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95-417: The tunnel, constructed at some point in the 19th century, is 16 feet (4.9 m) in height and 125 feet (38 m) long. A local legend recounts that the tunnel is haunted by the ghost of a young woman whose clothing had caught fire. She died in the tunnel trying to find the nearest house. All versions of these legends end with the girl's screams filling up the tunnel as she was burning to death. The tunnel

190-434: A cerebral hemorrhage . Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but dropped out. At the age of 9, Lancaster met Nick Cravat with whom he developed a lifelong partnership. Together, they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement , one of the city's oldest settlement houses. In the 1930s, they formed the acrobat duo Lang and Cravat and soon joined

285-432: A materialist rather than an atheist, stating, "I'm not an atheist, but for me to turn away from any aspect of the human body to me is a philosophical betrayal. And there's a lot of art and religion whose whole purpose is to turn away from the human body. I feel in my art that my mandate is to not do that." In a separate 2013 interview, Cronenberg discussed the role religion plays in his films, using Eastern Promises as

380-538: A Best Actor Golden Globe nomination, and in 1957 he starred in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with frequent co-star Kirk Douglas . During the 1950s, his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster , was highly successful, with Lancaster acting in films such as: Trapeze (1956), a box office smash in which he used his acrobatic skills and for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor ; Sweet Smell of Success (1957),

475-559: A Giant Step (1959), about a black student; and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1960), from an Australian play, shot on location in Australia and Britain. HHL served as the production company for the 1960–61 TV series Whiplash . The Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions company dissolved in 1960 after Hill ruptured his relationship with both Hecht and Lancaster. Hill went on to produce a single additional film, The Happy Thieves , in

570-409: A Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor; and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with Kirk Douglas, which was a huge commercial hit directed by John Sturges . Lancaster re-teamed with Tony Curtis in 1957 for Sweet Smell of Success , a co-production between Hecht-Hill-Lancaster and Curtis' own company with wife Janet Leigh , Curtleigh Productions. The movie, directed by Alexander Mackendrick ,

665-573: A US Air Force General who, opposed by a Colonel played by Douglas, tries to overthrow the President in Seven Days in May . Then, in 1966, he played an explosives expert in the western The Professionals . Although the reception of his 1968 film The Swimmer was initially lackluster upon release, in the years after it has grown in stature critically and attained a cult following . In 1970, Lancaster starred in

760-686: A company, Norma Productions, and did a deal with Universal to make a thriller about a disturbed G.I. in London, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands in 1948, with Joan Fontaine and directed by Norman Foster. It made a profit of only $ 50,000, but was critically acclaimed. Back in Hollywood, Lancaster made another film noir with Siodmak, Criss Cross , in 1949. It was originally going to be produced by Hellinger and when Hellinger died, another took over. Tony Curtis made an early appearance. Lancaster appeared in

855-526: A dark drama today considered a classic; Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), a WWII submarine drama with Clark Gable ; and Separate Tables (1958), a hotel-set drama which received seven Oscar nominations. In the early 1960s, Lancaster starred in a string of critically successful films, each in very disparate roles. Playing a charismatic biblical con-man in Elmer Gantry in 1960 won him the Academy Award and

950-451: A dialogue coach. Lancaster starred in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) for Stanley Kramer , alongside Spencer Tracy , Richard Widmark and a number of other stars. The film was both a commercial and critical success, receiving eleven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. He then did another film with Hecht and Frankenheimer (replacing Charles Crichton ), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962),

1045-498: A fourth picture for Wallis, Rope of Sand , in 1949. Norma Productions signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros. The first was 1950's The Flame and the Arrow , a swashbuckler movie, in which Lancaster drew on his circus skills. Nick Cravat had a supporting role and the film was a huge commercial success, making $ 6 million. It was Warners' most popular film of the year and established an entirely new image for Lancaster. Lancaster

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1140-404: A largely fictionalized biography. In it he plays Robert Stroud , a federal prisoner incarcerated for life for two murders, who begins to collect birds and over time becomes an expert in bird diseases, even publishing a book. The film shows Stroud transferred to the maximum security Alcatraz prison where he is not allowed to keep birds and as he ages he gets married, markets bird remedies, helps stop

