26 March 2025

Rob and Mickey 17 feature on the cover of the April issue of American Cinematographer. We also receive a new BTS shot. In the edition “Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC and director Bong Joon Ho discuss their approach to the sci-fi black comedy Mickey 17, and visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass details how key effects were created.”

18 March 2025

#Mickey17 is Robert Pattinson's 3rd Certified Fresh film in a row, following #TheBatman and #TheBoyAndTheHeron. https://t.co/m1Yzl28Kfq

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) March 17, 2025

Rotten Tomatoes: We’re seeing double here: At least four Roberts in Mickey 17 (78%), the sci-fi black comedy from director Bong Joon Ho. It’s Pattinson’s 3rd Certified Fresh film in a row, following The Batman (85%) and The Boy and the Heron (96%).

Check out how all of Rob’s films have ranked by clicking on hyperlink above.

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Fiona Crombie (Production Designer) talks to The Credits ““Mickey 17” Production Designer Fiona Crombie Creates a Playful Pattinson-Verse for Bong Joon Ho’s Black Comedy Space Epic” – here’s an extract concerning Rob:

Does the world inside and outside the ship look how you hoped?

It does. I always watch the rushes, so there’s never any real mystery. But the thing is, when you’re watching the rushes, you’re watching the takes for Mickey 17 or 18, and I’m actually watching what happens around them, so seeing Robert’s performances cut together was a complete surprise. In the rushes, I couldn’t really tell what was going on, but seeing it cut together was just extraordinary.

15 March 2025

Here’s a new interview for EstiloDF Mexico (google translation): Robert Pattinson optimistic and uncomplicated

The stigma surrounding Robert Pattinson as the Twilight actor has been shattered with brilliant performances like those seen in The Lighthouse and The Batman, the latter of which generated a high degree of controversy due to its portrayal of one of the most popular comic book characters. To add another success to his artistic career, Pattinson let himself be guided by director Bong Joon Ho in the film Mickey 17. The Korean filmmaker caused a sensation in 2019 with Parasite, a story that caused discomfort due to the accurate social criticism that is also part of his new feature film.

In Mickey 17, Robert gives one of the best performances of his career. Under the cover of science fiction, the British actor plays with different versions of the same character, a subject who seems to lack free will, but once he finds it, it becomes essential. With a pleasant pace and comedic touches that lighten the most tense moments of the film, Mickey 17 presents us with a futuristic panorama that doesn’t seem too far from reality.

It also confronts us with moral and ethical dilemmas about the value of human beings and the danger other species face when power is not only the means, but the end for a small number of people. To try to unravel Bong Joon Ho’s funny story, we spoke exclusively with Robert Pattinson, who showed his great sense of humor, even talking about such controversial and feared topics as death.

You play different versions of the same character, and there comes a point where two of them coexist in the same space. Did you ever feel confused by the switch from one to the other?

Yes, it took me a little while to get used to it, but I managed. The terms were just confusing. During the first week, we were trying to figure out exactly how to do it because it’s so hard to know how it’s going to turn out. I mean, we were looking to see what worked and what differentiated them.

What do you think the experience is like for the audience?

It’s a complicated situation because the audience has to recognize the differentiation of the characters. But within the story, they can’t seem too different, otherwise it would be incredibly obvious. So we had to calibrate these differences between them in subtle ways.

Did Bong Joon Ho’s direction help you?

After a few weeks, I knew exactly what he wanted to say. I don’t know if I could explain it, but I just knew where to push. I’m not sure I was confused a million times. But yes, I was.

What was it like working with Joon Ho?

I’ve always wanted to work with directors when I see a performance they’ve already achieved with others. I think, “Maybe if I work with them, I could achieve a similar performance.” I love that; I love their ability to do physical comedy. I haven’t done anything that had that similar hint of an idea. And then, when we got to this point, when I came across this film, I just saw the script and thought, “This is something completely different from anything I’ve ever seen.” I think I’m a very optimistic person.

Regarding the futuristic approach the film takes, what’s your opinion?

A lot of people would disagree with me because I’m always complaining about things, but I’m positive about the future. I don’t know. I mean, especially with AI and things like that, people get really scared when a new technology comes out; everyone is uncertain about what it will mean and where you’ll end up. But I have some faith in humanity, although I think eventually there won’t be any technology that makes humans redundant. The same thing they thought about imprinting, they’re now saying about AI.

Your character is asked about dying. Have you ever wondered what it feels like to die?

Everyone’s is asking that. I found it a pretty poignant scene when he’s trying to explain what it’s like. I mean, I guess you know some people, when they’re in a car accident, they’ve died and come back to life. Certain people say, “I had this mystical experience,” but some people just don’t, nothing happened. If you’ve died and come back to life, okay. And everyone asks what it was like. I have no way of explaining it. It’s the same as saying, “What was it like before you were born?” And yeah, everyone asks me that question all the time. I mean, it really makes you feel strange. I have a very simple perspective on life, basically I’m like, ‘What time do I wake up in the morning?’

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11 March 2025

Below are excerpts from two articles concerning Rob’s career.

GQ (UK): Mickey 17 proves that Robert Pattinson is cinema’s greatest oddball

Only Robert Pattinson could play Mickey 17, the dweebish clone whose job is to die ad infinitum in Bong Joon-ho’s bizarre, morbidly funny follow-up to Parasite. …

As for the silly voice he adopts in Mickey 17, look no further than The King and The Devil All the Time. The former being a Shakespeare adaptation in which he wields a cartoonishly hon-hon-hon French accent that surely elicited more than one sacre bleu! in Parisian cinemas, while in the latter he played an evangelical preacher whose Southern drawl would give Frank Underwood a run for his money. And his sicko mode parts haven’t been restricted to the arthouse: his character in Tenet is relatively tame — the main curiosity of that movie is its wacky time-bending structure — but his Bruce Wayne in The Batman is pretty much Kurt Cobain, eyes all smeared with emo-ish mascara. Such a bold interpretation of comic-book royalty, subverting not only the versions of the Caped Crusader we have seen on the big screen but the tropes we most associate with modern superhero movies, typifies Pattinson’s appetite for doing it different.

Mickey 17, then, feels like a culmination of all we have seen from Pattinson before. In it, he plays an oddball outcast who we end up rooting for despite his pathetic nature. He maintains the outrageous physical commitment that we now know to be a dead cert in a Pattinson performance. He has a kooky accent. At risk of saying too much, more magic occurs when the film inevitably introduces another Mickey clone with his own set of traits, desires, and overall mood — making plain to see Pattinson’s range, even when ostensibly playing two versions of the same character. He is an actor in total command of his craft, uninhibited by the camera lens. That’s great in and of itself. But no one else quite gets weird like this, and it’s a thrill to watch.

VOGUE (SINGAPORE): With ‘Mickey 17’, Robert Pattinson is getting his long-awaited flowers

As far as the media and public scrutiny of Twilight went, Pattinson was Hollywood’s leading heartthrob. But not without the outcry that came hand in hand with playing out every teenage girl’s favourite blood-thirsty vampire. From its memorable one-liners to its indisputable colour-grading, the first Twilight film was dissected to pieces and so was Pattinson’s performance. And that’s the thing about a teen phenomenon, you get an instant popularity hit that makes you one of the most recognisable faces in the industry but reduced and discounted as an actor. Pattinson fell prey to that; even following the Stephanie Meyer saga, his performances in films like Remember Me and Water for Elephants failed to outweigh his reputation as the sparkling 101-year-old vampire.

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Perhaps, this is what urged the actor to pivot differently, by choosing to later star in independent films like Cosmopolis and The Lost City of Z. His decision to veer arthouse in lieu of blockbuster resulted in a filmography that looked quite different to what could have initially transpired post-Twilight. For years, you could hardly find him in the top headlines. And it was only until his next act, portraying a seedy criminal whose life gets upturned following a heist gone wrong in The Safdie Brothers’ Good Time, that ended up turning the tide for the actor.

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None would have thought the actor’s next blockbuster, aside from his imminent reprisal of Gotham’s superhero would have come so soon, but with Bong Joon-ho on the director’s seat, it’s easy to see how Pattinson eagerly lurched at the chance. And so Mickey 17 was conceived; Pattinson taking on a lead role like no other in the sci-fi dark comedy, as an ‘Expendable’ Mickey Barnes who dies over and over again in the name of science and future mankind. In Bong’s words, the role was “impossible to play” and upon first meet, the auteur knew he found his Mickey in Robert Pattinson. “I found this goofy side to him, and I had already known how incredible he is as an actor from films like The Lighthouse, The Batman, and especially Good Time by the Safdie brothers. I already knew he had a wide range. As I was adapting the story into my script, I added a lot of detailed descriptions about the character. But no matter how detailed they are, in the end, they’re just words on a page. It’s really up to the actor to breathe life into these characters. And really, Rob brought in so much of his own creativity and so much of his own ideas to add detailed nuances to the characters. I was so surprised and impressed by everything he contributed to the characters and the film,” remarks Bong.

In Mickey 17, you’ll get to see Pattinson joyously riding out the most reckless and unbridled stint of his career—once again putting out another class act of voice acting and transforming himself into an apologetic, broken and effortlessly humorous being as Mickey 17. Mickey 18, on the other hand, complex, darker and instantly distinguishable thanks to Pattinson. Together on screen, the duo are a force with the actor’s range expounded, stretched and put on display for the world to see.

9 March 2025

Here’s the Kurt Iswarienko’s photo from the Vanity Fair Italy cover we shared previously – untagged and in colour.

Thanks Sally

New interview in Premiere France thanks to RobsFootsteps via Sallyvg

“The last movie star, me?” Robert Pattinson plays multiple roles in Mickey 17, but how many identities has he taken on throughout his career? Teen idol, intellectual actor, hipster icon, blockbuster star, equally at ease with Claire Denis as in Gotham City… Exclusively for PREMIERE, Pattinson tells all about Robert.

We know that your career choices are largely guided by your taste for auteurs, from James Gray to Christopher Nolan to the Safdie brothers… Was Bong Joon-Ho on your list?

