I love David Cronenberg. As a film fan who loves a good horror film and who happens to live in the great white north, it’s hard not to have a soft sport for a Canadian making unique films. Thankfully, the few Canadian directors I love all make great films and Cronenberg is easily near the top of my list; a man of singular vision that makes things his way and to boot, he’s an interesting character. The films might suggest that but reading “Cronenberg on Cronenberg
In early April, shortly after being awarded the The Legion of Honour by the French (the French always “got” him), Cronenberg appeared on The Hour and the interview revealed a few more things I didn’t know about the director. Not only is he a fan of motorcycles but he’s also been trying to “sell out” for decades (his words, not mine) and he’s passed up some biggies. Can you imagine Cronenberg’s Flashdance? How about Top Gun? His response for not taking them: “I didn’t get them.”
It’s a fantastic little interview (only 12 minutes long) but one well worth checking out. Sadly, the CBC isn’t quite there yet and seeing the video will require a little work on your part but I guarantee it’ll be worth your time. Head here and press play. The Cronenberg interview starts at 23:09 but you can scroll there if you’re not interested in investment advice. Happy viewing!
Movie laboratories are one of my favorite things ever. Metropolis,...
Cronenberg sat down for an hour-long interview with Toronto critics Richard Crouse and Geoff Pevere back when he was promoting A History of Violence, and he mentioned Flashdance among a few other 80s hits that he was offered or considered for. I can’t remember if Top Gun was brought up, but I believe Witness was, which was, ironically, Viggo Mortensen’s first sceeen appearance. Imagine if they had met twenty years earlier, what kind of crazy awesomeness they could have come up with! Another one was Return of the Jedi. I don’t know if this interview is available online anywhere, it was aired as a special episode of Crouse and Pevere’s show Reel 2 Real, which is no longer on TV. I miss it so much, they were great champions for Canadian cinema.
Darn. It looks like Rogers cancelled the show and I have a feeling the episodes may have disappeared. Bugger. That would have been an interesting watch.
It was great. I taped it, might still have it on VHS somewhere. I’ll look around and see if I can find it on the weekend.
That would be totally awesome. I cruised YT and couldn’t find anything on it. Will keep looking though – you never know!
Sorry this took so long. I couldn’t find the tape anywhere, but then last weekend I came across it in an old storage box. I transcribed this short part about the 80s films Cronenberg did not do for everyone. Enjoy!
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Richard Crouse: You know there’s a long list of films, and it’s interesting to hear you talk about how A History of Violence could have been probably a much different film if it had been made by an American. There’s a long list of films that you’ve said no to, that I’ve read about.
Geoff Pevere: How different a film Flashdance might have been.
Richard Crouse: Absolutely.
David Cronenerg: It would have been a failure!
Richard Crouse: Geoff and I were talking about this earlier, Geoff said someone quoted to you the idea that there would have been a whole alternate world of blockbusters had you directed Top Gun, and Flashdance, and Beverly Hills Cop, and some of the other films you were offered and said no to. You’d probably get offered many many things.
David Cronenberg: Well, Witness was one of those, and it actually was the first movie that Viggo Mortensen was in.
Richard Crouse: That’s right.
Geoff Pevere: Oh, that’s right.
David Cronenberg: He played an Amish.
Geoff Pevere: One of the Star Wars movies too. Weren’t you offered one of those?
David Cronenberg: Uh, yes. Yes, I was. I got a phone call from somebody from Lucas Film, and they said “we’re thinking of you for doing this third Star Wars movie.” I guess it was Return of the Jedi, and I said “well, I’m not used to doing other people’s material.” And I think there was a hang-up after that. I think they were looking for unbridled excitement, and instead they got hesitation, and that was it. Anyway, you have to know what to turn down. Those movies wouldn’t have been hits if I had done them. I would have somehow screwed them up because what they needed was that full on … I mean I certainly remember very definitely why I turned Witness down, because I could see the structure of that movie demanded that you sort of idealize the Amish. And to me they were a very repressive, sort of cultish group that I didn’t have much affection for, and I knew that I couldn’t do that kind of idealizing that the script required, because that was paradise, and life in the big city was “bad.” And I just didn’t believe it. So that was as it often is with me, a philosophical problem. People think because I’ve done horror films, they send me things like Constantine, with demons and stuff. And I say “I don’t do devils. I don’t do the Devil. I don’t do demons. I don’t do angels. I don’t do ghosts. I really don’t. And that’s because it’s a philosophical question. All of those things presuppose an afterlife, which I don’t believe in. And therefore I don’t, even metaphorically – I mean, I suppose if there were an approach were you could really say all of those things were metaphors for something else, then maybe it would work – but mostly it’s not. I can watch The Exorcist and see why it’s effective, and enjoy it. But I couldn’t make it.
Thanks for that Ashley! Though Cronenberg has some good points for not doing Witness, I would have LOVED to see it!
I know! All of those movies mentioned would have been wonderfully twisted!