1235-521: A moment of synergy with Burroughs' writing style. He felt the connection between his screenwriting style and Burroughs' prose style was so strong, that he jokingly remarked that should Burroughs pass on, he might write his next novel. Cronenberg has also appeared as an actor in other directors' films. Most of his roles are cameo appearances , as in the films Into the Night (1985), Blood and Donuts (1995), To Die For (1995), and Jason X (2002) and

1330-727: A national cinema in the face of Hollywood". In 2008, Cronenberg realized two extra-cinematographic projects: the exhibition Chromosomes at the Rome Film Fest , and the opera The Fly at the LaOpera in Los Angeles and Theatre Châtelet in Paris. In July 2010, Cronenberg completed production on A Dangerous Method (2011), an adaptation of Christopher Hampton 's play The Talking Cure , starring Keira Knightley , Michael Fassbender , Vincent Cassel , and frequent collaborator Viggo Mortensen . The film

1425-467: A neurotic man who impersonates a medical expert. The project was initially conceived in the early 1970s in the form of a novel. In the early 1980s Cronenberg attempted to make a film adaption of Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein that took place in the modern day. Cronenberg wrote an original script for Universal after Videodrome titled Six Legs , but the film was never made although aspects were incorporated into The Fly and Naked Lunch . Cronenberg

1520-657: A new production company, Hillworth Productions, co-owned with his wife Rita Hayworth . Lancaster played the title role in Elmer Gantry (1960), written and directed by Richard Brooks for United Artists. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance. Hecht and Lancaster worked together on The Young Savages (1961), directed by John Frankenheimer and produced by Hecht. Sydney Pollack worked as

1615-457: A person I see this maelstrom of organic, chemical and electron chaos; volatility and instability, shimmering; and the ability to change and transform and transmute." Similarly, in Crash (1996), people who have been injured in car crashes attempt to view their ordeal as "a fertilizing rather than a destructive event". In 2005, Cronenberg publicly disagreed with Paul Haggis ' choice of the same name for

1710-490: A prison drama written by Richard Brooks and directed by Jules Dassin . It was also well received. Wallis released his films through Paramount, and so Lancaster and other Wallis contractees made cameos in Variety Girl in 1947. Lancaster's next film was a thriller for Wallis in 1947, I Walk Alone , co-starring Lizabeth Scott and a young Kirk Douglas , who was also under contract to Wallis. Variety listed it as one of

1805-584: A prison rebellion, and writes a book on the history of the U.S. penal system, but never gets paroled. The sympathetic performance earned Lancaster a Best Actor Oscar nomination, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Role. Hecht went on to produce five films without Lancaster's assistance, through his company Harold Hecht Films Productions between 1961 and 1967, including another Academy Award winner, Cat Ballou , starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda . Lancaster made A Child Is Waiting (1963) with Judy Garland . It

1900-484: A project reflecting his interest in car racing and bike gangs. In 1981, Cronenberg directed the science-fiction horror film Scanners (1981). In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathic and telekinetic powers. The film has since become a cult classic . In 1983 he directed another science-fiction horror film Videodrome starring James Woods . The film was distributed by Universal Pictures . Janet Maslin of The New York Times remarked on

1995-752: A stand-in for James Woods in Videodrome . Cronenberg has said that his films should be seen "from the point of view of the disease", and that in Shivers , for example, he identifies with the characters after they become infected with the anarchic parasites. Disease and disaster, in Cronenberg's work, are less problems to be overcome than agents of personal transformation . Of his characters' transformations, Cronenberg said, "But because of our necessity to impose our own structure of perception on things we look on ourselves as being relatively stable. But, in fact, when I look at

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2090-559: A stroke in 1990 forced him to retire; four years later he died from a heart attack. His final film role was in the Oscar-nominated Field of Dreams . Lancaster was born on November 2, 1913, in New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, the son of Elizabeth ( née Roberts) and mailman James Lancaster. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class origin. All four of his grandparents were emigrants from

2185-463: A two-picture deal, the first of which was to be 1954's Apache , starring Lancaster as a Native American. They followed it with another Western in 1954, Vera Cruz , co-starring Gary Cooper and produced by Hill. Both films were directed by Robert Aldrich and were hugely popular. United Artists signed Hecht-Lancaster to a multi-picture contract, to make seven films over two years. These included films in which Lancaster did not act. Their first

