Before you get ahead of yourself, that headline is not as deep as it may sound. Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson aren’t embarking on some existential quest. The two actors are merely starring in Anton Corbijn’s next film, which happens to be titled Life. But just because the two aren’t searching for the answers to the mysteries of existence doesn’t mean you should be any less excited, as the movie sounds like it could be pretty awesome as well.
The Luke Davies script tells the story of the relationship between Life Magazine‘s Dennis Stock (Pattinson) and James Dean (DeHaan). When Stock was a young photographer, he was tasked with shooting Dean, and the two traveled together around the United States together.
Pattinson catches a lot of undeserved flack for his involvement in the Twilight franchise (okay, maybe a little bit of it is deserved), but he really is a quality actor who is capable of carrying a film, even when it’s lackluster otherwise (see Cosmopolis). He’s definitely got the talent to properly take on this role, and I’m excited to see him in it.
On the other hand, there’s no one out there questioning DeHaan’s ability as an actor (at least no one sane that is). After his breakout role in Chronicle, it’s been hard to go to the theaters and not see at least a preview for something he’s in. The quantity hasn’t meant a lack in quality though, as he’s been phenomenal time and time again. His performance in The Place Behind The Pines stands above the rest, as it was almost stunning how good he was in that film. I could not be more excited to see him play James Dean.
Life‘s budget is in the $10 million to $15 million range, with the shoot starting in Canada in early 2014.