David Cronenberg Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In today's requisite edition of "Nothing Is Sacred" news, it looks like David Cronenberg's cult classic, Videodrome, is the next remake to come a-callin'. Ehren Kruger, writer of the remake of The Ring, is penning this update to "modernize the concept, infuse it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller," according to Variety.

Okay, at the very least, there's quite the opportunity for some nifty and nasty effects work, but beyond that, I can't help but feel that today's potential for satire may be outweighed by today's potential for the grotesque. And reading the phrase "large-scale" almost makes me want to pop in the low-budget widespread panic of The Signal instead.

But let's play devil's advocate here: who would you cast in the anti-hero role that James Woods originated in '83? I'd bet that either Patrick Wilson or Sam Rockwell could pull it off -- aw, hell, if they really just throw up their hands at some point, Nicolas Cage could be fun...

Sequels are rarely good news -- but this one is. MTV News caught up with David Cronenberg, who revealed he was moving forward with a sequel to Eastern Promises.

"We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, Steve Knight and Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be," Cronenberg said. "I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it." If they make it, Viggo Mortensen will return.

Cronenberg has never had any interest in revisiting his work -- and little of it ever has the loose ends that Eastern Promises did. "It's the first time I've ever been in a situation where I actually want to do a sequel to something. I've never had the desire to do that before. But in this case, I thought we had unfinished business with those characters. I didn't feel that we had finished with Nikolai and we had done a lot of research that was more than we could stuff into that one movie."

I'm thrilled beyond belief. The film exists perfectly fine on its own, but the mysterious Nikolai is begging to be explored further onscreen. I'll tip-toe around spoilers, but I never could understand why so many audience members believed it to be a happy, cut-and-dried ending.

If you're curious and into research, there's some fantastic essays in Vol II of the Russian Criminal Tattoo encyclopedia. Given the scarcity of books on the topic I imagine this went into their research, plus the essays are rather Cronenberg-esque in the way they examine the tattoos and their effect on the human body. It gives an insight as to what Cronenberg and Mortensen might have had in mind when they created Nikolai. Definitely worth a read ... and a sequel.

New technologies often lead directly to the death of old technologies, and that's what happened with VHS. It changed home viewing habits forever, and then itself was killed off by DVD. It was a slow death that finally ended last fall, when the last major supplier of VHS tapes quit the business.

That might be that -- out with the old, in with the new, and all that rubbish -- except when VHS died, it might have taken an untold number of innocent victims along with it to the grave. "Hundreds of important and critically acclaimed films [are] no longer readily accessible for home viewing," reports Anthony Kaufman at Moving Image Source. "In the wake of video-store shutdowns across the country, and a move toward DVD-only subscription services modeled after Netflix and digital download initiatives, the non-digitized movie is becoming an endangered species. The death of VHS has long been foretold ... But the industry appears to have overlooked the films themselves."

If the only movies you watch are recent blockbusters, then this is a non-issue. But if your tastes extend to the margins, to the lesser-known, less-heralded titles by noted filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Samuel Fuller, Jacques Tourneur, and Robert Bresson, or if you've ever been curious about discovering "important little-known American auteurs" like Lew Landers and André De Toth -- cited by Dave Kehr of the New York Times in the article -- it's sobering to think that so many films are "vanishing into the ether," as Kehr says. "They're just gone from the conversation and that's unfortunate. The younger critics haven't seen this stuff, but how could they?"

Call it the "VHS Dead List," the flip side of the DVD wish list, where movie buffs express their yearning to see what they've rarely or never seen.

Okay, really this should be more of a top 100 list, so these seven are more "off the top of my head" than any kind of definitive selection. There are several kinds of Oscar snubs. There are talented actors, artists and filmmakers who have never been nominated, and others who have been nominated many times and never won. There are great films that received one or two nominations in minor categories (Vertigo, Singin' in the Rain) and great films that received none at all. The ones I've chosen here are the ones that, especially in retrospect, seem like the most obvious omissions.

1. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive (2001)
Watts did receive a nomination two years later for 21 Grams, though that was clearly a case of making up for this mistake. In 2001, no one gave a slyer or more canny performance, in any film, in any category. Watts not only plumbed the depths of her soul for material, but also stretched to two opposite extremes of the character's personality, making up the two parts of this great, enigmatic film. It was historically important that Halle Berry won the Oscar that year, but considering the other nominees: Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary), Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), Judi Dench (Iris) and Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge), Watts' snub is a real head-scratcher.