Rob: Bong seemed… completely out of reach to me! Then I crossed paths with Jeremy Kleiner from Plan B, who told me that Bong Joon-Ho was preparing a new film and wanted to meet me. I was in a particular situation: after THE BATMAN, I couldn’t find anything that excited me, I had turned down quite a few proposals for a long time… Then there were the strikes, the industry came to a halt. The prospect of working with Bong Joon-Ho couldn’t have come at a better time. I knew nothing about the film he was preparing, but I went to the meeting already very much wanting to accept his offer! We got to know each other, he was very funny, very nice. I then read Edward Ashton’s book (Mickey 7) that he wanted to adapt. But when I received the screenplay for the film, I was totally disconcerted. Read the book, you’ll see: the tone of the film has nothing to do with it, it’s really like night and day. The script was completely crazy, delirious, and unexpected. It took me a little while to understand what was happening to me. Then I thought that this might be an opportunity for me to deliver a performance, let’s say… in the style of Jim Carrey!

A somewhat cartoonish performance, yes. Which starts primarily with this funny voice?

Rob: I often start there when I build a character. In the script there’s a lot of voiceover, so I first thought of Forrest Gump or something like that. But it didn’t really work… I also had in mind the performances of actors in Bong Joon-Ho’s films: that form of very physical comedy, almost slapstick like Buster Keaton, which we see particularly in MEMORIES OF MURDER. I was pacing around my home, reading the lines out loud, and suddenly, this voice finally emerged. I always record myself on my phone when I rehearse, so I played it for my assistant, who found it funny. Bong, upon hearing it, just asked me: ‘Is that an American accent?’ And I said: ‘Yes, yes, of course…’ ‘But from where exactly?’ ‘Uhh Pittsburgh?’ (laughs) Since we were filming in England, and all the decision-makers on set were Korean, no one could really verify the authenticity of this accent!

Your different cinema voices have become a real topic of conversation on the internet….

Rob: Yes. It’s rather funny. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of acting with my real accent. So I have fun changing it. The way you speak subsequently affects your body language, that’s why I generally start from there. If it also amuses people and they make memes about it… that’s pretty cool.

Among all your voices, do you have a favorite?

Rob: Ah, I have a soft spot for my French accent in THE KING! David Michôd, the director of the film, had doubts, he told me: ‘It seems like you want to annoy the French.’ (laughs) But I discussed it with Sandrine, this French woman I was in contact with at Dior. And Sandrine approved!

Mickey 17 really gives the impression of being modeled on your performance, the changes in tone and rhythm of the film seem to be calibrated on the different phases of your character’s evolution and his confrontation with Mickey 18…

Rob: Whoa, let’s not exaggerate! The film is really enormous: huge sets, very complex scenes to set up, with many characters, lots of action… I didn’t at all have the impression of being the driving element, that Bong Joon-Ho was aligning his direction with my performance… I just wanted to make myself useful. To be an instrument in service of his vision. The filming was very long. Bong is very calm, he has a very precise idea in mind, everything is storyboarded, which doesn’t prevent him from leaving you a bit of space to experiment, to try things… But he knows exactly where he’s going and my job was mainly to make his task easier.

The role is in line with a type of character you’re fond of: somewhat simple-minded, a bit lazy, who have trouble taking control of their lives. There are quite a few in your filmography, starting with the one in THE ROVER.

Rob: Yes, I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s true! There are quite a few similarities with THE ROVER. It’s part of me, I think, this feeling of not understanding what’s happening to me. Everything quickly becomes an enigma for me. And maybe I instill that in a certain number of my characters. I tend to stumble over the meaning of things. To the point of overdoing it, trying to solve mysteries that aren’t really mysteries. I just made a film with Zendaya, THE DRAMA, the next film by Kristoffer Borgli, the director of DREAM SCENARIO. We had a scene together in it that was driving me crazy, I was desperately looking for its meaning, to the point of writing pages and pages of textual analysis… I ended up calling Zendaya the night before shooting the scene in question. I shared my doubts with her, I spoke for two hours, and blah blah blah, and after a while, very calmly, she finally made me understand that the line just said what it meant to say, that there was no hidden meaning. And there I was going crazy for three days… I tend to bang my head against walls. Sometimes for no reason.

The other ‘Pattinsonian’ trait of the character is his victim side….

Rob: Completely. Already, my character from TWILIGHT had a bit of that… I wonder where it comes from. An unconscious need for punishment? A repressed masochistic desire? Now, to compensate, I make sure to follow up with a character who is very self-confident.

Like the character you played in TENET. It’s an important film in your career, if only because in it you affirmed that you didn’t mind playing supporting roles….

Rob: I love that, it’s very important. Not only do you have less pressure, but it allows you to explore different acting registers than those of lead roles. When you’re the lead in a film, you can’t afford to make your character too complex: since you’re driving the plot, you risk slowing down the rhythm if you take detours. Secondary roles, on the other hand, offer the opportunity to try different things, more fun and daring. They also allow you to have partners and projects that you don’t have access to if you insist on always being the lead.

In Mickey 17 you play both the lead role AND the supporting role… Is acting opposite yourself an actor’s fantasy?

Rob: Not really, no, I had never thought about it before this film! What I love about cinema is reacting to the actors in front of me. A film is about chemistry, between performers delivering lines to each other at a specific moment, in the same room. Since, this time, I was giving lines to myself, it required an enormous amount of concentration. You had to be very organized, very precise. It was difficult to be spontaneous. It’s a strange experience. Quite complicated. I think I’m going to stop acting opposite myself for a little while now…

It reminded me of that photo shoot you did for PREMIERE during the COSMOPOLIS era in 2012, where you ‘recreated’ certain famous David Cronenberg films. We saw these two Robert Pattinsons face to face in a glossy remake of DEAD RINGERS…

Rob: Yes, I remember… Wasn’t there also a threesome, in a bed, with a woman between me and my double? I wonder how they got me to do something like that! (laughs)

At the time, working for Cronenberg and doing these kinds of photos was your way of escaping the prison that the TWILIGHT phenomenon risked becoming. Thirteen years later, you manage to alternate between indie auteur films and huge blockbusters like THE BATMAN… Do you feel like you’ve won your bet?

Rob: Yes, you could say that. The other day, on Instagram, I saw a photo of myself at the Teen Choice Awards in 2011. I was shocked thinking that I’m still doing this job, all these years later. I’ve never had a career plan, in the sense that I generally only think about two-year time blocks. Basically, I react to the last thing I did and then project myself into the next film, a year into the future. I’m happy to make these big films, TENET or THE BATMAN, and to do them my way. You know that old Hollywood saying: ‘One film for them, one film for me.’ But I feel like all my films, I make them for myself! I’ve been very lucky these past few years.

This idea of ‘consumable’ human beings that can be reprinted infinitely, which is at the heart of MICKEY 17, can it work as a metaphor for Hollywood stars?

Rob: It can. It depends on the mood! At the beginning of last year, I was feeling down, I thought I would never work as an actor again in my life. There were no roles on the horizon. And suddenly, all these films came one after another (after MICKEY 17, Robert Pattinson will star in Lynne Ramsay’s new film DIE, MY LOVE with Jennifer Lawrence). Yesterday, I was a bit tired and I started complaining (he takes on a whiny voice): ‘Oh, it’s too much, I can’t take it anymore, I’m being pressured, this job is exhausting.’ My girlfriend put me in my place: ‘You can’t complain about not having roles to play and then about having too many!’ So don’t count on me to play the role of the actor who feels mistreated by the industry. Because in reality, it’s not true… It’s work, but how can you complain about spending your days working with someone like Bong Joon-Ho? In a way, it reminded me of my experience with Claire Denis (on HIGH LIFE). They are very unique filmmakers, personalities who invite you into their world and possess a real aura. The whole set is under their spell. When you film with them, you feel like you’re on drugs, like you’ve taken some kind of hallucinogenic mushroom… It’s a real experience.”

Last December, you were on the cover of THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE, with this headline: ‘The last movie star’. The last movie star… what does that inspire in you?

Rob: Well… I have to admit I found it pretty cool! But, you have to put it in perspective: the article begins with a description of me in a ceramics workshop, sculpting a mug with a carrot-shaped handle, but which the journalist compares to a penis… I was thinking about the reader who must have been wondering: ‘Uh, is this really the last movie star?’ (laughs). Then I came across this show that listed all the actors and actresses who have been named ‘last movie star’ over the past twenty years. There were quite a few of us… Anyway. It’s still nice of them.

But all joking aside, do you think it expresses a form of truth about the state of the star system?

Rob: When social media arrived, everyone tried to redefine what the essence of celebrity was. Until 2012, I would say it consisted of keeping certain things hidden, secret. There was a very clear line of demarcation between stars and the public. Then we entered the era where we had to show everything, all the time. But I have the feeling that people are starting to get tired of seeing and knowing everything. I think we’re going to go back in the other direction, towards this idea that stars should have a bit of mystique, or at least a hint of mystery. I may be wrong, but that’s my feeling. Beyond that, I’m convinced that we will always want to tell each other stories. And that there will always be people who become charismatic when they are filmed by a camera. Why are some actors photogenic and not others? Why do some people, even if they are super boring in real life, ‘light up’ when their image is projected on a screen? It’s an enigma at the heart of cinema and, even if the question of celebrity is bound to change over time, we will never be completely done with it.

Rumor has it that at the end of filming TENET, you gave Christopher Nolan a book about Oppenheimer which, step by step, gave him the idea for his next film…

Rob: That’s true.

What did you give to Bong Joon-Ho after Mickey 17?

Rob: Ha ha! Really not comparable, it’s… a little statue of him as an astronaut. A ridiculous thing, it looks like a dog toy! I really put pressure on myself with this Oppenheimer story, so I opted for something really stupid this time. Apparently, nothing that could inspire his next film…”

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Another another great photo thanks to the USA Today photoshoot (via SallyVG)

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Here’s an excerpt from Rolling Stone Magazine: Robert Pattinson Is the 21st Century’s Great Movie Weirdo

“Pattinson is a little more than a decade into his Make It Super Weird phase, and we’re the better for it. The former twentysomething heartthrob may be following the road paved by Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and other Adonis-handsome gents who gambled their careers on unconventional choices and outrageous extremes (see: 12 Monkeys, Edward Scissorhands). But he’s arguably made this template pay off even better than his forebears. Pattinson could have been just another pretty face stuck playing variations of sad dudes pining for sweethearts and saving the day. Instead, he’s put his inner eccentric first, chasing after cult filmmakers rather than studio blockbusters, and emerged as one the single most interesting movie stars of the 21st century.

