Photographer-turned-director Anton Corbijn’s upcoming drama, Life, may star two of the hottest young actors in the industry in Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan, but the atypical road movie is much more than simple eye candy.
Charting the friendship between Hollywood legend James Dean (DeHaan) and budding photographer Dennis Stock (Pattinson) circa 1955, Corbijn’s drama will follow the pair as they make tracks from Los Angeles to New York. It was an event that culminated in the iconic picture of Dean in Times Square in the lashing rain, a still image that would go on to be famous following the actor’s tragic death shortly thereafter. As a result, Life gets its minimalist title due to the fact that Stock’s photographer works at the titular magazine, tasked with capturing Dean — who was undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s A-listers at the time — for coverage.
In the clip above, we see DeHaan channel a laconic character rally against the ways in which he is being portrayed by the media, which is exactly where Pattinson’s photographer comes into play.
Corbijn’s period drama is without a release date for now, but given that it is currently being premiered at Berlin Film Festival, that status is likely to change very soon. For now, you can let us know whether you’re excited for Life down below.
In 1955, ambitious Hollywood photographer Dennis Stock and the then still unknown James Dean meet at one of Nicholas Ray’s parties. Stock recognises in the young actor, who has just completed filming East of Eden, an extraordinary talent and hopes to further his own career via a series of portraits for “Life” magazine. Newcomer Dean is stressed by studio boss Jack Warner’s demands for him to get on the PR bandwagon for Elia Kazan’s film and goes into hiding in the country. Stock accompanies the camera-shy star to his native ranch in Indiana where he has his roots. Once back in New York, Stock captures the world famous image which keeps the legend alive to this day.