Have you ever wondered where Tom Thumb came from? If so, you'll be happy with a recent post from The Hollywood Reporter. It seems the tiny character is heading for the big screen with Warner Bros. and director Kevin Lima (Enchanted), and the project will be go the live action route, although Thumb might be CG. Robert Rodat, of Saving Private Ryan fame, wrote the script, which is said to "look at the heroism that a knight must summon after he is reduced to a pint size." Okay ... CG is cool and all, but I hope they stick to miniaturizing a real person. CG doesn't have to be used for everything, and Tom Thumb wasn't made into a cartoon character when he shrunk, after all.

Next up, THR also reports that David Cronenberg is circling the Robert Ludlum project The Matarese Circle, which we previously told you about when Denzel Washington signed on earlier this year. Before it was simply the latest political thriller to hit the screen, one that focuses on two rival agents, US and Soviet, who work together to find Matarese criminals lurking in the American government. But with Cronenberg? The man behind The Fly, Crash, Spider, and A History of Violence? This sounds so bloody good.

Finally, there's good ol' David Duchovny. In August, he went away to rehab for sex addiction. Now, according to Ace Showbiz, he's out and heading back to work. A statement issued by his lawyer says: "He is out of rehab and will be starting a movie soon." This will, most likely, be The Joneses. I'm just glad it's about a fake family and not about sex. After all this, I just can't watch Californication without getting weirded out.

The last time I saw my awesome amigo Nacho Vigalondo, it was at a Sundance party during which he was A) very thrilled to have his film play the festival, B) mega-elated that writer/producer Steven Zaillian would be involved in the English-language remake of his film (Timecrimes), and C) seriously drunk and hanging out with an overworked karaoke machine. When I pressed him for additional details, he said something to the effect of "I don't know yet, but .... Steve SALE-IAN, man! He wrote Bobby Fischer and Gangs of New York, man..." To which I responded, "Yeah, dude. Damn good writer. Plus Schindler's List, A Civil Action, American Gangster, and the awesome Falcon and the Snowman!"

The drunken Spaniard's eyes went absolutely wide: "Steve SALE-IAN is remaking my movieeeee!" He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, I swear. It was an awesomely sweet thing to see. But since we weren't really sure about Mr. Zaillian's specific attachment to the remake, this fresh news is also pretty exciting. Wouldn't it be cool if the Timecrimes remake had a Steve Zaillian screenplay and a director named ... David Cronenberg?? (I've seen Timecrimes more than once, and I think Mr. Cronenberg would be a perrrrrrrrfect fit for this time-travel / serial killer material.)

The United Artists re-do is still in the very early stages, so we could see a lot of personnel changes before the American version of Timecrimes hits the scene -- but given how positive the reaction has been among festival audiences, flick-buyers, and remake makers, we might just see it a little sooner than later. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the original film, which is a favorite among the Magnolia gang, and should be getting a release some time later this year.

Gracias: Shock and Blogdecine

That whole Juno/Genie thing isn't the only film news making waves in Canada, and I must say -- this round of news is worse. The Globe and Mail reports that the government is looking to increase restrictions on film tax credits to help cut graphic sex and violence, while an evangelist takes credit for the whole crackdown. "Canadian Heritage officials confirmed yesterday they will be 'expanding slightly' the criteria used for denying tax credits to include grounds such as gratuitous violence, significant sexual content that lacks an educational purpose, or denigration of an identifiable group. More details are promised next week." Well, that's certainly vague, worrisome, and really ... BS. But why should you care?

Think about the work created by the likes of David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin, and the other filmmakers who have made international names for themselves with their cinematic art -- fare which does tap into the flames the government is looking to extinguish. Cronenberg is dead-on when he says: "The irony is that it is the Canadian films that have given us an international reputation [that] would be most at risk because they are the edgy, relatively low-budget films made by people like me and others that will be targeted by this panel." It already looks like Martin Gero's Young People F*cking, which I reviewed at TIFF, is going to be hit by these changes. Hell, it's title is one of the raciest things about it! It's about sex, but it's not some Shortbus sexfest.