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But Pattinson purposefully started to steer away from the movie-star expectations swirling around him and sought out oddball projects, the more auteur-driven and less commercial, the better. You’d think that David Cronenberg would be the pursuing the actor to secure funding for his Don DeLillo adaptation Cosmopolis (2012), but Pattinson was practically begging to work with the body-horror legend for next to nothing. Instead of trying to become the next Mad Max, he did the grimy postapocalyptic thriller The Rover (2014) — and played the bad guy. Long before Brady Corbet became the savior of big-swing cinema with The Brutalist and the Safdie brothers were red-carpet regulars, Pattinson worked with both in Childhood of a Leader (2015) and Good Time (2017), respectively. He sought out the Safdies after he saw a single still (!) from one of their movies and thought Yeah, these guys seem tweaked. Let’s do something together.

The left-field choices continued, whether it was existential sci-fi (High Life) or lusting after mermaids and losing his mind (The Lighthouse). Even when he drifted into more box-office-friendly territory, like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, the roles Pattinson pursued were so gloriously contradictory and “wrong” they somehow felt right. By the time he finally gave in to the lure of playing a superhero, Pattinson had embedded his weirdo vibe into his screen persona so deeply that he managed to make Batman seem like a head case. It’s one of the most out-there takes on a pop-culture staple ever. Most stars sand down the rough edges for big-paycheck roles like that. Pattinson went the other way. He succeeded in making mainstream movies feel like midnight movies.

With Mickey 17, Pattinson doubles down (literally) on the crackpot touches and gives Bong’s follow-up to Parasite a true sense of unpredictable, undeniable lunacy. It’s the sort of turn that makes you picture younger actors wanting to hoist their own freak flag that much higher. He was once slated to be the hot new thing, destined to make hormones go bonkers until the next droolworthy dude came along. Instead, Pattinson forged what’s been a fascinating career out of following his wackadoo instincts. May he never stray from the off-the-beaten path.

Collider: He Improvised a Lot”: ‘Mickey 17’s Bong Joon Ho Discusses What Robert Pattinson Brought to His Characters (excerpts below focussing on Rob – click on link to read full article)

Collider’s own Steve Weintraub was lucky enough to sit down with director Bong and his translator to talk about all things Mickey 17. In this interview, they discuss his famous, fastidious use of storyboards, overcoming the language barrier with an enormous cast of ultra-talented performers, and some details about his much anticipated animated deep-sea epic.

COLLIDER: I want to start with congratulations. I loved the movie. I thought Robert was so fantastic in it. One of the things about the film is that it’s taken a while for it to come out, and I know that there was a lot of work in the edit on this one. I’m just curious if you could talk a little bit about the challenge of editing this.

BONG: My usual process is storyboarding the film, shooting pretty much according to the storyboard, locking picture, and having a final output that’s not that different from what I had storyboarded. With Mickey 17, it was kind of the same process. The only difference is just how much VFX was involved, particularly towards the end of the film with all the creepers. There were a lot of sequences that were pretty much full VFX shots with animation, so it was tricky trying to edit the film with those VFX shots not complete and getting the nuance of the tempo all spot on. It involved a lot of work.

What did you learn from this process that maybe you wish you knew at the beginning? What did you learn that you’re going to take with you if you make another English language film?

BONG: I had a co-writer or dialogue-polishing writer for those projects. Mostly I relied heavily on the actors in regards to the language of the film. With Mickey 17, it was Rob. I relied heavily on Rob. He has such a unique and amazing linguistic sensibility. Especially with Mickey 18, he improvised a lot of really fun dialogue, a lot of which was not really scripted.

It was another great lesson in realizing that you need to work with amazing actors to overcome, I guess, what you can call a “linguistic handicap” I have, where it’s not my native language. It’s working with very trusty actors and also a great translator like her. Actually, she was on the set of Mickey 17. She was always in between me and Rob Pattinson and me and Mark Ruffalo. She’s such a creative translator.

I agree. I want to emphasize how incredible Robert is in the movie.

8 March 2025

Here’s another great photo thanks to USA Today:

7 March 2025

Vanity Fair recently interviewed Bong Joon-Ho (and Rob via email) for “Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho on Life, Death, Mickey 17, and Being “Such a F–king Nerdy Film Geek”. Below is an extract of Rob’s responses:

Pattinson was instantly struck by Bong’s bitingly satirical tone. “He’s extremely fearless and totally idiosyncratic, and he touches on deeply personal and emotional aspects of the human experience,” he tells me by email. “I’ve never worked with a director who has Bong’s unique style. He has an incredibly powerful aura, is systematic, and executes his vision flawlessly, and just makes you see things differently. That’s always the kind of director I want to work with.”

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Pattinson appreciates Bong’s candor and insights: “He’s an extremely witty director. He’s also a really sweet guy and very self-deprecating. There’s something about Bong’s attitude. He’s very unruffled all the time, and it just seems like nothing’s going to go wrong when you are working with him.”

Translation via Google *excerpt below*: ROBERT PATTINSON: “I’M VERY LUCKY”

While we had not seen him on the big screen since The Batman , he is back with a huge sci-fi film by Korean Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17 , shot in 2022 and scheduled for release in March 2024. So it was the perfect time to meet Robert. Gray hoodie with the MOMA logo, sublime tousled hair, three-day beard, the star is curled up in his chair, his legs folded on the cushion, constantly running his hands through his hair in a dangerous weightlessness, while his blue gaze pierces. Affable, intelligent and funny, he is the epitome of cool.

Your filmography is mind-boggling. In recent years, you’ve worked with David Cronenberg, James Gray, the Safdie brothers, Robert Eggers, Werner Herzog, Antonio Campos… What draws you to this demanding auteur cinema?
Robert Pattinson: Hmm… It’s just that they’re fascinating directors and I was dying to work with them. Pure talents. Let’s talk about the Safdie brothers. The filming of Good Time was one of the coolest I’ve ever known, it was just crazy. As a teenager, I had DVDs of my favorite filmmakers on my shelves. And now, I’m just trying to find the opportunity to collaborate with them…

And when you choose to shoot a blockbuster, it’s not in any Marvel, but with Christopher Nolan for Tenet or the great The Batman by Matt Reeves. It can’t just be luck…
I wait a long time sometimes for a movie or a filmmaker, and yes, there is also a huge element of luck ( he bursts out laughing ). Huge! I assure you, I am very lucky… Listen, for The Batman , it was very strange. I never auditioned, and I had never played a superhero before. Two or three years before I got the part, I started thinking about it, when I really had no chance of playing Batman.
And then, slowly, it was like an alignment of planets.…

Your big break in Hollywood after the Twilight saga was David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis ?
I love Cosmopolis . Don DeLillo’s writing is sublime, it’s as powerful as the lyrics of a song. When I got the script, I just wanted to read it out loud because the language is so beautiful. At first, I remember being afraid to talk to David Cronenberg – one of my heroes – on the phone, because I loved the book and the script, but I couldn’t explain why. I didn’t feel intelligent enough to discuss it with David and one day, I finally called him and said: ” I really want to do it, but I’m not really sure I understand everything .” And he said: ” Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. The important thing is that it’s promising, it’s really juicy ” ( laughs ). When I was shooting it, I understood that it would be an important film, that would last. The kind of film you discover at three in the morning on your TV and that totally hypnotizes you. It’s a very contemporary film, in terms of content and form, very experimental too. Cosmopolis was crucial, founding, a big step forward in my career, I gained new confidence there, and I started to see myself a little differently.

You worked with Claire Denis on High Life in 2019 and you almost filmed with Olivier Assayas or Stéphane Sauvaire. I read that you are a huge fan of Jacques Audiard. Do you like French cinema?
I wasn’t particularly a film buff when I was a child. Then when I was 15, I got a Jean-Luc Godard DVD box set. My aunt had given me a film magazine and there was a list of the best films in the history of cinema and at the top of the list was Breathless (Robert gives the title in French, with a delicious accent, editor’s note) . It was the first time I discovered a classic and I remember thinking that I had never seen such an exciting film. Since that moment, French cinema has always had a special place in my heart.

For your new film, Mickey 17 , you shot under the direction of Korean Bong Joon-ho. Were you a fan of his previous films, such as Memories of Murder, The Host or Parasite ?
Yes! When I was told about the film, they told me: ” Bong is going to shoot a new film, but the lead role is impossible to play. ” OK! Bong Joon-ho is an immense, unique filmmaker, Memories of Murder is a pure masterpiece and I still can’t believe I worked with him. From our first meeting, I understood that the experience would be one of the craziest of my career. I met him for lunch, but he didn’t tell me the story, I had no idea what Mickey 17 was going to be about, but Bong is so funny, intelligent, endearing… I said yes immediately, then I projected myself into his world, I saw myself there. I love the bipolar tone of the film. There are sequences that are similar to slapstick comedy , linked with very moving moments. I had never done anything like that…

As the title suggests, you play as a number of clones. Was it fun to play?
Of course. The shoot was very unique, just like Bong. Bong storyboards absolutely everything, everything is very organized, controlled. But paradoxically, I felt incredibly free to experiment. I doubt I’ll ever experience a similar shoot again.

Did you film alone in front of huge green screens?
Not really. I’m really incapable of talking to you about technology and explaining how they do it ( laughs), but what I can tell you is that the sets were crazy, everything was really built, grandiose. For the final battle, it’s just gigantic.

Where did the filming take place?
In Leavesden Studios, near London. (Huge Warner studio, on the site of a former airbase, location for filming all the Harry Potter films , editor’s note) .

Mickey 17 is a huge science fiction film, a dark comedy, but it’s also a political film. Is that what attracted you?
There is a political aspect to this film, but much more (he pauses and dodges the issue, editor’s note) . Mickey is an average citizen, without any particular skills, but he is also a complex character who has no self-confidence, with an enormous sense of guilt, a buffoon who gets tortured again and again. My character is so offbeat, strange, that I didn’t feel like I was making a film with social or political connotations.

Yet the character of the tyrant Hireonimous Marsahall, played by Mark Ruffalo, appears as a clone of Donald Trump.
When I saw it, I thought more of a new version of Little Richard (he laughs) with his sparkling tuxedo. With Bong, you never know what to expect when you arrive on set. I remember the time when we had an actor in a pigeon costume and I thought ” what the hell is this, has he taken acid or something? ” But what is certain is that Bong manages to capture the Zeitgeist on film.

