If you’re a huge David Cronenberg fan like I am, and feel ashamed that you still haven’t seen EASTERN PROMISES yet, then here is a treat for all of us.
MTV News’ Kurt Loder had an exclusive sit down with the twisted minded director. The interview with Cronenberg talks about everything from his new release EASTERN PROMISES, to his gut wrenching grizzly body of work that has made him an icon in horror history. It is very lengthy but man is it awesome. Here is a quick excerpt:
Loder: What kind of scripts do you get? Do people bring you strange material?
Cronenberg: I like it when people send me stuff that’s unlikely — a light comedy or a musical or something. I was actually asked to direct “Flashdance.” And “Top Gun,” as well.
Loder: You’d have made them very differently, I’d imagine …
Cronenberg: They would have been flops if I had directed them. I would have tried to subvert “Flashdance,” I can tell you that. So I said, “I wouldn’t be doing you a favor to direct this movie.”
Loder: Might you ever return to sci-fi?
Cronenberg: I like genre stuff. After all, “Eastern Promises” is a genre movie — it’s a film noir, a crime movie. I think you can use the conventions of a genre film for strength. I did that with “The Fly.” There were things we could deal with in “The Fly” that, if it had been a normal drama, people would have thought were too depressing. Really [the film’s about] two people, they fall in love, one of them gets a hideous wasting disease, and then his lover helps him kill himself. But because it’s within the sci-fi horror genre, people don’t find it so depressing.
Loder: Are there other sci-fi books you’ve always thought about?
Cronenberg: I like Philip K. Dick. I think there are about a thousand movies you could make out of his work, and they keep making really bad versions of it. I was involved for a while in “Total Recall.” I was going to direct that. I had a disagreement with the producers.
Loder: What did they want?
Cronenberg: Put it this way: I wanted William Hurt to star in it and it ended up being Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Oh lord, if I could only live in a world where David Cronenberg directed TOTAL RECALL, with William Hurt…oh the possibilities. But it is a sad fact that I don’t live in that world. I can and will look forward to EASTERN PROMISES though as should all of you and you should also read the interview here, it’s pretty amazing.