2280-446: A very hardcore atheist believe me but you become like an actor really, as a director or a writer. You must take on the character as that character is and believe in it as you're playing it. To allow that character to exist as he would exist. That's really what it's all about, so I have no problem with characters who are religious and believe in God. I would have a problem if that was the point of

2375-404: A year on a version of Total Recall (1990), but experienced "creative differences" with producers Dino De Laurentiis and Ronald Shusett ; a different version of the film was eventually made by Paul Verhoeven . Cronenberg related in his 1992 memoir, Cronenberg on Cronenberg that, as a fan of Philip K. Dick —author of "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale", the short story upon which the film

2470-728: Is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, physical, and technological. Cronenberg is best known for exploring these themes through sci-fi horror films such as Shivers (1975), Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986), though he has also directed dramas , psychological thrillers and gangster films . Cronenberg's films have polarized critics and audiences alike; he has earned critical acclaim and has sparked controversy for his depictions of gore and violence. The Village Voice called him "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in

2565-475: Is afraid of death. He further stated that he is not concerned about posthumous representations of his film work: "It wouldn't disturb me to think that my work would just sink beneath the waves without trace and that would be it. So what? It doesn't bother me." In Cronenberg on Cronenberg , the director further elaborated that he was raised in a secular Jewish home, and while he and his family had no disdain towards any religion, such matters were not discussed. In

2660-472: Is based on Cassandra's mother. Cronenberg said that he found the shooting of the climactic scene, in which Nola was strangled by her husband, to be "very satisfying". In a September 2013 interview, Cronenberg revealed that film director Martin Scorsese admitted to him that he was intrigued by Cronenberg's early work but was subsequently "terrified" to meet him in person. Cronenberg responded to Scorsese: "You're

2755-401: Is the end of all consciousness. There is no afterlife. There is no God. Now what do we do.' That's the point where it starts getting interesting to me." In Cronenberg's later films (e.g. A History of Violence , Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method ) openly religious characters become more common. During an interview for A History of Violence , Cronenberg even chose to identify as

2850-432: The 2012 Cannes Film Festival . For a time it appeared that, as Eastern Promises producer Paul Webster told Screen International , a sequel is in the works that would reunite the key team of Cronenberg, Steven Knight , and Viggo Mortensen. The film was to be made by Webster's new production company Shoebox Films in collaboration with Focus Features , and shot in early 2013. However, in 2012, Cronenberg commented that

2945-664: The Eastern Promises sequel had fallen through due to budget disagreement with Focus Features . Filming for Cronenberg's next film, a satire drama entitled Maps to the Stars (2014)—with Julianne Moore , Mia Wasikowska , John Cusack , and Robert Pattinson —began on July 8, 2013, in Toronto , Ontario and Los Angeles. This was the first time Cronenberg filmed in the United States. On June 26, 2014, Cronenberg's short film The Nest

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3040-574: The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal . The opening of the "David Cronenberg: Evolution" Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) exhibition occurred on October 30, 2013. Held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox venue, the exhibition paid tribute to the director's entire filmmaking career and the festival's promotional material referred to Cronenberg as "one of Canada's most prolific and iconic filmmakers". The exhibition

3135-545: The University of Toronto for Honours Science in 1963, but changed to Honours English Language and Literature the next year. He graduated from university in 1967, at the top of his class with a general Bachelor of Arts. Cronenberg decided to not study for a master of arts after making Stereo . Cronenberg's fascination with the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1966), by classmate David Secter , sparked his interest in film. He began frequenting film camera rental houses and learned

3230-507: The greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Lancaster performed as a circus acrobat in the 1930s. At the age of 32, and after serving in World War II , he landed a role in a Broadway play and drew the attention of a Hollywood agent. His breakthrough role was in the film noir The Killers in 1946 alongside Ava Gardner . A critical success, it launched both of their careers. In 1948 Lancaster starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in

3325-577: The 1970s. During this period, he focused on his signature " body horror " films such as Shivers and Rabid , the latter of which provided pornographic actress Marilyn Chambers with work in a different genre, although Cronenberg's first choice for the role had been a then little-known Sissy Spacek . Rabid was a breakthrough with international distributors, and his next two horror features, The Brood and Scanners , gained stronger support. Even at this stage however, Cronenberg showed variety, by making Fast Company between The Brood and Rabid ,