The film is co-produced by Brad Pitt’s company, Plan B. Like him, you produce some of your films. Do you think you’ll one day move into directing?
What Plan B does is truly exceptional. As for me, I started producing because I was frustrated, I couldn’t find films that excited me. As a producer, I thought I would have access to more projects and act more often. But it’s a tough job, very tough, you spend your time looking for capital, hiring people… I have five or six projects waiting, including one that we’re going to shoot in two weeks. As for directing, the idea is making its way…

Let’s talk fashion. Attached to the house of Dior since 2013, you have posed for Karl Lagerfeld, you were present at the last fashion week in Paris and you are the face of the new perfume Dior Homme.
When I signed with Dior, very few actors had this kind of contract, whereas now, everyone goes for it ( laughs ).

Your mother worked in a modeling agency, you did some modeling in your younger years, is that why you moved into fashion?
Hmm, not really. This is going to sound weird, but I remember I signed with Dior because I really wanted to work with Romain Gavras (he bursts out laughing) . He never answered my phone calls and I asked Dior if Romain could direct the ad if I worked for them. Anyway, I joined Dior to shoot with him! They were very scared because at the time, Romain was making very controversial videos, like “Stress” by Justice. I would have had a hard time committing without him by my side and we stayed close. I love being part of the fashion industry, I can split myself very easily.

This year promises to be exceptional for you. After Mickey 17, we will discover you in several films, including Die, my Love by Lynne Ramsay, The Drama by Kristoffer Borgli, then you will shoot The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan and the sequel to The Batman .
Lynne Ramsay was at the top of my list of directors I wanted to work with. And I’m starring opposite the amazing Jennifer Lawrence. I think our performances are going to be really cool. As for The Drama , with Zendaya, I’ve been trying to do it with Kristoffer Borgli for years and now it’s a done deal!

In The Odyssey , which mythological character will you play?
I have absolutely no right to tell you, I can’t even tell you where we’re going to shoot ( laughs ). It’s top secret!

And The Batman Part II , which should be released in 2027?
I’m going to shoot it after The Odyssey, at the end of the year. I only have a vague idea of ​​the script.

Will the Joker be the big bad guy in this sequel?
Yeah, no, I don’t know. Potentially…

Source via Robert Pattinson Club

6 March 2025

USA TODAY: Why one Robert Pattinson just wasn’t enough for Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi saga ‘Mickey 17’

I love the photos above – I hope there’s a few outtakes that turn up eventually. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

Watching Pattinson in “The Lighthouse,” “I could just see the madness in his eyes in that performance, and that’s exactly what I wanted for Mickey 18,” Bong says through a translator. Pattinson’s superhero in “The Batman” is “different from Mickey in every single way, but there was this strange sense of melancholy to that character. His version of Batman just constantly was blaming himself. I thought that could resonate with Mickey, in some ways.”

…

Pattinson thought it was an intriguing role, someone with no self-worth haunted his whole life by thinking he caused the accident that killed his mom by pushing a button in their car when he was a little boy. “I found it this fascinating thing to think, when you have a 5-year-old’s mentality, ‘I pressed the button and then my mom died and then my life turned (bad) afterwards,’” he says. “You get 20 years in the future and there’s so many things tangled up in your mind and it becomes more and more true the more things that go wrong.”

But every Mickey is a little different: Co-worker/girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie) calls 17 “mild Mickey” and 18 “habanero Mickey.” The latter is essentially a misprint because when the scientists are printing him out, one of them trips and dislodges one of the cables on the machine, so “18 comes out completely insane, basically,” Pattinson says. “It’s almost like he knows he’s only got a little bit of time on the planet and wants to live it up as much as he can and basically just exists to teach 17 a lesson, in a lot of ways.”

…

“He can only process each individual Mickey as a separate being to himself because it’s like, you are not human anymore. You’re literally made out of trash,” Pattinson says.  “He has empathy for all these previous incarnations of himself. It’s just a way of him dealing with the sort of awful situation he’s got himself in. Instead of saying, ‘Oh my God, I’m having a total existential crisis,’ it’s like, ‘No, that was my older brother Mickey 3 who existed three months ago.’

A Mickey moves in and out, in and out in jittery motion while being printed, and Bong says he had “a lot of fun” playing with the switch that controlled Pattinson coming out of the machine.

In those scenes, “you feel very much like a guinea pig,” Pattinson says. He let a stuntman take over when a Mickey falls out of the printer and onto the floor ― “It’s actually quite complicated to flop out onto your head” ― and didn’t love trying to act unconscious while steel rollers pinched his butt.

On one printing day, Pattinson recalls a new background actor getting an unfortunate job: “They’re like, ‘OK, we want to do a closeup where you’re putting a pipe up Rob’s ass.’ The guy just looked so deeply uncomfortable doing it. I’m sort of sitting there like, ’It’s OK, man, just jam it up there,’ ” he adds, laughing. “It was a real character forming experience.”

5 March 2025

Here’s a great BTS photo from Mickey17 thanks to a recent interview by Jonah Weiner for the New York Times. Below are extracts concerning Rob:

For some actors, that feeling of freedom arrives only after a period of intense disorientation. “Normally you shoot a whole scene,” Pattinson explained, but with Bong’s approach, “he knows exactly which shot he wants for exactly which line, so sometimes we’re just shooting one line at a time. You show up on the first day and they say, ‘We’re gonna shoot the seventh line of this scene.’ You go: ‘What do you mean? I don’t know how I’m going to say the first line.’ Usually, I’d have to do the whole scene to get the line right.

“So, everyone has a nervous breakdown for a week,” Pattinson went on. “But then you say, ‘Oh, this is great.’ If you’re shooting an entire scene, there’s a more legato rhythm, a crest and a fall, some gradation. But you don’t really need it for the style of performance Bong wants, and that frees you up to do these very discordant turns: If you’re just doing one line, you can do maximum intensity out of nowhere. It has this feel of anime — it can go from completely placid to enraged in a split second.”

Pattinson told me that Bong “seems very pleasantly amused by everything.” They talked a lot about the movie in the months preceding the shoot, but when it came to filming, Pattinson said, the director gave him license to explore: “It got to the point where I was just trying to make him laugh, trying things in playful ways. And he’d say, ‘Yeah, do whatever you want.’”

I have been waiting for this conversation between Rob and Naomi Ackie for Hero Magazine. Sit back and read this great convo:

Robert Pattinson: Alright.
Naomi Ackie: Hello, darling.

RP: Are you in London?
NA: Yeah, where are you?

RP: I’m in New York.
NA: Oh, New York. [both laugh] How are you?

RP: I’m good. I’m all discombobulated.
NA: How come?

RP: Because I wasn’t working for ages and then I’m like, “Oh, I’m just going to do loads of work all the time,” and now I’m like, “Who am I?!” But coming out of the strike there feels like a really good energy. There’s cool stuff happening and everyone seems really positive.
NA: I know what you mean, I do feel slightly discombobulated. I’ve done two projects this year and I just don’t feel like I’m the same person. Like, when we did Mickey 17, I had done Blink Twice just before that, and I think I’d worked just before that, I was bashing them out, boom, boom, boom.

RP: You filmed Blink Twice before Mickey 17?
NA: Uh-huh. So much has changed. You have a baby!

RP: [laughs] I know. It’s crazy. I’m like a completely different person. What were you shooting, 2073?
NA: I did 2073 here during the strike, the project I just got back from was with Boots Riley.

RP: Oh nice, great!
NA: It’s got Keke Palmer and Taylour Paige [in it] and it’s… mental. You’ve seen Sorry to Bother You?

RP: Yeah, I like Boots a lot. He’s a fun hang as well.
NA: Oh you’ve hung out with him?

RP: I saw him in New Orleans, I think when he’d just finished Sorry to Bother You. He’s great.
NA: He is great. The film is called I Love Boosters and it’s about this group of women who steal clothes from fancy stores and then sell them for cheap on the street. But obviously it has this surrealist, magic-realism element. I feel like my jobs are getting more and more chaotic and weird as I go on. [laughs]

RP: Mickey 17 is less strange or more strange?
NA: I feel like Mickey 17 is actually weirdly less strange. [Robert laughs] And let’s face it, Mickey 17 is… [laughs]

RP: People’s appetite for strangeness does seem to have really expanded.
NA: It’s fucking cool. I like watching weird shit, especially fantasy, sci-fi, magic-realism. So I’m enjoying it. Going back to what you said, it feels like the strike has loosened people up a bit more. It feels like there’s more space for that.

RP: I don’t know what happened but for the first time in ages, movies that a few years ago would be considered really arthouse, somehow the audience are hearing about them and they’re excited about them. It’s great.
NA: It’s amazing. And obviously, you’re Batman – are you going to do Batman again soon?

RP: I fucking hope so. [laughs] I started out as young Batman and I’m going to be fucking old Batman by the sequel. [both laugh]
NA: You’re literally what, 35?

RP: I’m 38, I’m old.
RP: That’s bullshit, 38 isn’t old.

RP: I’m old, but I’m healthier. I think I’ve actually brought my biological age down a bit.
NA: Have you done that test?!

RP: No because in my mind I’m making it younger, but if I did it and they’re like, “Hmm, your biological age is like 80” – I don’t want to find that out. [laughs] If I’m doing a job I can’t ever eat anything, even seasoning, I can’t have pepper. I ate nothing but salmon and avocado for like five months. It actually made my memory better. [both laugh] It genuinely did. Also, I wasn’t going out because the last two jobs were the first time in ages where it was heavy dialogue. One is twenty-five pages every weekend – it’s like doing little plays all the time. So I was like, “I’m going to be really professional…” Especially because after Bong [Joon-ho], when you just had to learn like one line, [laughs] it was really great.
NA: I know! The world needs to know this – recap for the people reading. Bong gave us a storyboard script and then each frame had like two or three lines in each. When he told us he works like that I remember sitting around the table and us all being like, “Huh?” He was like, “After five days, you’ll be into it.” And he was right, five days in I was like this is the best thing ever. How was your experience shooting Mickey 17?

