David Cronenberg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Cronenberg CC OOnt
Cronenberg in 2012
Born	David Paul Cronenberg (1943-03-15) March 15, 1943 (age 82) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education	University of Toronto (BA)
Occupation	Film director screenwriter producer actor
Years active	1966–present
Spouse(s)	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)

David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a famous Canadian film director, writer, producer, and actor. He is known for creating a special type of horror film called "body horror." These films explore how bodies can change in strange and sometimes scary ways. They also look at how diseases spread and how our minds, bodies, and technology are connected.

Cronenberg is especially famous for his science fiction horror movies. Some of his well-known films include Shivers (1975), Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983), and The Fly (1986). He has also directed other types of movies, like dramas, thrillers, and gangster films.

His movies often get strong reactions from people. Some critics and viewers love his unique style, while others find his intense scenes challenging. The Village Voice newspaper once called him "the most daring and thought-provoking director" who makes movies in English. His films have won many awards, including a special prize for Crash at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. This award was given for the film's "originality, daring, and boldness."

From the 2000s to the 2020s, Cronenberg worked on several films with actor Viggo Mortensen. These include A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), A Dangerous Method (2011), and Crimes of the Future (2022). Seven of his films have been chosen to compete for the Palme d'Or, which is a very important award at the Cannes Film Festival. His most recent film to compete was The Shrouds (2024).

Early Life and Education

David Cronenberg was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 15, 1943. His mother, Esther, was a musician, and his father, Milton, was a writer and editor. He grew up in a family that was open-minded and encouraged learning. His grandparents were Jewish and came from Lithuania.

Milton Cronenberg wrote short stories and had a newspaper column for about thirty years. Their home was full of many different books. David's father tried to introduce him to artistic films, but young David was more interested in westerns and pirate movies, especially those starring Burt Lancaster.

David loved to read from a young age. He enjoyed science fiction magazines like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Galaxy. He discovered authors like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, who later influenced his work. He also read comic books, including Tarzan, Little Lulu, Uncle Scrooge, and Superman. He especially liked the original Captain Marvel (now known as Shazam). Even though he finds modern superhero movies limited, he still likes Captain Marvel. Cronenberg also read scary comics from EC.

Early films that influenced Cronenberg included experimental, horror, science fiction, and thriller movies. Some examples are Un Chien Andalou, Vampyr, and War of the Worlds. He also mentioned less obvious influences, like comedies such as The Bed Sitting Room.

Interestingly, Cronenberg said that Disney cartoons like Bambi and Dumbo were "terrifying" to him. He said Bambi was the "first important film" he ever saw, especially the scene where Bambi's mother dies. He even wanted to show Bambi in a museum exhibit about his influences, but Disney did not allow it.

Cronenberg went to several schools in Toronto. In 1963, he started studying science at the University of Toronto, but he switched to English the next year. He graduated in 1967. He decided not to continue with a master's degree after making his film Stereo.

His interest in filmmaking began after he saw a film called Winter Kept Us Warm (1966), made by a classmate named David Secter. Cronenberg started visiting places that rented film cameras and taught himself how to make movies. He made two short films, Transfer and From the Drain, with very little money. He and some friends later formed the Toronto Film Co-op.

Career

Early Films: 1969–1979

After making two short films and two longer, artistic films (Stereo in black-and-white and Crimes of the Future in color), Cronenberg partnered with Ivan Reitman. The Canadian government helped fund his films throughout the 1970s. During this time, he made his signature horror movies like Shivers and Rabid.

Rabid helped him get his films shown internationally. His next two horror films, The Brood and Scanners, received even more support. Even then, Cronenberg showed his range by directing Fast Company, a movie about car racing and bike gangs, which showed his other interests.

Breakthrough and Acclaim: 1981–1988

In 1981, Cronenberg directed the science-fiction horror film Scanners. In this movie, "scanners" are people with amazing mind powers, like reading thoughts and moving objects with their minds. The film has become a very popular "cult classic." In 1983, he directed another sci-fi horror film, Videodrome, starring James Woods. This film was praised for being very original. That same year, he directed The Dead Zone, starring Christopher Walken.