3420-750: The English-speaking world". His films have won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Crash at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival , a unique award that is distinct from the Jury Prize as it is not given annually, but only at the request of the official jury, who in this case gave the award "for originality, for daring, and for audacity". From the 2000s to the 2020s , Cronenberg collaborated on several films with Viggo Mortensen , including A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), A Dangerous Method (2011) and Crimes of

3515-540: The Future (2022). Seven of his films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or , the most recent being The Shrouds (2024), which was screened at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival . David Cronenberg was born in Toronto , Ontario , on March 15, 1943. Cronenberg is the son of Esther ( née Sumberg), a musician, and Milton Cronenberg, a writer and editor. He was raised in a "middle-class progressive Jewish family". His father

3610-627: The Golden Globe for Best Actor. He played a Nazi war criminal in 1961 in the all-star, war-crime-trial film, Judgment at Nuremberg . Playing a bird expert prisoner in Birdman of Alcatraz in 1962, he earned the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor and his third Oscar nomination. In 1963, Lancaster traveled to Italy to star as an Italian prince in Visconti's epic period drama The Leopard . In 1964, he played

3705-632: The Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret. He then found temporary work, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants. After the United States entered World War II , Lancaster joined the United States Army in January 1943 and performed with the Army's 21st Special Services Division, one of

3800-624: The Norma-Warners contract was that Lancaster had to appear in some non-Norma films, of which this was one. In 1954, for his own company, Lancaster produced and starred in His Majesty O'Keefe , a South Sea island tale shot in Fiji. It was co-written by James Hill, who would soon become a part of the Hecht-Lancaster partnership. Hecht and Lancaster left Warners for United Artists , for what began as

3895-599: The Worlds , Freaks , Creature from the Black Lagoon , Alphaville , Performance , and Duel . However, Cronenberg has also cited less obvious films as influences, including comedies like The Bed Sitting Room , as well as Disney cartoons such as Bambi and Dumbo . Cronenberg said he found these two Disney animated films, as well as Universal's live-action Blue Lagoon , "terrifying" which influenced his approach to horror. Cronenberg went on to say that Bambi

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3990-668: The art of filmmaking. Cronenberg made two short films, Transfer and From the Drain , with a few hundred dollars. Cronenberg, Ivan Reitman , Bob Fothergill, and Iain Ewing were inspired by Jonas Mekas and formed the Toronto Film Co-op. After two short sketch films and two short art-house features (the black-and-white Stereo and the colour Crimes of the Future ) Cronenberg went into partnership with Ivan Reitman . The Canadian government provided financing for his films throughout

4085-415: The best example of a film that straddles the line between his works of personal chaos and psychological confusion is Cronenberg's 1991 "adaptation" of Naked Lunch (1959), his literary hero William S. Burroughs ' most controversial book. The novel was considered " unfilmable ", and Cronenberg acknowledged that a straight translation into film would "cost 400 million dollars and be banned in every country in

4180-520: The box-office hit, air-disaster drama Airport . In 1974 he again starred in a Visconti film, Conversation Piece . He experienced a career resurgence in 1980 with the crime-romance Atlantic City , winning the BAFTA for Best Actor and landing his fourth Oscar nomination. Starting in the late 1970s, he also appeared in television mini-series, including the award-winning Separate but Equal with Sidney Poitier . He continued acting into his late 70s, until

4275-429: The chance. He has stated that it is not a traditional sequel, but rather a "parallel story". Cronenberg lives in Toronto . He married his first wife, Margaret Hindson, in 1972: their seven-year marriage ended in 1979 amidst personal and professional differences. They had one daughter, Cassandra Cronenberg. His second wife was film editor Carolyn Zeifman, to whom he was married until her death in 2017. The couple met on

4370-521: The commercially and critically acclaimed film Sorry, Wrong Number , where he portrayed the husband to her bedridden invalid character. In 1953 Lancaster played the illicit lover of Deborah Kerr in the military drama From Here to Eternity . A box office smash, it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and landed a Best Actor nomination for Lancaster. Later in the 1950s, he starred in The Rainmaker (1956), with Katharine Hepburn , earning

4465-510: The company's name to Hecht-Lancaster Productions. The first film under the new name was another swashbuckler: 1952's The Crimson Pirate , directed by Siodmak. Co-starring Cravat, it was extremely popular. Lancaster changed pace once more by doing a straight dramatic part in 1952's Come Back, Little Sheba , based on a Broadway hit, with Shirley Booth , produced by Wallis and directed by Daniel Mann . Alternating with adventure films, he went into South Sea Woman in 1952 at Warners. Part of