RP: I loved it. Everyone has such reverence for Bong, so in the build-up I was really nervous, and he does have an unusual way of working. It was one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had.
NA: So fun, I don’t remember a dull day. I was also told that on the last day or maybe at the wrap party, which I wasn’t able to go to, the crew were crying like, “This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.” Because he’s super smart and a great leader, but he’s also super warm and surprisingly chill for the scale of movie we were making.

RP: Yeah, it was just a laugh. He radiates this aura, you kind of feel like you’re on a small dose of mushrooms. [both laugh] You’re like, “Doo, doo, doo.”
NA: [laughs] It did feel like that. I have a question for you. What is your comedown routine after you finish a job?

RP: I get quite depressed afterwards. Because I did two [films] literally in a row – I left set and had to go straight to the airport to do the next one – I kind of ignored the comedown part, but then I had a double one afterwards. [both laugh] But you know what’s really great, if you have a kid it’s just the best. I was hanging out at the swing with her and it’s just the best anti-depressant.
NA: That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard you say. It makes me want kids – not right now. [laugh] I guess with anything that pulls your perspective out of the bubble that we exist in when we’re working, you get back and you’re like, “Oh my god, the world has kept turning.”

RP: Yes.
NA: And you’re just adrift.

RP: I’m basically back-to-back until probably the beginning of the year after next.
NA: Wait, wait… Earn that money, congratulations – but that’s insane! [laughs]

RP: It is, but I’m just so thankful that I can do it, because it’s all work that I really want to do. Especially after the strike, I was literally like, “OK, there’s going to be nothing…” You’re trying to look for waves and get momentum. Then suddenly the turnaround happened so fast! I also started this company [Pattinson founded production company Icki Eneo Arlo] and I’m trying to do all this other stuff. I need to be organised, I’ve never been organised in my entire life, and it’s very satisfying to wake up and have something to do.
NA: I get what you mean about the feeling of flow. I even think that needing to prep for one job while you’re on another keeps your brain ticking in a way that makes the day go faster.

RP: One hundred percent. And you don’t get too precious. I always thought that I wanted it to feel like the end of the world, I still do… But I kind of feel like that’s maybe detrimental. I always remember working with Juliette Binoche on a [David] Cronenberg movie [Cosmopolis], I did this one scene with her and she was just so easy, she loved taking direction and was like, “I’m just going to do it…”
NA: Just see what happens.

RP: The opposite of how I arrived in the morning. I remember at the time thinking, “I don’t understand.” She was so trusting of the director and the process. It makes the whole thing so much more fun.
NA: And it’s meant to be fun, right? [laughs] It’s coming up to my ten-year acting anniversary this year.

RP: Congrats!
NA: Very exciting. Me and my mate are going to throw a party to celebrate surviving the film industry for ten years. [laughs]

RP: What was your first film?
NA: Lady Macbeth with Florence Pugh and Cosmo Jarvis. Donkeys ago, I was 24, can you imagine? I want to get back to what you’re saying. Suddenly after ten years you’re like, “Oh my god, I’ve been taking this job and the industry so seriously.” If I’ve survived this long, maybe I should take some more risks. I guess we hold each job in such reverence, such high esteem, and yes, when we’re there we completely apply ourselves, but at the same time, play comes from not taking it too seriously.

RP: Then also the more jobs you do, the more comfortable you are in your techniques, but you don’t want to get too comfortable…
NA: Get lazy.

RP: And you only realise that too late, so you’re halfway through a scene and you’re like, “I don’t know where I am.” [both laugh] You suddenly feel completely naked.
NA: What was your favourite…

RP: I should be asking you questions.
NA: I can’t help it, I like asking questions. Come on Rob, ask me a question.

RP: Are there any films or other works of art that have really stuck with you and continue to inspire you?
NA: This is funny actually, because you were in it. I’m saying this because it’s the thing that started me on the journey of acting: Harry Potter. Which, obviously, Cedric Diggory, what a loss – heartbreaking. You know how many times I watched those films? I actually revert back to childhood a lot, I feel like I watch current stuff with such discerning eyes, it feels like I’m working, like, I’m looking at the angles. But all the childhood stuff, reading old Roald Dahl books and Shirley Hughes, Harry Potter, things that make me feel young again and remind me why I wanted to do this. You know when people ask your dream job or what role you’d like to play next? I can never think of it, I used to be like, “I want to play a queen,” or something. But what is that? It’s not a real thing. The thing I want to play doesn’t exist until I find it. So basically I don’t know how to answer your question. [laughs]

RP: I remember saying for ages that I wanted to do a movie about vengeance, but I could never find it and did all this other stuff that was the total opposite of that, and then suddenly The Batman came up and the working title was ‘Vengeance’.
NA: Oh shit.

RP: It’s something you’re trying to find, but it’s not as specific as you think it is.
NA: One hundred percent. In that scenario, the thing I’d like to play is something really gutsy. Because in my life, most of the time I walk around and at some point in the day I just want to scream really loudly. [both laugh]

RP: Every day. [laughs]
NA: I do want to play a character who is fully wild. I was actually writing a script about a woman who – I don’t think I’m going to do it any more so I can say it – a woman who turns into a lizard. Because there’s this animal thing I still want to access and portray on camera in a way that isn’t self-indulgent, but I haven’t figured it out yet. It’s not about female rage or anything like that, it’s just a character who is completely wild. Because I think inside I feel completely wild, [laughs] so I’m looking for something to channel that.

RP: You’ll end up playing a queen who thinks she’s…
NA: A lizard. [both laugh]

RP: That’d be so fun.
NA: It would be! That’s partially why I want to get more into making my own stuff. I started in theatre and I was convinced I was going to be a theatre-maker and have my own theatre company. Obviously then film came and took me down a different route, but I’m just now getting back into the spirit of selling my TV show and producing. I feel like maybe the thing I want to do hasn’t been made, and maybe it needs to be made by me.

RP: Is the TV show the script that I read?
NA: Did I send it to you? Shit, I forgot that I did that. [both laugh] That’s the one, I’ve rewritten some parts and I’m trying to sell it again. Right now, I’m still searching for roles for women that let me do what dudes get to do. You get to do the funnest shit!

RP: The only parts dudes get, you have to get a fucking eight-pack for. [both laugh] That’s my experience. No matter what it is, salmon only. [laughs]
NA: I still can’t believe you only had salmon and avocado. [laughs] Wait, which job was that for? Was it for Batman?

RP: No, it was literally a romantic movie! [both laugh] It was almost totally unnecessary.
NA: That’s so funny. But no, dudes do! It’s hard to put a finger on it. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing characters for women, and I think the older I get the better it’s going to get. But I’m not going to lie, I do get a lot of auditions to play the girlfriend who asks, “When are you coming home?”

RP: But what is the guy doing that’s so interesting?
NA: He’s off flying a plane or something, killing guys. I dunno, dude stuff. [both laugh]

RP: Because the more conventional paradigm of what were successful movies is not really working anymore. Almost every actor, even if they’re just starting out, they immediately do movies that go to Cannes or things like that. I think audiences have changed. Most people who are going to watch movies now, they’re so much more accepting of stranger stuff. And the more the audience wants it, the more those parts are going to exist. Up until fairly recently, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but the idea of what used to be a ‘commercial’ movie isn’t commercial anymore. Everyone I talk to, for a long time they were like, “Scripts have not been great for a while.” Then suddenly something has shifted and what studios want to make is a little bit left-field. Did you ever read, Pictures at a Revolution, about the movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967? It’s at the end of the old studio system and the beginning of the independents. Now, because everyone doesn’t really know what to do with streaming, they’re like, let’s try something, and it results in some cool stuff.
NA: I really agree and think that Mickey 17 is a prime example. By the way, you’re fantastic [in it]. I remember on the last shoot day, and I kick myself every time I think about it, I gave you a hug and went, “You’re very good at acting.” [both laugh] And then left. That was weird from me, but you are! [laughs] I think it’s a very charming film, that doesn’t go the way you think it’s going to go. That’s what we need more, films that aren’t predictable.

RP: And it’s so cool that it’s a big studio doing it. It’s crazy!
NA: I’ve had so many people come up to me like, “I can not wait to see this film.” I just remembered the days where I’d watch you put the teeth in. [both laugh]

RP: What happened to that tooth?
NA: Was it only one you put in?

RP: Just one tooth.
NA: I went to watch it at a screening room with my team and they were like, “There’s something different about the two Robs but we can’t put our finger on it.” The tooth!

RP: Did you ever see the make-up tests from the original look for what 17 was going to look like? We were originally going to make 17 look different, I have chubby cheeks and my ears stick out. Bong was like, “Yeah, he’s from the countryside.” [laughs] Crazy! Like a character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
NA: Of course, Bong is like, “Yeah, that makes sense.” [both laugh]

RP: Some of his directions when he wasn’t going through Sharon [Choi] his translator, he was like, “Do it more… Tesco Metro.” [both laugh] He meant more casual. Then, “More scrunchy face.” This is how all directions should be, I loved it!
NA: He’s a visual man, and I loved that he left us to it and was more directing our movement or the camera’s movement than he was us. There was a real trust from him to us. And with complex characters. Nasha [Naomi’s character in Mickey 17] is… I don’t even know how to describe Nasha. There’s stuff there. [both laugh]

RP: I thought you were so funny in it, always so surprising. When you’re high and…
NA: That’s one of my favourite scenes.

RP: Actually my favourite scene is when you’re under the stairs.
NA: Oh!

RP: I was watching it like, “Alright!”
NA: This bitch is crazy. [both laugh]

RP: She’s making choices.
NA: [laughs] There was a take, I think it’s the one in there, where I shout so loud I blew Anamaria’s [Vartolomei] hair back.

RP: And her reaction! The first time I saw it I was like, “This is actually hilarious.”
NA: I am genuinely so interested to see what people think about the style of it and the message. I need that man to hire me again.

RP: Probably my favourite line I’ve ever seen in a movie is when Toni [Collette] says: “The aliens look like croissants dipped in shit.” [both laugh] I remember seeing this in the first draft and being like, “OK, this is like a joke line.” Nope, that’s in the movie. [laughs]
NA: She says it straight. [laughs] Yeah, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo. You’ve worked with so many people, do you still get a thing where you’re like, “Oh my god, I’m working with so-and-so”?

