David Cronenberg



The Franz Kafka of film.

Torontonian film director whose early works include Scanners, the remake of The Fly (starring Jeff Goldblum), The Brood, Videodrome, eXistenZ, the film version of The Dead Zone, and the film adaptation of Naked Lunch. His Signature Style used to focus on Body Horror and Fan Disservice devices, with the occasional Mind Screw, but his recent works, such as Spider, A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, tend toward less visceral and (relatively) subtler means of disturbing the audience. If anything, his works can be described as transgressive, pretty much universally forcing you out of your comfort zone to deal with the topics he puts on film.

In late '70s/early '80s he often ran afoul of Canadian film review boards (in most of Canada, film ratings are assigned by government agencies at the provincial level), as some went so far as to ban his films in their jurisdictions. Cronenberg's animosity towards censorship ("Censors tend to do what only psychotics do: they confuse reality with illusion.") and the persecution of artists is a recurring theme in his work (eXistenZ being a prominent example, also inspired by his friend Salman Rushdie).

Frequently casts actors Robert Silverman (as in eXistenZ, Scanners, The Brood), Les Carlson (The Fly, Camera, Videodrome, The Dead Zone) and Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, and A Dangerous Method). Most of his films are also scored by Howard Shore.

He has also done a bit of acting, including a prominent role in the Clive Barker film Nightbreed and a guest-villain role on Alias, as well as a somewhat inexplicable cameo in Jason X.

Apparently, he's a really nice guy in person.

Filmography:
 * Stereo (1969)
 * Crimes Of The Future (1970)
 * Shivers (1975)
 * Rabid (1977)
 * Fast Company (1979)
 * The Brood (1979)
 * Scanners (1981)
 * Videodrome (1983)
 * The Dead Zone (1983)
 * The Fly (1986)
 * Dead Ringers (1988)
 * Naked Lunch (1991)
 * M Butterfly (1993)
 * Crash (1996)
 * eXistenZ (1999)
 * Spider (2002)
 * A History of Violence (2005)
 * Eastern Promises (2007)
 * A Dangerous Method (2011)
 * Cosmopolis (2012)