Cronenberg directed The Fly (1986), starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. This movie was loosely based on an older short story and film. It was a big success at the box office, earning $60 million. Cronenberg usually doesn't work on huge Hollywood movies, though he almost did a few times. For example, George Lucas considered him to direct Return of the Jedi (1983), but chose someone else.

Since his 1988 film Dead Ringers, Cronenberg has worked with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky on all his movies. Suschitzky also worked on The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Cronenberg liked how that film looked.

Cronenberg has also worked with composer Howard Shore on almost all his films since The Brood (1979). Other people he often works with include actor Robert Silverman, art director Carol Spier (who is also his sister), and his sister, costume designer Denise Cronenberg.

Career Changes: 1991–2002

Cronenberg at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002

Cronenberg spent almost a year working on a version of Total Recall (1990). However, he had "creative differences" with the producers, meaning they didn't agree on how the film should be made. A different director eventually made the movie. Cronenberg later said that thinking about how different his version would have been gave him headaches. In the late 1990s, he was also announced as the director for a sequel to Basic Instinct (1992), but that project also didn't happen.

Cronenberg has mentioned writers like William S. Burroughs and Vladimir Nabokov as influences on his work.

He has also acted in other directors' films. Most of his roles are small appearances, like in Into the Night (1985) and Jason X (2002). But sometimes he has played bigger roles, such as in Nightbreed (1990) and Last Night (1998). He has only made very brief appearances in his own films, like in The Fly and Videodrome.

Cronenberg has said that his films should be seen "from the point of view of the disease." He means that changes and problems in his movies are not always things to be fixed. Instead, they can be ways for characters to transform. He sees people as constantly changing and unstable, like a "maelstrom of organic, chemical and electron chaos."

Later Career: 2005–Present

Cronenberg at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

His thriller A History of Violence (2005) was one of his most expensive and easiest-to-understand films. It was highly praised by critics, as was Eastern Promises (2007), a movie about the Russian Mafia. Even though Cronenberg has worked with Hollywood stars, he remains a strong Canadian filmmaker. Most of his films, even big ones like The Dead Zone and The Fly, have been filmed in his home province of Ontario.

Some exceptions include M. Butterfly (1993), filmed mostly in China, and Eastern Promises (2007), filmed mainly in England. Most of his films have received some funding from Telefilm Canada, a government agency. Cronenberg believes that every country needs government support to have its own film industry, especially when competing with Hollywood.

In 2008, Cronenberg created two projects outside of film: an art exhibition called Chromosomes and an opera version of The Fly. In 2010, he finished making A Dangerous Method (2011), a film based on a play, starring Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, and Viggo Mortensen. On television, he has appeared in shows like Alias and Star Trek: Discovery. He also had main roles in Alias Grace and Slasher: Flesh & Blood.

Cronenberg at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014

In 2012, his film Cosmopolis competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. For a while, there were plans for a sequel to Eastern Promises, but Cronenberg said it fell through due to disagreements about the budget.

Filming for Cronenberg's next movie, a drama called Maps to the Stars (2014), began in July 2013. This was the first time he filmed in the United States. In 2014, his short film The Nest was released online. Also in 2014, Cronenberg published his first novel, Consumed. In 2016, Viggo Mortensen mentioned that Cronenberg was thinking about retiring because it was hard to get funding for his films.

In 2021, a short film called The Death of David Cronenberg, filmed by his daughter Caitlin, was released. In February 2021, Mortensen said Cronenberg had updated an old script and hoped to film it. He hinted that it was a "strange film noir" and similar to Cronenberg's earlier body horror films. In April 2021, the film's title was revealed to be Crimes of the Future. It was filmed in Greece in 2021 and competed at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Cronenberg's latest film, The Shrouds, is set to premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Unmade Projects

One of Cronenberg's earliest ideas for a film that was never made was called Roger Pagan, Gynecologist. It was about a nervous man who pretended to be a medical expert. He first thought of this idea as a novel in the early 1970s.