RP: Yes. I remember doing that dinner scene and because I hadn’t really done anything with them before that point, and I was trying to come in and do this thing. There’s that moment where we do the first take and I’m like [makes a scoffing food noise] and I could see them both looking at me like, “OK…” [laughs] I think it’s what everyone experiences when you first turn up and you’re figuring it out on the first couple of takes. But with Mark and Toni, I really felt that after the first take they might go and talk to the producers or something: “Tell him to stop!” [both laugh]
NA: I just can’t wait for it to come out, I’m ready. How do you feel about the junkets? Do you like them?

RP: You know a lot of actors are like, “Oh, I hate doing press.” Because I started doing a lot for Harry Potter, I remember the old-style junkets where you’d do 70 interviews in a row, but I was lucky in that nobody ever told me that I had to say certain things. And even if they did, I’d just forget what it was anyway. So I do a junket and I’m just trying to make jokes and stuff.
NA: That’s good to know because I’m super serious. [both laugh]

RP: I literally can’t remember any character names, what the plot is.
NA: Because it happened like five years ago! [laughs] To be fair, when you go from one job to the next, it all kind of blurs into one. Like I can not remember most of Blink Twice, and I’m going to try but I’m struggling to remember a lot of Mickey 17. [laughs]

RP: I loved [Blink Twice], it was great.
NA: Yeah, Zoë [Kravitz] should be so proud.

RP: She’s great.
NA: She should hire you for her next movie!

RP: I’m actually talking to her about a couple of things. I’ve just done this movie with Kristoffer Borgli who did Dream Scenario and last night he goes, “Do you remember what you showed me as your references on the first day of rehearsal?” And I go, “No.” [laughs] He shows me this video of Chris Kattan in one of my favourite movies Corky Romano, where he’s trying to pull this brick of cocaine away from a dog and gets all it all in his face, then he has to go talk to some kindergarten children. It’s the best movie. I thought I had a smile on my face when I was showing it, it wasn’t like a direct reference, just an idea, but he was like, “You presented it in this really serious way.” [laughs] He was like, “I didn’t understand, like are you taking the piss?” So when I’m doing promo stuff, a lot of my references make sense to me, but not to anybody else.
NA: I know exactly what you mean. Especially when acting is so fluffy anyway, it’s all in the headspace. With Blink Twice there’s a scene, which was cut, that I got from an old Jerry Lewis video of him in a chair. We did this whole dance routine smack-bang in the middle of the film. It didn’t make the cut because tonally and pacing-wise we couldn’t, but that’s the most exciting stuff, when you can find inspiration in something that nobody else can see.

RP: It’s so fun. [While filming High Life] I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Then I went to this art museum in Cologne where we were shooting and I saw this statue, I thought it was a woman breastfeeding a child, and then found out afterwards it was like, a dog or something. [both laugh] I literally took a picture of it and showed it to Claire [Denis] like, “This is it. I know how to play the part.” And what I love about Claire is that she took it and was like, “Yes, yes.” I’d printed it out and had it on the front of my script. I was thinking that as I have a daughter it was this woman cradling a baby, but it wasn’t at all.
NA: It was a dog, mate. [laughs] But the point is, it was that in your head. It’s inspiring to me that you work as hard as you do on so many different roles – the span of things you’ve chosen is incredible. Your career is super duper cool. But still, with each script you’re like, “Right, what is the goal, what is the idea.” And you piece it together ahead of time. Not everyone does that.

RP: Yeah, I think I drive people kind of nuts. That’s why I really liked working with you. I always approach things where I need to break it down to the point where you’ve taken every single piece apart.
NA: In theatre, I would do that a lot, in film I work on instinct a lot. But I actually want to put more of what you’re saying back into my process because that was where a lot of the really cool, different characters came from, seeking resources outside. That’s a wake-up call for me, I’m going to start doing that more, again.

4 March 2025

Adam Stone talks to Rob about Mickey17 for Indian Express

What made you want to be part of this project?

Firstly, it was knowing this is a Bong Joon-ho film. He has been on my bucket list of directors I would love to work with for as long as I can remember. I have been watching and loving his films since I was a kid so when this came to me, I was immediately very excited. And then I read the script and really just loved it. It’s a deceptively simple and very funny story at first about a guy who has basically failed at everything but then when you think about the mentality of this character and the situation he puts himself in, it becomes very complex and a very complicated and interesting story.

Were you at all apprehensive playing multiple versions of the same character?

A little. It was a little overwhelming at first but then that’s nothing unusual for me. I’m easily overwhelmed.

Is it true that you partly based your performance as Mickey on your dog?

I based him on a few different things but, yes, one of them was a very badly behaved dog I used to have who, no matter how much you trained him or tried to stop his bad habits, just wouldn’t learn. You could tell it off for doing something like going to the bathroom in the house but it would just roll over onto its back and not care. That’s what Mickey is like to me. He lives, he dies, he comes back but he doesn’t learn his lesson until he finally realises 17 deaths later.

Mickey has a very distinctive accent too. Where did that come from?

From the moment I first read the script, I had this idea for the voice and what Mickey might sound like. It was actually more of an extreme version of what it is in the film at first. I tried it out, reading a few lines to my girlfriend and then it just kind of developed from there. I remember the first time doing it on set in front of all the cast and crew and every single person just stared at me. I was like, ‘Hmm, maybe this isn’t the best idea after all’ Bong described it as like nails on a chalkboard so it changed a little from there.

Your character is alone for the majority of the film. How challenging is that as an actor?

It’s pretty challenging and strange because most actors are used to working with someone else in a scene. I really just had to rely on Bong to tell me what worked and what didn’t.

Do you have a favourite scene from the film?

The scene when Mickey is talking to the alien was a lot of fun to shoot. Bong made up this whole language for the alien which was pretty challenging. It’s one of those scene that could have turned out to be really embarrassing but it’s actually one of the funniest moments in the film. I had to learn this whole made-up alien language phonetically which was pretty strange but a lot of fun.

Was getting to work with Bong everything you had hoped for?

Absolutely. He is such a brilliant director to work with and just a wonderful person to spend time with. He’s so talented and funny. He not only lived up to everything I hoped he would be, he surpassed it.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching Mickey 17?

First of all, I don’t think anyone has seen a film quite like this before. It’s funny, it’s strange and it’s brilliant. It’s also a film that makes you think, as Bong’s films so often do. It has something to say about society and the class system. Mickey is an everyman character. He’s not a hero, he doesn’t have big plans. He really just wants to be happy, to work, to have a girlfriend. Mickey is someone who really doesn’t have any expectations in life yet people still keep pushing him lower and lower. It’s interesting to see someone having to fight for such basic goals like that. It’s a brilliant Bong Joon-ho kind of movie. It’s very unique and different.

It’s almost 20 years since you first landed the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight. How do you look back on that time?

Extremely fondly. I had such a great time and a great experience playing that character and making those films. I wouldn’t be able to do films like this now if not for Twilight. It’s been such a strange ride. My entire life has been a roller coaster. I don’t regret anything at all because Twilight meant I got to talk to people I wanted to work with because they don’t just hire you for the wrong reasons.

Finally, of all the Mickeys you played in this film, which one is your favourite? Mickey 17.

He’s such an indecisive wimp. He’s a misprint of a clone with all kinds of issues. Yeah, he made the most sense to me. He was definitely the most fun to play.

Thanks Sally

2 March 2025

Esquire UK – Robert Pattinson Talks Mickey 17, and His Unique Sci-Fi Role

“Pattinson said he was drawn to the project by the South Korean filmmaker’s exceptional passion and talent. At the film’s press conference in Seoul in January, Pattinson described Bong as “a filmmaker every actor dreams of working with.”

Beyond that, the film’s story is one for the books. “It’s one of those scripts where I haven’t read anything like it in a long time, and I don’t think I’ll ever read anything like it again. Then to know that it’s someone with his level of pedigree coming to this script which, in some ways, is also like a sci-fi farce,” says the 38-year-old actor.

Tell me a little about Mickey Barnes and where we find him when the story begins.

Robert Pattinson: I always like describing Mickey Barnes as a failed pastry chef. He has tried to start a macaron store on Earth, which has gone under. He’s taken out a loan with some pretty disreputable people but he can’t pay it back, so he tries to flee the planet. But he doesn’t read the fine print in his space colonization contract, and he’s essentially signed up for a life of living hell. But because his life was so awful beforehand, it kind of is like the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He’s a fairly ridiculous character, but he has a big heart.

What was your first meeting with Director Bong Joon-ho like? Did you go in with any expectations?

Pattinson: I was extremely nervous. I didn’t know anything about the project, and he’s just a legendary figure—I had no idea what to expect. Our meeting was really funny, because he wanted to dance around what the movie was about and not say anything about it, and all this was being translated. It was an entertaining meeting, and I really liked him the first time I met him. I also really liked the performances that he gets from those actors in his movies, and I knew whatever he was going to do, it was going to be something very unusual… and that’s generally what I’m attracted to.

With Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, what were the biggest challenges for you playing two distinct versions of the same character and almost always playing against yourself?

Pattinson: The biggest difficulty was that we were on a spaceship with a limited crew, so the characters couldn’t be too distinctly different from each other within the story, but they had to be highly distinct to the audience. To find out how to achieve that, we went through a bunch of aesthetic stuff. In the beginning, this whole thing with prosthetic ears and these crazy different experimental things. I think there was one moment when I had really chubby cheeks at 17, wearing these big things inside my cheeks. I’m really glad that didn’t happen. When you distill it down, you realize you have to do very little aesthetically to show to an audience that, “Oh, these are different guys,” and it’s maybe just a look in your eye more than anything else. But it’s crazy how it works. You can see who’s who almost immediately.

Describe what it’s like working with Director Bong and being on a set with him at the helm.

Pattinson: I think it’s funny, because we didn’t talk that much about the character or anything like that. We did somewhat during the buildup, but not that much. We just had a bunch of dinners and then we talked about football most of the time [Laughs]. But getting on a set like this where it’s enormous—a gigantic spaceship, a different planet, a huge cast and crew, with loads of people in the background—you think you’d be more nervous than you actually are. There’s something about Bong’s attitude. He’s very unruffled all the time and has this benignly amused mode when he’s directing… it just seems like nothing’s going to go wrong when you are working with him. I think everyone trusted him and it was a really enjoyable set.

You have a lot of scenes with Naomi Ackie, and the relationship between Mickey and Nasha is a wonderful thing to watch. What does she bring to the character of Nasha and how is it working with her?

