David Cronenberg | |
|---|---|
 Cronenberg in 2012 | |
| Born | David Paul Cronenberg March 15, 1943 |
| Other names | The Baron of Blood King of Venereal Horror |
| Education | University of Toronto (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Spouses | Margaret Hindson
(m. 1972; div. 1979)Carolyn Zeifman
(m. 1979; died 2017) |
| Children | 3, including Brandon and Caitlin |
| Relatives | Denise Cronenberg (sister) Aaron Woodley (nephew) |
https://archive.org/details/davidcronenberga0000brow https://archive.org/details/modernfantasticf0000unse https://search.worldcat.org/title/9971111 https://search.worldcat.org/title/shape-of-rage-the-films-of-david-cronenberg/oclc/474980183
David Paul Cronenberg CC OOnt (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Early life and education
editDavid Cronenberg was born in Toronto, Ontario, on March 15, 1943, to a middle class Jewish family.[1] Milton wrote some short stories for True Detective and had a column in the Toronto Telegram for around thirty years.[2]
Cronenberg attended Dewson Street Public School, Kent Senior School, Harbord Collegiate Institute and North Toronto Collegiate Institute. He enrolled at the University of Toronto for Honours Science in 1963, but changed to Honours English Language and Literature the next year. He graduated from university in 1967, at the top of his class with a general bachelor of arts.[3][4] Cronenberg decided to not study for a master of arts after making Stereo.[5]
Career
editShort films and television
editWinter Kept Us Warm, which was filmed University of Toronto in 1965, inspired Cronenberg to become a filmmaker.[6] Cronenberg stated that he saw the film and "came out deciding I was going to make movies" and "found out where Secter got his equipment and rented it".[7]
Cronenberg made two short films, Transfer and From the Drain, with a few hundred dollars.[8] Cronenberg, Ivan Reitman, Bob Fothergill, and Iain Ewing were inspired by Jonas Mekas and formed the Toronto Film Co-op.[9]
After finishing Crimes of the Future Cronenberg lived in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, France, where he shot filler for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation using a 16 mm camera he purchased with a Canada Council grant. During his time in France he went to the Cannes Film Festival where he realized that he "couldn't make movies like Stereo and Crimes and consider myself a professional film-maker" and that he needed a broader audience. He returned to Canada and started work on Shivers.[10]
On his return to Canada he directed an episode for the television series Program X which he later referred to as "his suppressed film".[11] In 1975, John Hirsch taught Cronenberg technical details about filming and invited him to direct two episodes, The Victim and The Lie Chair, for the television series Peep Show.[12] Between the release of Shivers and production of Rabid he directed The Italian Machine, an episode of Teleplay, in 1976.[13]
Early films
editCronenberg joined Cinépix which he described as "sleazy distributors, and I say that with great affection - my kind of people".[14]
Cronenberg was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle during the production of The Brood.[15]
Cronenberg gained Mike Marcus as his agent, the only one in his career, after completing Scanners.[16]
In 1984, Cronenberg and 62 actors protested a decision by ACTRA to prohibit members from working on films that condoned or encouraged deviant sexual behaviour.[17]
De Laurentiis
editCronenberg initially rejected De Laurentiis' offer to direct The Dead Zone, but accepted the position after meeting Hill.[18][19] The financial failure of Videodrome occurred during the filming of The Dead Zone.[20]
Cronenberg produced a series of commercials for Ontario Hydro, Neilson Dairy, and Nike, Inc. from 1989 to 1990.[21]
Crash to Spider
editExistenz was Cronenberg's first original script since Videodrome.[22]
Cronenberg's acting roles increased in the 1990s and 2000s, with him starring in Last Night, Jason X, and other films.[23] James Isaac, the director of Jason X, supervised the special effects for Existenz.[24]
Cronenberg was the jury president of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival[25]
Directing style
editCronenberg stated that he was "anti-Hitchcockian" as he felt there was nothing "more hideous than planning everything on paper before you shoot, and then enduring the process".[26]
Unrealized projects
editIn the early 1980s Cronenberg attempted to make a film adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that took place in the modern day.[27] Cronenberg wrote an original script for Universal after Videodrome titled Six Legs, but the film was never made although aspects were incorporated into The Fly and Naked Lunch.[28]
Cronenberg was offered the role of director for Witness while it was under the name Come Home, but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish". He was also offered the director's position for Flashdance, Top Gun, and Beverly Hills Cop.[29][28] Marc Boyman offered Cronenberg the position of director for The Incubus, but declined although this led to Boyman producing The Fly and Dead Ringers.[30]
In 1993, Cronenberg signed a deal with Paragon Entertainment Corporation in which he would create a six-part television series for CBC Television. Cronenberg started writing it on August 1, and filming was meant to begin in February 1994 using 35 mm film. The show was set in 2010 and was about members of The Flesh Squad police force. Carol Reynolds, the president of Paragon Entertainment, stated that each episode would cost between $500,000-600,000.[31][32]
Politics
editFrom 1987 to 1989, Cronenberg and Margaret Atwood opposed an attempt by the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to ban porn. In 2008, he opposed legislation that would allow the Canadian government to revoke funding from films determined as offensive, with proponents of the bill listing the films of Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan as examples.[33]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Other | ||||
| 1972 | Secret Weapons | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Episode of Program X | [34] |
| 1975 | The Victim | Yes | No | No | No | No | Episode of Peep Show | [35] |
| 1975 | The Lie Chair | Yes | No | No | No | No | Episode of Peep Show | [36] |
| 1976 | The Italian Machine | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Episode of Teleplay | [36] |
| 1987 | Faith Healer | Yes | No | No | No | No | Episode of Friday the 13th: The Series | [37] |
| 1990 | Regina Versus Horvath | Yes | No | No | No | No | Episode of Scales of Justice | [38] |
| 1990 | Regina Versus Logan | Yes | No | No | No | No | Episode of Scales of Justice | [38] |
References
edit- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 9.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 2.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 1-2.
- ^ "David Cronenberg". The New York Times. 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 17.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 12.
- ^ "Young movie-makers popping up all over the Toronto scene". Toronto Star. 10 June 1967. p. 31. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 13.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 15.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 34-35.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 35.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 51.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 54.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 36.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 76.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 109.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 126.
- ^ Cronenberg 2006, p. 72-73.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 110.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 102.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 217.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 217.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 199-200.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 202.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 218.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 153.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 92.
- ^ a b Rodley 1997, p. 119.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 116.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 136.
- ^ McCann, Wendy (August 26, 1993). "Cronenberg brings brand of terror to CBC series". The StarPhoenix. p. D2. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cronenberg to produce suspense TV series". Toronto Star. August 26, 1993. p. B4. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mathijs 2008, p. 126-127.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 207.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 208.
- ^ a b Rodley 1997, p. 210.
- ^ Rodley 1997, p. 216.
- ^ a b Rodley 1997, p. 218.
Works cited
edit- Cronenberg, David (2006). David Cronenberg: Interviews with Serge Grünberg. Plexus Publishing. ISBN 0859653765.
- Mathijs, Ernest (2008). The Cinema of David Cronenberg: From Baron of Blood to Cultural Hero. Wallflower Press. ISBN 9781905674657.
- Rodley, Chris, ed. (1997). Cronenberg on Cronenberg. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571191371.