4560-510: The exception of The Dead Zone (1983), which was scored by Michael Kamen . Other regular collaborators include actor Robert Silverman, art director Carol Spier (also his sister) sound editor Bryan Day, film editor Ronald Sanders, his sister, costume designer Denise Cronenberg , and, from 1979 until 1988, cinematographer Mark Irwin. In 2008, Cronenberg directed Howard Shore's first opera, The Fly . Cronenberg has cited William S. Burroughs and Vladimir Nabokov as influences. Perhaps

4655-435: The film's "innovativeness", and praised Woods' performance as having a "sharply authentic edge". That same year he directed The Dead Zone (1983) starring Christopher Walken . Cronenberg directed The Fly (1986) starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis . The film is loosely based on George Langelaan 's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name . It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and

4750-594: The films of David Cronenberg." Cronenberg received the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for Crash . In 1999, he was inducted onto Canada's Walk of Fame , awarded the Silver Bear Award at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival . and that November received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award , Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 2002, he

4845-436: The guy who made Taxi Driver and you're afraid to meet me?" In the same interview, Cronenberg identified as an atheist . "Anytime I've tried to imagine squeezing myself into the box of any particular religion, I find it claustrophobic and oppressive," Cronenberg elaborated. "I think atheism is an acceptance of what is real." In the same interview, Cronenberg revealed that it depends on the "time of day" as to whether or not he

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4940-399: The latter's Oscar -winning film Crash (2004), arguing that it was "very disrespectful" to the "important and seminal" J. G. Ballard novel on which Cronenberg's film was based. His thriller A History of Violence (2005) is one of his highest budgeted and most accessible to date. He has said that the decision to direct it was influenced by his having had to defer some of his salary on

5035-583: The low-budgeted Spider (2002), but it was one of his most critically acclaimed films to date, along with Eastern Promises (2007), a film about the struggle of one man to gain power in the Russian Mafia. Although Cronenberg has worked with a number of Hollywood stars, he remains a staunchly Canadian filmmaker, with nearly all of his films (including major studio vehicles The Dead Zone and The Fly ) having been filmed in his home province Ontario. Notable exceptions include M. Butterfly (1993), most of which

5130-466: The main example: I'm an atheist but not all my characters are atheists. So it's true that I don't think about God ever as part of my life or anything. But if you're a dramatist and you are working with characters who come from a particular culture, you have to accept their understanding of life, and with passion. So the Nikolai character, I'm pretty sure he believes in God and most of the other characters in

5225-528: The military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served in the Fifth Army in Italy under General Mark Clark from 1943 to 1945. He was discharged October 1945 and was an entertainment specialist with the rank of technician fifth grade . Lancaster returned to New York after his Army service. Although initially unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster

5320-410: The minute-long short film The Death of David Cronenberg , shot by his daughter Caitlin , which was released digitally on September 19, 2021. In February 2021 however, Mortensen said Cronenberg had refined an older script he had written and hopes to film it with Mortensen that summer. He further hinted that it is a "strange film noir" and resembles Cronenberg's earlier body horror films. In April 2021,

5415-418: The movie do too. Some of them are Muslim , some of them are Eastern Orthodox , and that's a part of their life, a part of their understanding of suffering. Because everybody in life suffers but not everybody thinks of that in religious terms. These people do. And they think of suffering as a way to salvation, also in religious terms. I am their God really, as I am creating them; that's religious in itself. I am

5510-677: The music industry with the music publishing companies Leigh Music , Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music , Calyork Music and Colby Music and the record labels Calyork Records and Maine Records . The HHL team impressed Hollywood with its success; as Life wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures, it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)." In late 1957, they announced they would make ten films worth $ 14 million in 1958. Lancaster made two films for Wallis to complete his eight-film commitment for that contract: The Rainmaker (1956) with Katharine Hepburn , which earned Lancaster

5605-422: The opportunity to produce their own movies within five years of hitting Hollywood. Through Hecht, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis . Lancaster left New York and moved to Los Angeles. Wallis signed him to a non-exclusive eight-movie contract. Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury for Wallis in 1947, where Lancaster was billed after John Hodiak and Lizabeth Scott . It

