Cronenberg Come Out Swinging (The Inquisitr)
Robert Pattinson
Page Mackinley at The Inquisitr has been writing on Robert Pattinson and Cosmopolis, and this piece posted today deserves to be highlighted. She recognizes as many of us do, that Mr. Pattinson’s fans are not homogeneous– in their ages, sex, interest in literature and film, etc.– and even may or may not be Twilight fans at all.
This is a must read for a couple of reasons. One is to learn that Mr. Pattinson has spoken up to correct misperceptions about Twilight fans. This writer argues it’s time for the media to recalibrate perceptions. We’ve pulled out particular portions, and encourage a visit to the link below for the full article.
A second reason is that it includes links to fan sites that is, firstly, a nice acknowledgement of their contributions, and secondly, identifies them so readers can avail themselves of the wealth of information at the sites. These sites, individually, and together, are valuable resources in support of a film that requires more thought than your summer popcorn flick. These sites make this extra effort easy and interesting. They also make it fun because they make fans feel part of a community of support.
The sites’ hyperlinks are in black font, below.
Thank you, Ms. Mackinley for including the link to our “What’s the Deal With DeLillo” series as an example of a fan site with “analysis.” We’d love more people to know we’re here because we’ve written these original posts so they can be read, to contribute in any way we can to the enjoyment of this film. We want to see an original, creative film be fully embraced.
We’d like to give a shout-out to other fan sites that are not listed (it’s impossible to include all, there’s so many- which is kind of the point of all this- fans are many and varied) such as our affiliates (links can be found on right of our blog page) all the Pattinson fan sites, and Cosmopolis fan sites in other countries.
From The Inquisitor:
“The bashing of Twilight Saga fans has long been a favorite pastime of critics and the media. Now, Robert Pattinson and no-holds-barred director David Cronenberg have spoken out in defense of those fans, and some – including this writer – think they have a point. Repeatedly asked on a recent Cosmopolis press junket whether he thought fans would support his latest film, Pattinson told the BBC,
“I think a lot of them will really connect to it [...] Some of them will follow – some of them will just want you to play vampires, but most people don’t want you to repeat yourself. So hopefully they’ll like it.”
On a roll, the 26 year-old Brit didn’t stop there.
“People put down Twilight fans, but yesterday I got given on the red carpet in Berlin all these books from people who are lined up in the rain and are probably judged by everyone to be crazy,” said Pattinson.
“I got a signed first edition of the Martin Amis book Money; a Lawrence Ferlinghetti book; the new [Michel] Houellebecq book. All these people come up and give what they’ve been reading and found interesting. This is not giving you teddy bears!”
Quite.
In fact, what those fans were doing was responding in kind to literary shout-outs Pattinson gave in a recent interview with French cultural magazine Les Inrockuptibles (also known as Les Inrocks.) In other words; they pay attention.
Warming to his theme Pattinson explained to heyuguys,
“The Twilight fanbase is very much maligned for their tenacity for sitting out in the rain […] Twilight has attracted such a broad spectrum of people, and they have all kind of been lumped together because it’s much easier to get these images of people screaming and stuff.”
This article is probably a niche argument, mainly because having legions of fans willing to endure bad weather, hours of waiting, expensive air flights, and the bafflement of others just to catch a glimpse of the object of their affections – isn’t something that happens to most people. But it did happen to Robert Pattinson.”
HERE’s the shout out to all the fansites: Please visit the links in black font in the paragraph below, these are a sampling of many fan sites (we’re under “analysis”):
“The truth is most Pattinson fans are not just fans of The Twilight Saga (in fact some emphatically aren’t), they are first and foremost fans of Robert Pattinson. The distinction – lost on most critics and media – is an important one.
For those that think fans that do go and see Cosmopolis will only do so out of some mindless savant-like support of Pattinson – the Internet is your friend.
Take a gander at these sites: Acres of highly detailed, organized, informed analysis about not only Cosmopolis, DeLillo and Cronenberg, but also Pattinson’s past and forthcoming films. [Note: This list is by no means comprehensive.]
Indeed such is the mobilization capacity of fans, that at the beginning of this year when MTV held a ‘Most Anticipated Movie of 2012′ brawl – even without a trailer or significant promotion – Cosmopolis wiped the floor with much more resourced contenders like The Hunger Games and The Dark Knight Rises.
Without doubt the ‘screamer’ component of Pattinson’s fanbase exists – and frankly, so what if they do? – but they are only one part of a much bigger picture.
From the reader comments on the aforementioned sites, it’s clear many fans are eager and willing to go on a journey with this young actor as he makes the leap into more challenging – and from the sounds of Pattinson’s own comments – less mainstream waters.”
...Thinking of Rob
Spunk Ransom
Robert Pattinson U.S.
...Let Me Sign
...Robert Pattinson Profile
Official Cosmopolis Site
Alfama Films
Cosmopolis at IMDb 
Simon&Schuster
Cosmopolis Film.com
Share Your Thoughts!