In the early 1980s, Cronenberg tried to make a modern version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He wrote a script for Universal Pictures after Videodrome. This film was never made, but some of its ideas were used in The Fly and Naked Lunch.

Cronenberg was offered the chance to direct several other films, including Witness, Flashdance, Top Gun, and Beverly Hills Cop, but he turned them down. He also declined to direct The Incubus, though this led to the producer of that film later producing The Fly and Dead Ringers.

He also worked for nearly a year on a version of Total Recall (1990). However, he had "creative differences" with the producers, meaning they disagreed on the creative direction of the film. Another director eventually made a different version of the movie. Cronenberg later wrote in his memoir that thinking about how different his version would have been caused him a lot of pain, like a needle piercing his eye.

In 1993, Cronenberg signed a deal to create a six-part television series for CBC Television. The show was planned to be set in 2010 and would be about a police force called The Flesh Squad. Each episode was expected to cost between $500,000 and $600,000, but the series was never made.

In 2011, Cronenberg mentioned that he had written a story that goes along with his 1986 film The Fly. He said it's not a direct sequel but a "parallel story" that he would like to direct if he gets the chance.

Personal Life

David Cronenberg lives in Toronto. He married his first wife, Margaret Hindson, in 1972. Their marriage ended in 1979. They had one daughter, Cassandra Cronenberg. His second wife was film editor Carolyn Zeifman. They were married from 1979 until she passed away in 2017. They met while working on the film Rabid. They had two children, Caitlin and Brandon. Cronenberg has said that his film The Brood was inspired by the difficulties he faced during his first marriage.

In a 2013 interview, Cronenberg shared that film director Martin Scorsese told him he was interested in Cronenberg's early work but was "terrified" to meet him in person. Cronenberg joked back, "You're the guy who made Taxi Driver and you're afraid to meet me?" In the same interview, Cronenberg said he is an atheist, meaning he does not believe in God. He explained that he finds the idea of fitting into any specific religion "claustrophobic and oppressive." He believes atheism is about accepting what is real. He also said that he isn't worried about what happens to his film work after he's gone.

Cronenberg has explained that he grew up in a family that was not religious, but they respected all religions. He said that as a teenager, he wondered about God but eventually decided that the idea of God was created to help people deal with the fear of death. In a 2007 interview, he said his films explore the idea that "We are all going to die, that is the end of all consciousness. There is no afterlife. There is no God. Now what do we do."

In some of Cronenberg's later films, like A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, characters who are openly religious appear more often. During an interview for A History of Violence, Cronenberg described himself as a "materialist" rather than an atheist. He said, "for me to turn away from any aspect of the human body to me is a philosophical betrayal." He feels his art's purpose is to explore the human body fully.

Filmography

Awards and Recognition

David Cronenberg has appeared on many lists of "Greatest Directors." In 2004, Strange Horizons magazine named him the second greatest director in science fiction history. The Guardian newspaper also listed him as one of the world's top directors. Film professor Charles Derry called him one of the most important directors in the horror genre.

Cronenberg received a special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for his film Crash. In 1999, he was added to Canada's Walk of Fame. He also won the Silver Bear Award at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, which is Canada's highest honor in the performing arts.

In 2002, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2014, he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada, which is the highest rank. In 2006, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, the French government gave him the Légion d'honneur, a high honor from France. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

An exhibition called "David Cronenberg: Evolution" opened in Toronto in 2013. It celebrated his entire filmmaking career. The festival called him "one of Canada's most productive and iconic filmmakers." The exhibition later traveled to other countries.

In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario for being "Canada's most celebrated internationally acclaimed filmmaker." In April 2018, it was announced that Cronenberg would receive the honorary Golden Lion at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.

British Academy Film Awards

Berlin International Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Screenplay

Saturn Awards

See also

In Spanish: David Cronenberg para niños