5700-719: The original Fawcett Comics version of Captain Marvel , later known as Shazam . Although as an adult, Cronenberg feels superhero films are artistically limited, he maintains a fondness for Captain Marvel / Shazam , criticizing how he feels the character had been neglected. Cronenberg also read horror comics published by EC , which in contrast to the others, he described as "scary and bizarre and violent and nasty—the ones your mother didn't want you to have." Early films that later proved influential on Cronenberg's career include avant-garde , horror , science fiction , and thriller films, such as Un Chien Andalou , Vampyr , War of

5795-528: The province of Ulster , Ireland. His maternal side was from Belfast , the descendants of English dissenters who had colonized Ireland as part of the Plantation of Ulster . Lancaster grew up in East Harlem , New York City. He developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School , where he was a basketball star. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of

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5890-412: The same book, Cronenberg said that in his teens he went through a phase where he wondered about the existence of God, but ultimately came to the conclusion that the God concept was developed to cope with the fear of death. In a 2007 interview, Cronenberg explained the role atheism plays in his work. He stated, "I'm interested in saying, 'Let us discuss the existential question. We are all going to die, that

5985-400: The same year, The Guardian listed him 9th on their list of "The world's 40 best directors". In 2007, Total Film named him as the 17th greatest director of all time. Film professor Charles Derry, in his overview of the horror genre Dark Dreams , called the director one of the most important in his field, and that "no discussion of contemporary horror film can conclude without reference to

6080-408: The set of Rabid while she was working as a production assistant. They have two children, Caitlin and Brandon . In the book Cronenberg on Cronenberg (1992), he revealed that The Brood was inspired by events that occurred during the unraveling of his first marriage, which caused both Cronenberg and his daughter Cassandra a great deal of turmoil. The character Nola Carveth, mother of the brood,

6175-594: The television series Alias , but on occasion he has played major roles, as in Nightbreed (1990) and Last Night (1998). He has not had major roles in any of his own films, but he did put in a brief appearance as a gynecologist in The Fly ; he can also be glimpsed among the sex-crazed hordes in Shivers ; he can be heard as an unseen car-pound attendant in Crash ; his hands can be glimpsed in eXistenZ (1999); and he appeared as

6270-705: The time Cronenberg was more interested in western and pirate films, showing a particular affinity for those featuring Burt Lancaster . A voracious reader from an early age, Cronenberg started off enjoying science fiction magazines like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , Galaxy , and Astounding , where he first encountered authors who would prove influential on his own work, including Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov , although he wouldn't encounter his primary influence, Philip K. Dick , until much later. Cronenberg also read comic books , noting his favorites were Tarzan , Little Lulu , Uncle Scrooge , Blackhawk , Plastic Man , Superman , and

6365-405: The time. Marty star Borgnine was under contract to Hecht-Lancaster and was unhappy about his lack of upcoming roles, especially after only receiving some seven lines in 1957's Sweet Smell of Success and half of his normal pay for Marty . He eventually sued for breach of contract to gain back some of this money in 1957. Without Hill, Hecht and Lancaster produced The Kentuckian in 1955. It

6460-530: The title was revealed to be Crimes of the Future . It was shot in Greece during the summer of 2021, and competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival . Cronenberg's next film The Shrouds is set to premier at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition, and be released theatrically in September 2024. One of Cronenberg's earliest unproduced film concepts was Roger Pagan, Gynecologist , about

6555-410: The top grossers of the year, taking in more than $ 2 million. In 1948, Lancaster had a change of pace with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller 's All My Sons , made at Universal Pictures with Edward G. Robinson . His third film for Wallis was an adaptation of Sorry, Wrong Number in 1948, with Barbara Stanwyck . Hecht kept to his promise to Lancaster to turn producer. The two of them formed

6650-421: The whole story because that bores me and I just don't have any emotional or intellectual respect for it, frankly. Cronenberg has appeared on various "Greatest Director" lists. In 2004, Science Fiction magazine Strange Horizons named him the second greatest director in the history of the genre, ahead of better known directors such as Steven Spielberg , James Cameron , Jean-Luc Godard , and Ridley Scott . In