Pattinson: Naomi’s so funny, quite unusual, and wild, too. I just could never really predict what she was going to do. But she also has warmth. Because the relationship between Nasha and Mickey is quite strange, Mickey is an unusual person to say, “Oh, this is the guy I want to be with.” He’s not even really human, and she doesn’t seem to mind at all. She looks past faults to a pretty extreme extent. She definitely sees past skin deep; she doesn’t judge a book by its cover. Or maybe she does, maybe extremely… Maybe she really likes the cover and doesn’t care what the contents are [Laughs].

28 February 2025

Premiere

Vanity Fair (Italy)

From Vanity Fair: Robert Pattinson has a talent for roles that defy logic and gravity, both earthly and emotional. … But when he found himself with the script for Mickey 17 , directed by Bong Joon Ho , an Oscar winner for Parasite , and in Italian theaters from March 6, he immediately understood that he was facing a new level of creative madness. “It’s classic Bong Joon Ho: pure tragicomedy, a genre that almost no one dares to touch anymore,” says Pattinson. “Comedy, science fiction, tragedy, all mixed together in a way that seems risky, but ultimately works. And then there’s the fact that I play two versions of myself. At the beginning you think: ‘Okay, I get it.’ Then you start digging into the script and you realize, ‘Oh my god, how the hell do I do this?’ But Bong, of course, already knew that.”

And so the actor transformed himself into Mickey Barnes, a character he effectively describes as “a failed pastry chef.” Or rather: “He tried to make macarons on Earth, but went bankrupt. He got into debt with some shady people and, to escape his creditors, ended up in space. Too bad he didn’t read the contract: he signed up for life as a expendable clone. Every time he dies, he’s replaced by a new version of himself. It’s hell, but for him it’s still a step up from his previous life.”

Pattinson doesn’t hide his admiration for Bong Joon Ho, whom he calls “a genius with a unique vision.” “I was so nervous when I first met him,” he admits. “I didn’t know anything about the project, and he’s a legendary figure. But our meeting was hilarious: Bong kept circling the plot without revealing anything, and everything was going through a translator. It was a weird meeting, but I liked him immediately.”

On set , the atmosphere was relaxed despite the complexity of the project. “We didn’t talk much about the character or the story,” Pattinson says. “We had dinner a few times, but mostly we talked about football. When you’re on a set that big — a giant spaceship, a different planet, a huge cast and crew — you expect to be more nervous than you are. But there’s something about Bong’s demeanor: He’s always calm, almost like he’s having fun with everything. He makes you feel like nothing’s going to go wrong. Everyone trusted him, and it was a really enjoyable set.”

One of the most engaging elements of the film is the relationship between Mickey and his girlfriend Nasha , played by Naomi Ackie . “Naomi is so funny and unpredictable and wild,” says Pattinson. “I could never figure out what she was going to do. But she also has this incredible warmth. The relationship between Nasha and Mickey is weird: Mickey is not even fully human, and yet Nasha doesn’t seem to care. She’s beyond appearances in an extreme way. Maybe she just likes the covers, and she doesn’t care what’s on them,” he laughs.

Thanks Sally

Best Movie Magazine

Thanks Sally

25 February 2025

DOT Magazine

MovieStar Magazine

Bluray Magazine

Saturday The Guardian

Again thanks to Sallyvg for all the above scans

23 February 2025

Below are a few interviews given by Director Bong during the latest promo in Korea. I’ve extracted his comments about Rob, but you should click on the links to read the full articles:

The Guardian: “When I ask how this has changed his experience of film-making [on winning the Oscar for Parasite], he fixes eye contact and declares – in English, for added effect – “It changes nothing.” OK, he later clarifies, the Oscars probably did help raise Mickey 17’s budget and ease along the casting process, particularly with regards to securing participation of Pattinson. “He was truly the nucleus of this story,” Bong says, “I can’t even imagine this film without Rob. I’m also quite proud of myself for thinking of him for this role.” 

Reporter Han Hyeon-jeong interviewed Bong Joon-Ho on 19 February 2025 for MK Korea. Below are the excerpts concerning Bong’s opinion of Rob:

Q. This is your first new film in five years since ‘Parasite’. How do you feel?

A. After the Oscar race, I took a break for exactly 6-7 weeks. I finished writing the script around September 2021, and met the lead actor, Robert Pattinson, at the end of the year. The project progressed smoothly. It would have been best if it had been released last fall, but as you know, there was a big issue in Hollywood, so the lineup was pushed back, and it was released later than expected. In fact, I worked nonstop, but it feels unfair that the release date was pushed back, so it looks like I took a long break. I worked like crazy. (Laughs)

…

Q. Lead actor Robert Pattinson is receiving rave reviews for his acting. What did you ask of him?

A. He was a pale and handsome actor, but he had a variety of colors. I wanted something completely different from what he showed in ‘Twilight’, a mood that seemed timid, pitiful, and pitiful. In fact, since the actors created everything themselves, I didn’t have much to ask for. It’s their specialty. They prepared very meticulously and understood the character perfectly. I thought I was lucky.

Q. How do you think you can make a global handsome guy look bad…

A. Don’t keep labeling me as a ‘Flower Boy Destroyer’. (Laughs) Actually, I had a really hard time trying to make Won Bin look less handsome in ‘Mother’. That time suddenly comes to mind. (Laughs) Robert Pattinson also had a considerable aura in ‘Twilight’. But I discovered something new in his other works, and as an extension of that, I met him in ‘Mickey’. It was much better than I thought. He really did a good job of expressing ‘one person playing two roles’ and ‘one person playing many roles’. Once again, I think (I) am lucky. Thank you.

Q. Judging from the manners he showed, he seemed polite and quite friendly. Did Director Bong teach you anything?

A. Somehow, he kept doing Korean hearts and seemed overly happy. It wasn’t just in my eyes. He was like that in Germany as well as in Korea. I didn’t order anything. (Laughs) His actual personality is quiet and kind. He’s really genuine. He’s not picky at all. The staff members also surprisingly don’t make things difficult for people. He doesn’t have the roughness or sensitivity of a star. He’s considerate of his surroundings, and he enjoys every scene (like filming, film festival promotions, etc.) and does his best. He seems like a friend with a naturally good personality.

Korea Times (Bong Joon-ho explores human resilience with new film ‘Mickey 17’): “I want to emphasize once again that I completed writing the screenplay for this film in September 2021,” he said with a laugh, adding that he didn’t try to match the character to any currently active politicians.

…

He expressed that meeting Pattinson was fortunate, as the actor excellently portrayed the dual roles of Mickey 17 and Mickey 18.

“While filming, Rob (Pattinson) improvised many unexpected lines as Mickey 18. I was very grateful for that,” the director said. “Mickey 18 has an aggressive personality, but gradually, he grows to want to protect Mickey 17. Rob did an excellent job of portraying this internal change in the character.”

…

“Actually, this year’s Berlin International Film Festival also requested ‘Mickey 17’ for the competition section, but I didn’t want anything more in terms of awards. We wanted to give other works a chance in the competition section, so we said we’d like to screen this film in the noncompetitive gala,” he said.

Entertain Korea: On this day, Director Bong said, “Mickey 17 is a timid and, in today’s terms, ‘loner.’ He’s always the one who suffers and he’s a pitiful person who can’t even get angry. I adjusted the tone because I needed a pitiful and timid feeling rather than one that was too cheeky and funny. It’s basically a tone that Robert Pattinson created himself. Since actors know the nuances of English much better, I relied on him and asked him to do it. I think Robert Pattinson had a desire and vision for this role. He prepared a lot and meticulously. I’m lucky.”

Robert Pattinson is famous in Korea as the handsome vampire in ‘Twilight.’ When asked why he cast him in the role of the lovable ‘loner,’ Director Bong laughed and said, “There are people who see me as a destroyer of pretty boys.”

…

Also, “In fact, he plays two roles. The timid and petty 17 and the crazy 18 are different. I thought 17 would do well. The actor himself has that kind of awkwardness and kindness. It’s been that way since we first met at the LA cafe,” and “I set up the character of 17 in detail. But in 18, there were a lot of improvised acting and lines that I couldn’t predict. There’s even an ad-lib (rated 19+) related to the ‘electric eel’, which wasn’t in the script. Americans laughed a lot. 18 is a character that goes beyond that kind of common sense, but as he progresses, he changes like a big brother. You get the feeling that he’s protecting 17. There are changes even in that short life. He expressed the difficult task of playing multiple roles with various feelings. It’s hard to imagine how it would have been if another actor had played it.” He also shared a funny episode. Director Bong said, “That friend must be having fun with hand hearts these days because he keeps asking me to do one. He was doing it at the Berlin Film Festival too. I didn’t ask him to do it. He must be having fun. I wonder if he’ll be like that when he does other movies as well.” He continued, “Robert Pattinson is actually a quiet and kind person. He doesn’t make the staff suffer or be picky like other Hollywood stars. The staff was amazed when we filmed in England. When he came to Korea, he carried out his promotional schedule without a single complaint. He even happened to run into ‘Running Man’ when he went to the market. That was when Jae-seok was wearing strange clothes. (Laughs) Even then, he didn’t avoid it and did it cheerfully. Regardless of East or West, he’s a nice person.”

*6 January 2025 – *full interview transcript at bottom of post *

Moviemaker shared their interview with Rob and Bong Joon Ho today. The full transcript is at the bottom of the post, but you can appreciate the photos below which are now in HQ!

Another day another new interview (or one that has been pieced together from others). Essential Magazine Spain’s February issue. Thanks SallyVG

21 January 2025

Here’s the full article in MovieMaker concerning Mickey17. We had had a sneak peek at the cover previously.

Thanks RobertPattinsonArmyUK

6 January 2025

Dashing as he may seem, Mickey 17 star Robert Pattinson insists he’s rather accident-prone. As we speak to him from Boston, on the set of his upcoming film The Drama, he notes that he can’t move his neck because of a recent workout injury.

“I don’t understand why my neck hurts because I was doing a leg exercise,” he says, adding that on the set of 2022’s The Batman, he was constantly getting hurt: “I tried to make it look pretty solid but it became a disaster.”

Bong Joon Ho Robert Pattinson Mickey 17
Dashing as he may seem, Mickey 17 star Robert Pattinson insists he’s rather accident-prone. As we speak to him from Boston, on the set of his upcoming film The Drama, he notes that he can’t move his neck because of a recent workout injury.

