David Cronenberg: It’s as if my old movies don’t exist

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0000

There are many reasons why David Cronenberg is a beloved interview subject for film journalists, and of course the quality, vitality and breadth of his movies have an awful lot to do with it. Beyond that, though, the Canadian director whose career stretches from near-experimental horror films like "Shivers" (better known in the United States as "They Came From Within") and "Videodrome" to more recent collaborations like "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises" is a genuine intellectual in a realm crowded with poseurs and pretenders. He can talk easily about almost any topic you bring up; if he hadn't turned out to be one of the premier cinematic visionaries of his generation, it'd be easy to imagine him as a writer or philosopher or historian.

When psychoanalysis met female sexual desire

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:30:00 +0000

As long as he keeps on working, David Cronenberg will no doubt be dogged by fans of his early work grumbling that he doesn't make David Cronenberg films anymore. He's got plenty to say about his gradual career shift from visionary horror auteur to literary-minded craftsman of psychological drama (I'll get my recent interview with Cronenberg up next week), but here's a tidbit for you longtime fans: He dates the turning point all the way back to 1983. That's when he directed "The Dead Zone," with a script by Jeffrey Boam based on a Stephen King novel, and figured out that it could be satisfying to make movies whose stories hadn't originated in his own head. All but one of his films since then (the exception being "eXistenZ" in 1999) have been written by someone else, and beginning with "M. Butterfly" in 1993 he has moved away from horror and science fiction, perhaps permanently.

Salon.com > A Dangerous Method

David Cronenberg: It’s as if my old movies don’t exist

When psychoanalysis met female sexual desire