6745-446: The world". Instead—much like in his earlier film, Videodrome —he consistently blurred the lines between what appeared to be reality and what appeared to be hallucinations brought on by the main character's drug addiction. Some of the book's "moments" (as well as incidents loosely based upon Burroughs' life) are presented in this manner within the film. Cronenberg stated that while writing the screenplay for Naked Lunch (1991), he felt

6840-494: Was Marty in 1955, based on Paddy Chayefsky 's TV play starring Ernest Borgnine and directed by Delbert Mann . It won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Palme d'Or award at Cannes and Borgnine an Best Actor Oscar . It also earned $ 2 million on a budget of $ 350,000. Vera Cruz had been a huge success, but Marty secured Hecht-Lancaster as one of the most successful independent production companies in Hollywood at

6935-554: Was a box office hit making $ 60 million. Cronenberg has not generally worked within the world of big-budget, mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, although he has had occasional near misses. At one stage he was considered by George Lucas as a possible director for Return of the Jedi (1983) but turned down the offer. Since Dead Ringers (1988), Cronenberg has worked with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky on each of his films (see List of film director and cinematographer collaborations ). Suschitzky

7030-572: Was a critical success but a commercial disappointment. Over the years it has come to be regarded as one of Lancaster's greatest films. HHL produced seven additional films in the late 1950s. Four starred Lancaster: Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), a Robert Wise directed war film with Clark Gable , which was mildly popular; Separate Tables (1958) a hotel-set drama with Kerr and Rita Hayworth (who married James Hill), which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Oscar awards for lead actor David Niven and supporting actress Wendy Hiller , and

7125-463: Was a member of the French Foreign Legion . Robert Aldrich worked on the movie as a production manager. The second was 1952's The First Time , a comedy which was the directorial debut of Frank Tashlin . It was meant to star Lancaster but he wound up not appearing in the film – the first of their productions in which he did not act. In 1951, the actor/producer duo changed

7220-493: Was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in films and television series. He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor (winning once), and he also won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor. The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as # 19 of

7315-429: Was based— his dissatisfaction with what he envisioned the film to be and what it ended up being pained him so greatly that, for a time, he suffered a migraine just thinking about it, akin to a needle piercing his eye. In 1993, Cronenberg signed a deal with Paragon Entertainment Corporation in which he would create a six-part television series for CBC Television . Cronenberg started writing it on August 1, and filming

7410-577: Was born in Baltimore, Maryland , and his mother was born in Toronto; all of his grandparents were Jews from Lithuania . Milton wrote some short stories for True Detective and had a column in the Toronto Telegram for around thirty years. The Cronenberg household was full of a wide variety of books, and Cronenberg's father tried to introduce his son to art films such as The Seventh Seal , although at

7505-425: Was borrowed by 20th Century Fox for Mister 880 in 1950, a comedy with Edmund Gwenn . MGM put him in a popular Western, Vengeance Valley in 1951, then he went to Warners to play the title role in the biopic Jim Thorpe – All-American , also in 1951. Norma signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to make two films through a Norma subsidiary, Halburt. The first film was 1951's Ten Tall Men , where Lancaster

7600-534: Was both a critical and commercial success; The Devil's Disciple (1959), with Douglas and Laurence Olivier , which lost money (and saw Lancaster fire Mackendrick during shooting); and the Western The Unforgiven (1960), with Audrey Hepburn , which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Three were made without Lancaster, all of which lost money: The Bachelor Party (1957), from another TV play by Chayefsky, and directed by Delbert Mann; Take

7695-426: Was directed by Lewis Allen . Then producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in 1946's The Killers , which was completed and released prior to Desert Fury . Directed by Robert Siodmak , it was a great commercial and critical success and launched Lancaster and his co-star Ava Gardner to stardom. It has since come to be regarded as a classic. Hellinger used Lancaster again on Brute Force in 1947,

7790-428: Was directed by Lancaster in his directorial debut, and he also played a lead role. Lancaster disliked directing and only did it once more, on 1974's The Midnight Man . Lancaster still had commitments with Wallis, and made The Rose Tattoo for him in 1955, starring with Anna Magnani and Daniel Mann directing. It was very popular at the box office and critically acclaimed, winning Magnani an Oscar. In 1955, Hill

7885-455: Was encouraged to audition for a Broadway play by a producer who saw him in an elevator while he was visiting his then-girlfriend at work. The audition was successful and Lancaster was cast in Harry Brown 's A Sound of Hunting (1945). The show only ran three weeks, but his performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht . Lancaster had other offers but Hecht promised him