What goes around comes around. Back when the wonderful laserdisc was just beginning to find its stride, and the serious movie buff could actually find most of the titles he or she was longing to see, the DVD came along and all but wiped out this entire format, this entire subculture. Now, at the dawn of 2008, it looks as if the war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD may be coming to a close. Will one or the other format catch on? Will the regular DVD become extinct? No one can say. But when it comes to movies I'd like to see, none of this matters. 2007 brought us some amazing DVDs and DVD box sets, and the following is my wish list for titles I'd like to see produced in 2008.

(Note: I deliberately left off titles that are already available on import DVDs, such as Satantango, Celine and Julie Go Boating, Man of the West, Johnny Guitar, Lost Highway, Napoleon, The Dead, the Jean Vigo collection, and many more.)

1. Othello: 3-Disc Special Edition
In 1992, Orson Welles' daughter Beatrice authorized a "restored" version of the film that played in theaters. But purists claimed that her film deviated from what her father originally intended, and so the Criterion Collection released a laserdisc edition of Welles' original cut, the one that played at Cannes in 1952. Beatrice apparently blocked this earlier version, and so now only the 1992 cut is on DVD (and out of print besides). My fantasy DVD would be a three-disc box set (from Criterion, of course), collecting both the 1952 and 1992 cuts, as well as Orson's impossible-to-find documentary Filming Othello (1978), which is the last of his completed films I have yet to see. (There are clips of it on the Criterion Othello laserdisc.) On a side note, of Welles' thirteen completed films, seven are available on U.S. DVDs and four others are available overseas. That leaves only Othello and Filming Othello. Let's get on it!

DVD hounds know that Tuesday is normally DVD release day. With Christmas falling on a Tuesday this year, though, release schedules have been blown up; some releases moved up to Sunday, and others have been delayed until Wednesday.

In what appears to be an inspired bit of seasonal counter-programming, the DVD debut of David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises has been heavily advertised on TV the past week ... which is kinda weird, because I don't remember very much advertising for the theatrical release. Selective memory on my part, or is it more cost efficient for distributor Focus Features? Sad to admit, but I missed this when it played in cinemas a short time ago, so I'm looking forward to catching it now. Cinematical's Ryan Stewart appeared to like it, but not as much as the director's previous film, A History of Violence. The DVD includes two features on the making of the film.

I can't believe I'm recommending a Hong Kong film that's reminiscent of Three Men and a Baby, but it's a very thin week for new indie releases and besides, it's not as bad as it sounds. Jackie Chan stars in Robin B Hood (retitled from its original English title, Rob B Hood) as one of a trio of irresponsible burglars who must take care of a baby and grow up in the process.

As I wrote when I reviewed it for another site early this year: "It must be acknowledged: Jackie Chan moves with more agile grace, and subjects his body to greater punishment, than any other 52-year-old multi-millionaire in the entertainment industry. The problem here, though, is the same one that has often dragged down his films -- the non-action scenes." If you're an action junkie, though, it's worth a rental for some of Chan's best stunt work in years. The DVD includes two features, two interviews, and an audio commentary by director Benny Chan.

What do Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and David Cronenberg have in common? The first two are considered the founding fathers of psychoanalysis; the latter will be making a film about them. According to ScreenDaily.com, Cronenberg's next project "will be an adaptation of Christopher Hampton's play The Talking Cure, re-teaming him with Crash producer Jeremy Thomas."

Hampton's play, which premiered in December 2002, is set in the early 20th Century and centers on Jung, portrayed on the London stage by Ralph Fiennes. A review by Lizzie Loveridge at CurtainUp says that Hampton "looks at the issues which initially united these two pioneering psychiatrists and that which eventually divided them and took them off into other areas of investigation." The narrative then plunges into the relationship between Jung and an 18-year-old Russian woman who was his first patient. The CurtainUp reviewer felt that the 2 hour and 25 minute play "tells us more about Jung's affairs than his ideas."

Cronenberg always seems to be shuffling priorities on his projects, dependent on financing and other factors that are probably out of his control, but the combination of Cronenberg and psychoanalysis sounds potent, a great match of filmmaker and subject, and probably a welcome change of pace for the director after A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Producer Jeremy Thomas has an excellent track record; in addition to Crash, he and Cronenberg worked together on Naked Lunch. No word on casting yet, but Fiennes previously gave an excellent performance in Cronenberg's Spider, so I imagine he would be first in line to recreate Jung on the big screen.