Wow, the intertubes are ablaze with David Cronenberg news today.
And there are lots of David Cronenberg fans here at Twitch. Not just because we are somewhat Canada-based, but because the man's carreer has been a delight to follow, including many classics, interesting experiments and even some baffling bombs.
But a huge commercial blockbuster? That's new!
Sure, some of his films have been successfull not only critically but also financially, but get a load of this:
Denzel Washington
Tom Cruise (in negotiations...)
Robert Ludlum's "The Matarese Circle"
...and David Cronenberg is directing it, according to the Hollywood Reporter website.
I remember the novel being near-legendary when it was released with the Iron Curtain still up in full force, but I'm not sure the impact will be the same today. It originally established an evil so big, so important and so vile it took the collaboration between Russian and American spies to tackle it, even though these spies knew each other and were mortal enemies. But now we're all buddybuddy it makes me wonder what Cronenberg will do with this angle...
But I'm sure it will be fun to find out. Normally we'd drop news like this with a "Duck & Run" warning, but this time, hmmmmmm...
What do you all think?
I had a hard time making through the book. I'm not really a Ludlum fan... But how can you not be excited when Cronenberg is directing. So who gets the required Cronenberg rough sex scene Denzel or Cruise?
After Spider, History of Violence and Eastern Promises, taking on a big-budget mainstream thriller like this seems natural and is a good step for Cronenberg. It could be the start of the next Ludlum franchise, with something similar to the edginess of the Bourne movies.
What happened to Timecrimes?
Hell yeah! Cronenberg seems to be on top of his game lately, so I'd like to see what he'd do with a big budget flick.
The buddybuddy idea seems a bit out of place and frankly ignorant. Russia has been a totalitarian country since Putin first took over, there is really no democratic process in the Duma and they're playing chicken with Europe's energy needs. I'd say that Cronenberg can do a lot of things with the current situation, should he choose to not ignore it.
This is what I think
http://thejamminjabber.com/2009/02/11/an-open-letter-to-david-cronenberg/
tom cruise is a red flag for me but I at least we'll get a solid movie, i think....hope.
i agree with wisekwai...
It feels like a natural step.
Also, should there really be a problem if a director wants to try something different?
I'm just hoping this isn't Planet of the Apes (Burton) different...
*shudders*
I thought Cronenberg was busy writing a novel of his own ...
Sounds interesting even though the two actors mentioned do nothing for me. I suspect Washington is the US spy right. Would be kind of hard for a black man to be a spy in Russia in those days wouldn't you think? Or is it the old switch a roo with Washington being on the Russian side?
can't wait!!!!... cronenberg knows what the hell he's doing ;-)...
J :-P
You're a witty guy Abrams. I pity you.
Not sure if that was a serious complement or not but I'll take it and a small bow now for no good reason.
big mistake.
I started to look suspiciously at Cronenberg since History of Violence. I didn't really liked it and I couldn't understand all the excitement from that mediocre movie. And although Eastern Promises was a little better, I finally understood that old and good Cronenberg is gone forever. Existenz was his last great masterpiece.
I am not surprised that he is changing his approach to cinema, and directing big budget studio movies with top actors. I already can see in his future a comedy with Adam Sandler, a Superhero movie like Captain America, and live adaptation of anime OVA. Hold your pockets wide.
Do you mean Katsuhiro Otomo? In that case I am not familiar with 'Domu', what is it? And I was thinking more toward Berserk, but I don't think he could handle it.
My apologies, I should have mentioned that "Domu" was a manga, not an anime. It is an older work of Katsuhiro Otomo, made well before Akira, and explores a battle between two telepaths both living in the same huge highrise, with all other tenants being collateral damage.
Being one of his shorter stories, it will lend itself rather well for a film, I think. Better than Akira at least.
Guillermo del Toro had the rights, but got tangled up in some legal affairs over them, preventing him making a movie out of it. Even the publisher of the English-language trade-paperback is no longer allowed to reprint it, and the rights are currently somewhere in legel hell. Ah well, there's always hope...
As for Berserk, good luck to anyone trying to crunch that in a two or three hour movie.
It would be fun to see Cronenburg tackle a knights versus demons sort of movie though...
always thought Domu would make an amazing film, if handled right, though I really think it'd need to be a Japanese-made, or at least set, film.
back to Cronenberg, I love his films (with one or two exceptions) up to, and including, eXistenZ. Almost wrote a thesis based around his films a few years back.
Spider onwards, I've found his films very much leave me wanting so much more. His filmmaking has already entered the mainstream, so a Ludlum book doesn't seem much of a stretch to me. Well made mainstream, but still...
All his best work has been when he's written the script himself, regardless of whether it's original material or not. No doubt I'll still go see it when it comes out, and I've no interest in seeing him retread old ground, when even he doesn't have any interest in doing so, but part of me wishes he would.