7980-798: Was made an Officer of the Order of Canada , and was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada (the order's highest rank) in 2014. In 2006 he was awarded the Cannes Film Festival 's lifetime achievement award, the Carrosse d'Or. In 2009 Cronenberg received the Légion d'honneur from the government of France. The following year Cronenberg was named an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society , Trinity College Dublin . In 2012, he received

8075-469: Was made an equal partner in Hecht-Lancaster, with his name added to the production company. Hecht-Hill-Lancaster (HHL) released their first film Trapeze in 1956, with Lancaster performing many of his own stunts. The film, co-starring Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida , went on to become the production company's top box office success, and United Artists expanded its deal with HHL. In 1956, Lancaster and Hecht partnered with Loring Buzzell and entered

8170-536: Was meant to begin in February 1994 using 35 mm film. The show was set in 2010 and was about members of The Flesh Squad police force. Carol Reynolds, the president of Paragon Entertainment, stated that each episode would cost between $ 500,000-600,000. In the October 2011 edition of Rue Morgue , Cronenberg stated that he has written a companion piece to his 1986 remake of The Fly , which he would like to direct if given

8265-494: Was offered the role of director for Witness while it was under the name Come Home , but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish". He was also offered the director's position for Flashdance , Top Gun , and Beverly Hills Cop . Marc Boyman offered Cronenberg the position of director for The Incubus , but declined although this led to Boyman producing The Fly and Dead Ringers . Cronenberg also worked for nearly

8360-733: Was produced by Kramer and directed by John Cassavetes . He went to Italy to star in The Leopard (1963) for Luchino Visconti , co-starring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale . It was one of Lancaster's favorite films and was a big hit in France but failed in the US (though the version released was much truncated). He had a small role in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) for producer/star Kirk Douglas, and then did two for Frankenheimer: Seven Days in May (1964),

8455-570: Was produced by independent British producer Jeremy Thomas . On television, he has appeared in the recurring roles of Dr. Brezzel in Season 3 of Alias , and Kovich in seasons 3, 4, and 5 of Star Trek: Discovery . He has also had main roles as Reverend Verrenger in Alias Grace , and Spencer Galloway in Slasher: Flesh & Blood . In 2012, his film Cosmopolis competed for the Palme d'Or at

8550-512: Was published on YouTube. The film was commissioned for "David Cronenberg – The Exhibition" at EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam and was available on YouTube for the duration of the exhibition, until September 14, 2014. Also in 2014, Cronenberg published his first novel, Consumed . In a May 2016 interview, Viggo Mortensen revealed that Cronenberg is considering retiring due to difficulty financing his film projects. Cronenberg appears as himself in

8645-609: Was shot in China, Spider , and Eastern Promises (2007), which were both filmed primarily in England, and A Dangerous Method (2011), which was filmed in Germany and Austria. Rabid and Shivers were shot in and around Montreal . Most of his films have been at least partially financed by Telefilm Canada , and Cronenberg, a vocal supporter of government-backed film projects, has said: "Every country needs [a system of government grants ] to have

8740-585: Was shown internationally following the conclusion of the TIFF showing on January 19, 2014. In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in recognition 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 . Best Picture Best Director Best Screenplay Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994)

8835-497: Was the "first important film" he ever saw, citing the moment when Bambi's mother died as particularly powerful. Cronenberg even wished to screen Bambi as part of a museum exhibition of his influences, but Disney refused him permission. In terms of conventional horror films that frightened him, Cronenberg cited Don't Look Now . Cronenberg attended Dewson Street Public School, Kent Senior School, Harbord Collegiate Institute and North Toronto Collegiate Institute . He enrolled at

8930-430: Was the director of photography for The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Cronenberg remarked that Suschitzky's work in that film "was the only one of those movies that actually looked good", which was a motivating factor to work with him on Dead Ringers . Cronenberg has collaborated with composer Howard Shore on all of his films since The Brood (1979), (see List of film director and composer collaborations ) with

9025-415: Was used as a set during the filming of David Cronenberg 's 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King 's horror novel The Dead Zone . 43°08′43″N 79°08′42″W  /  43.14518°N 79.14497°W  / 43.14518; -79.14497 David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg CC OOnt (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He

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