Canadian director David Cronenberg tells a very human ghost story of a Hollywood family in his new movie Maps to the Stars, which was screened on Monday in Competition at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.
According to the official daily of the film festival, Cronenberg's new movie is "an uncompromising portrait of the way Hollywood operates."
In Hollywood, the stars collide in the story of the Weiss family: Benjie, 13, has already been a star; his father, Sanford Weiss, is a successful TV self-help therapist and coach to celebrities. Cristina Weiss has her work cut out managing the career of their disaffected child-star son.
Meanwhile, the husband's client, actress Havana Segrand, Havana's assistant Agatha, and limousine driver Jerome Fontana, also aspire to fame.
"The result is a Gothic tale that verges on tragicomedy, haunted by the ghosts of the past," said the daily comment.
In the Canadian director's film, the psychological fear or horror is typically intertwined with the physical one.
The press conference for Maps to the Stars was held Monday, presented by Cronenberg and the cast, including Julianne Moore, Sarah Gadon, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Evan Bird and Robert Pattinson, as well as screenplay writer Bruce Wagner.
Commenting on the vision of Hollywood expressed in the film, Cronenberg said: "It's not an attack on Hollywood. You have to look deeper than that."
"The action could have taken place in Wall Street or anywhere, like Washington for example, it's also about those people who are fighting to succeed and make money," explained the director.
Moore, who played Segrand in the movie, said: "David Cronenberg is an incredibly enthusiastic person. As an actress you want to make him happy."
"About the script I would say there is a funny side to everything: the script was funny and serious the same time," said Moore.
Cronenberg has been selected in Competition in Cannes five times. He received the Special Jury Prize for Crash in 1996. In 2012, Cronenberg presented Cosmopolis in Cannes. He was President of the Jury for the 52nd edition of the Festival.