“I don’t understand why my neck hurts because I was doing a leg exercise,” he says, adding that on the set of 2022’s The Batman, he was constantly getting hurt: “I tried to make it look pretty solid but it became a disaster.”

Mickey 17, director Bong Joon Ho’s follow-up to the triumph of his 2019 film Parasite, is the story of a man named Mickey Barnes — played by Pattinson — selected to perform unpleasant tasks on the alien planet of Niflheim. He dies in a series of mishaps, and is brought back again and again through a process called “reprinting.”

Pattinson says constant accidents came naturally.

“I was quite comfortable with stunts in Mickey 17 because I could look bad while falling over,” he explains. “For some reason, that’s the one benefit of being quite malcoordinated. Somehow I don’t really hurt myself that much from just falling. … I think falling down is my safe space.”

Pattinson has a very British, self-deprecating sense of humor: He set off a fandom freakout when he offhandedly told GQ in 2020, before The Batman was released, that he wasn’t really working out much for the role. He clarified to MovieMaker, the next year, “You’re playing Batman. You have to work out,” but explained that he didn’t get into details about his fitness regimen with GQ because, well, “it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out.”

So take Pattinson’s claim of clumsiness with a grain of salt, and appreciation for his dry wit. But it’s also true that making movies almost always involves things going wrong, then getting better.

And when Bong Joon Ho is involved, they often turn out great.

The South Korean director immediately related to Mickey7, the bestselling Edward Ashton novel upon which Mickey 17 is based.

“Mickey7 is about a person who’s in the predicament of constantly dying. He goes through this grueling, horrifying process again and again. And I kind of felt like that was similar to my predicament as a filmmaker,” Bong says.

“Obviously, this is not a theme that is outright blatant in the film, but I identified with this predicament a little bit because every time I create a film, of course, I don’t literally die, but I do grind my body, heart and soul into making the film. Sometimes it feels like I die and I’m reborn every time I make a film.”

Parasite arrived in 2019, a year when the film industry was thriving, and suggested limitless possibilities for Bong and cinema in general: A thriller with elements of comedy, sci-fi, and horror, it also offered a provocative, complex commentary on class. It not only earned more than $260 million worldwide, but earned about a fifth of that take in the United States, known for audiences averse to subtitles. And it earned Oscars for Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. It was a movie that could do it all.

In some ways, one might expect Mickey 17 to be even more successful. Though Bong urged audiences in one of his Parasite acceptance speeches to “overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles,” he has made Mickey 17 more accessible to American moviegoers by making it in English, and has cast one of the world’s biggest movie stars in the lead role.

But 2025 is not 2019. Covid and strikes have ravaged the industry. Many movies with blockbuster budgets have fallen in the last year.

The industry is ready for a rebirth. Or maybe several.

But however Mickey 17 fares, Pattinson loved the process of making it. Even the falls.

“Bong made it seem really simple and fun,” he says. “It was one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever gone on because I was literally just doing stuff to make him laugh most of the time. I just acted like a jester, trusting that Bong’s steering the ship in the right direction.

A Bong Joon Ho Milestone

This marks 25 years since Bong’s 2000 debut Barking Dogs Never Bite, which first played for international audiences at the Slamdance Film Festival, where it won the Excellence in Editing Award.

“I’m always a bit embarrassed when I think about Barking Dogs Never Bite,” Bong laughs.

“Of course, I poured my heart and soul into creating this film, but when I look back on it, the film’s a bit clumsy and I feel like it was during my transition into becoming a professional film director. I see a lot of holes in it, which is why it’s quite different from my films that came after.”

He shares Pattinson’s knack for self-effacement: The project was a success, and sparked one of the best film careers of this century. Bong followed it with 2003’s Memories of Murder, a social-satire and thriller about a criminal investigation, and 2006’s The Host, about a monster created by an American scientist’s carelessness.

At the time of its release, The Host was known for what was then a massive budget for a Korean film — around $11 million dollars. Mother, a whodunnit, followed in 2009. Bong adapted 2013’s Snowpiercer, his English-language debut, from the graphic novel Le Transperceneige, a sci-fi story about climate change. His Okja, an original tale about a super pig on the run from a ruthless CEO, debuted in theaters and on Netflix in 2017.

But the biggest success by far was Parasite, about a rich family and the poor family who infiltrate their household. The accolades for the film began with the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or in 2019 and culminated in the four Oscar wins.

Pattinson says he was “a bit late on Bong” — the first of the director’s films he saw was Snowpiercer, and he loved Parasite.

“After I saw Parasite, I started watching his old movies, and Memories of Murder was the one where the tone of the performances really appealed to my sense of humor,” says Pattinson. “There’s something surreal to their performances. It doesn’t seem very self-conscious. It’s very unique to Bong.”

Ashton, meanwhile, was a longtime fan who calls Snowpierecer “brilliant” and Okja “an underrated masterpiece.” The author, whose books include The Fourth Consort, Mal Goes to War and Antimatter Blues, was delighted when Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, acquired Mickey7 and gave it to Bong before it was published in 2022.

“People often ask authors if they’re nervous about what Hollywood will do to their work,” Ashton says. “I think that’s a legitimate question to ask. But with Director Bong in charge of Mickey 17, I never had a moment of nervousness.”

On the contrary (and brace yourself for more self-deprecation): “I have sometimes woken up in the night wondering if I’m going to be remembered as the man who destroyed Bong Joon Ho’s career. I don’t think that’s going to be the case, but I never worried that he was going to hurt mine.”

Robert Pattinson on the Expendability of Mickey

Nothing in Mickey 17 is blatant — Bong’s films thrill in part because they so skillfully comingle genre, philosophy and charm. Butyou could read the film as a protest against the cheapening of life, work and art.

“They’re just printing people as if they’re a piece of paper that you can reproduce from a printer,” says Bong. “That concept in itself feels disrespectful to humanity and ruins the dignity that humans have.”

“Yeah, and Mickey’s printed out of shit,” notes Pattinson.

Mickey is an “expendable”: a person seen as so lowly that he volunteers to repeatedly die in experiments that test the human body’s ability to handle life on Niflheim.

After every death, Mickey is reprinted using leftover junk so the process can start all over again. That is, until Mickey takes his 17th mission.

Everyone assumes he dies. But he miraculously finds his way back to base camp — where he discovers a new reprint, Mickey 18, has moved in with his girlfriend Nasha (played by Naomi Ackie).

Soon Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 team up to stop their expedition leaders (played by Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette) from destroying one of Niflheim’s native species.

“Mickey 17 has a total lack of self-worth,” says Pattinson. “Like, why would he continuously put himself up for this stuff?

“But then he also has an attitude which contradicts it. He wasn’t unhappy with continuously going into the flames again and again and again. At least he didn’t appear to be. Especially when Mickey 18 comes into the fray and doesn’t understand 17’s attitude at all.”

Pattinson says he tapped into the character by focusing on his own “misplaced guilt.”

“It’s a very obscure character key for a big sci-fi movie,” he laughs. “I wrapped up in his strange trauma response to this bad thing that happened to him. Mickey thinks he sinned once and because of it his life is shit, so he has to spend his life atoning for it.”

Pattinson adds: “I just have a very guilty conscience. I feel guilty for things that don’t really make any sense a lot of the time.”

Bong changed the title from Mickey7 to Mickey 17 — and added many more dead Mickeys — to try to make the story more cinematic.

“Everything started with my respect for the original material. The novel is very much about Mickey Barnes, this character fated with this unique job to die,” says Bong. “I really wanted to preserve this character and follow his journey.”

Ashton loved the changes.

“There’s a three-page conversation in the book between two characters, and Director Bong accomplished the exact same thing and made the same plot points… but with a fistfight,” the author says. “They arrive at the same place, but get there by a physical fight instead of a conversation. That particular scene jumped out at me because, in a film, you have to be kinetic. Things have to be visual. They have to move.”

But Bong still feels a close connection to Mickey7.

“When I read the novel, I had also created seven films, because Parasite was my seventh movie,” says Bong. “So it was this strange identification I had with Mickey.

Human Printing

Visiting the Mickey 17 set, Ashton was struck by the occasional tedium and discomfort of trying to make something great.

“When I was on set, Robert was in a very cold room, wearing a very thin skin suit. He seemed pretty uncomfortable at the time,” says Ashton. “They made him lie in the human printer for hours where they filmed him from different angles in this tube. I imagine it was a grueling thing for him.”

But the film was also an exhilarating creative exercise: Bong and Pattinson ran through moviemaking history as they used every technology they could think of in order to allow Pattinson to play Mickeys 17 and 18 in scenes together.

“We used classic methods like using a split screen and compositing, to using body doubles, and using VFX for face and head replacement,” Bong says. “Anything we could get our hands on we used.

“If I were talking to a regular newspaper outlet, I would just say that Rob actually has a secret twin and I made him come out into the world and make his screen debut. That’s honestly what I want the audience to believe.”

Pattinson says he would switch constantly between playing the two Mickeys.

“We’d shoot a line from one character, and then I’d be shooting a reaction to something I hadn’t actually done yet,” he says.

“It’s really unusual, but I think the only way it can work is to be with someone like Bong, who’s just so confident in what he wants and incredibly specific in what he’s asking you to achieve.”

Mickey17 and Creepers

But Mickey 17 isn’t just about respect for human life.

In Ashton’s novel, Niflheim is inhabited by grotesque insects called Creepers that look something like centipedes. And some characters in Mickey 17 also see them as repulsive.

But not Bong.

“I wanted to create a creature that’s not just a spectacle in the film but a graceful group of characters with their own storyline and dignity,” he says.

The Creepers are his third VFX “creature babies,” he explains. The first was the monster in The Host, and the second was the super pig in Okja. All three creatures were brought to life by Bong’s longtime creature design partner, Jang Hee Chul.

“If you think about it, the name Creeper itself is a horrible name when they’re actually the native creatures of Niflheim,” Bong explains. “They’re intelligent creatures with grace and dignity who deserve proper communication and conversations with the newly landed humans.”

Pattinson uses words like “undefinable” to define the Creepers — and notes that “you don’t know their motives until you see what they do.”

He adds with a laugh: “I think Bong really relates to the Creepers.”