Now that the film has come and gone, I seem to be in the minority of those who thought that David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Mind, with its viral take on the philosophy of psychology, was his most Cronenbergian film in years. But based on the just-released teaser, perhaps that crown may be more appropriately placed on his upcoming Don DeLillo adaptation, Cosmopolis. Even at only 30 seconds, many of them filled with title-cards, there’s a sense of brainy spectacle here that we haven’t seen in the director’s work in a while.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 22, 2012IFP has announced that the21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, taking place Monday, November 28th at Cipriani’s Wall Street will be streaming live on their website. Hosted by Oliver Platt and Edie Falco, the show is widely considered to be the first honors of the award’s season. Up for Best Picture this year are Mike Mills’ Beginners, Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff, Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter, and Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. Director David Cronenberg, actors Charlize Theron and Gary Oldman, and Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO and Chairman Tom Rothman will receive career tributes. Presenters at […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 25, 2011Originally published in the Fall 2011 issue. David Cronenberg is a Tribute honoree at this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards. A Dangerous Method opens in theaters Nov. 23. David Cronenberg’s new film A Dangerous Method is a period piece dealing with the personal and historical relationship between Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightly). It’s a work that in some ways feels out of place in the Canadian filmmaker’s filmography, and in other ways, perfectly Cronenbergian. The screenplay by Christopher Hampton (who also penned a stage play from which this was developed) is meticulously […]
by Peter Bowen on Nov 22, 2011In our Fall 2011 cover interview with David Cronenberg about his film A Dangerous Method (which will be online for the first time later this week), we asked about the use of historical documentation in replicating Freud’s period. One of the most interesting notes was his use of the film and photographs of the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in recreating the condition of hysteria as seen in Keira Knightley‘s character. Filmmaker: Jean-Martin Charcot, who was Freud’s mentor, had photographically documented hysterical women. Cronenberg: That’s right. There was silent film of the era that we watched at that time. On […]
by Peter Bowen on Nov 20, 2011It’s not often we can talk about an upcoming David Cronenberg film before his current one is in theaters, but that’s the case with his adaptation of Cosmopolis. Today over at The Playlist they have new photos from the movie which stars Robert Pattinson in the lead. According to The Playlist, “Cosmopolis follows the story of Pattinson’s Eric Packer, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire finance guru…. Set within a 24-hour period, most of the novel takes place in his limousine and we assume the film will do the same. During his day, Packer loses millions of dollars for his clients by telling […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 8, 2011The IFP has announced that Charlize Theron, David Cronenberg and Gary Oldman will receive career tributes along with earlier announced recipient Tom Rothman, CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, at the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. Signaling the start of awards season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards honors the year’s top independent films and filmmakers with seven competitive awards: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (selected by the editors of Filmmaker) and Audience Award as well as four tributes. This year’s tributes also happen to be involved […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Sep 22, 2011Are you surprised that this year, some of the most anticipated films at the Toronto International Film Festival actually are by (gulp) Canadian filmmakers? Largely known to many for their solicitousness, their skills in the rink, and their charming way of saying the letter “o,” the Canadians often inspire jealousy in their film-loving neighbors to the south because of the wide-ranging institutional support that they provide for national filmmakers. The National Film Board of Canada, for instance, both produces films and distributes them to the far reaches of the country… and has been doing so for over 7o years, when […]
by Livia Bloom Ingram on Sep 8, 2011The trailer for David Cronenberg’s latest, A Dangerous Method, which is about Carl Jung’s relationship with a female patient and his clash with Sigmund Freud, is online. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortenson. According to The Playlist, Knightley has a “lengthy neurotic monlogue” that “steals the show.” Indeed, her extreme physical angularity may never have been used to such good effect as it appears to have been used here.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 21, 2011In a press release sent out today, Sony Pictures Classics has announced that they have acquired the U.S. rights to David Cronenberg‘s next film, A Dangerous Method. Starring Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel and Cronenberg regular Viggo Mortensen, the film follows how the intense relationship between Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) gives birth to psychoanalysis. Knightley plays their patient, Cassel plays Freud disciple, Otto Gross. The film, Cronenberg’s 19th, is currently in post production and was shot mostly in Germany by the director’s longtime DP Peter Suschitzky. The composer is Howard Shore and adapted from Christopher Hampton‘s […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jun 16, 2011When designer Tom Ford left Gucci a while back, he seemed to sink into a mid-life crisis with a series or morosely reflective interviews and then talked about going into the film business, becoming a director. It’s been a couple of years and no film is on the horizon, but Ford has just teamed with photographer Steven Klein, whose recent photos consciously draw upon the visual tropes of film narrative, to take off his clothes and do a W portfolio timed around the release of a makeup line for Estee Lauder. Style.com has a preview in which Ford, who, from […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 13, 2005