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Viggo Mortensen says he will begin shooting with Cronenberg in the summer. It's from an original script written years ago, and is hinted at in the interview that it could be a return to body horror.

David Cronenberg to film Crimes of the Future in Greece this summer

The article clarifies that Crimes of the Future is just a working title, but this is almost certainly the project that Viggo Mortensen alluded to in February, which he described as Cronenberg "going maybe a little bit back to his origins."

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:01 pm David Cronenberg to film Crimes of the Future in Greece this summer

More details. Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, and Don McKellar will star (among others) and Neon will be the U.S. distributor. There's also a plot synopsis that sounds very much like vintage Cronenberg, about a man whose "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome" causes him to grow new organs that he has publicly removed as a sort of ongoing performance art piece.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:53 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:01 pm David Cronenberg to film Crimes of the Future in Greece this summer

More details. Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, and Don McKellar will star (among others) and Neon will be the U.S. distributor. There's also a plot synopsis that sounds very much like vintage Cronenberg, about a man whose "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome" causes him to grow new organs that he has publicly removed as a sort of ongoing performance art piece.

I read some speculation that this might be evolved from what was Painkiller, a project he was said to be working on years ago with the possibility of Nicolas Cage as it's star.

Really nice cast.

And Carol Spier and Howard Shore are back.

I am over the moon.

And this’ll be his first original work since eXistenZ. Be interesting to see how or if this intersects with the previous short feature (has anyone ever come up with a filmic term that’s the equivalent to a novella?).

Adam X wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:18 am And this’ll be his first original work since eXistenZ.

Jesus, that's an excellent point - I never realized how the overwhelming majority of his work came from adaptations (at least when he became a well-known auteur). Then again, that may be true for a lot of directors.

Hardly any of Stanley Kubrick’s films were “original” in that sense.

MichaelB wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:46 pm Hardly any of Stanley Kubrick’s films were “original” in that sense.

He came to mind, as well as Scorsese and many others who worked primarily with the major studios...original scripts seem far more common with indie filmmakers (Jarmusch, Tarantino, etc.) but that's just a cursory assessment.

First original film work since eXistenZ, as we should not forget his novel Consumed.

Cronenberg is one of my top 5 living directors and eXistenZ is my second favorite film of his after Videodrome so I am so ready for him to go original and bizarre on this new one.

Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars were interesting but probably two of my least favorite films by him so here's hoping this hits that early Cronenberg oomph.

I thought he was unofficially retired from filmmaking. Maybe seeing his son do the rather excellent Possessor juiced him up.

Here's a video where about half way through Rob starts talking more about the script, which he read about 20 years ago (so likely not the exact current version of the script). He says it has nothing to do with the original hour-long Crimes of the Future, but I think just from the synopsis of this new one you can see the "spiritual" connection between the two.

Shooting started recently and some new cast and crew have emerged. Most notable to me being that the DP is Douglas Koch, not Peter Suschitzky. I think that maybe The Fly was the last time Cronenberg had a DP that wasn't Suschitzky?

Persona wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:25 am Shooting started recently and some new cast and crew have emerged. Most notable to me being that the DP is Douglas Koch, not Peter Suschitzky. I think that maybe The Fly was the last time Cronenberg had a DP that wasn't Suschitzky?

Yes, and I think it was mentioned on one of the extra features on his films (maybe Mark Irwin's commentary track on Videodrome?) that Cronenberg likes to keep a consistent crew as much as possible. The main reason for the last big change from Mark Irwin (who was Cronenberg's cinematographer from Fast Company in 1979 to The Fly in 1986) was because Irwin had moved to the US and was busy working on the remake of The Blob that clashed with the production of Dead Ringers, so Cronenberg replaced him with Suschitzky and never went back to Irwin. It is pure speculation but it may be due to Suschitzky's advancing age, given that he is 80 years old now (his last work however was as recently as 2015 with Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales), whereas Koch is just in his 60s (it might be interesting to note that Koch was DoP on Don McKellar's Last Night from 1998 in which Cronenberg had an acting role), but it might lead to this new film looking a bit different.

Suschitzky also shot a short film last year but yeah I'd suspect that maybe he just wasn't quite up for an overseas feature film shoot.

I am very intrigued to see what Koch's impact on the visuals might be. It is possible that it ends up conforming to what we're accustomed to with "recent" Cronenberg but I kind of feel like Cronenberg lets his DPs really direct the photography, you know. There is a pronounced visual difference between his films with Irwin and his films with Suschitzky.

Koch also shot THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE for Don McKellar, a film that starred Tanaya Beatty, recently announced as part of the CRIMES OF THE FUTURE cast. McKellar's influence looms large, ha.

Koch's work to date is very different from Suschitzky's. More movement and steadicam, less stylized lighting. So I am very curious about this collaboration with Cronenberg. I have a ton of respect for the majority of what Suschitzky has done but for whatever reason MAPS TO THE STARS was a real eyesore to me, so I can't say I am disappointed that someone else is shooting the new one.

Persona wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:09 pmMcKellar's influence looms large, ha.

Why does none of the press (nor anyone in his thread) for this new film mention his earlier film of the same name? I feel like I'm hallucinating. Is this a remake? Is the previous film unmentionable for some reason? What gives?

When this was first announced, I read mentions of his previous film in the press not linked in this thread. The Screen Daily link within this thread is not working for me, but it was bad form that the Deadline article didn't mention the previous film briefly—maybe a sentence minimum and maximum. I don't know if it's a remake, but I know it doesn't matter.

According to an interview with Viggo Mortensen back in April, the new film is based on an old script of Cronenberg's that never got made. So not a remake, I guess.

Because I have both Fast Company and The Brood on blu-ray, I guess I own two copies of the original Crimes of the Future. Should probably watch it someday.

It's awful, as is Stereo

I don't think it's awful. It's obviously extremely low budget and very rough in a lot of ways, but it's still fascinating.

I don't think it's being mentioned a lot because this is not really a remake and I don't think Cronenberg would want anyone to confuse it as such. It's obvious just reading the plot synopsis for this new film that it is not remotely the same narrative as the original Crimes of the Future. It seems to share a couple base concepts, even those taking a different form here, and that's about it.

I also heard that Crimes of the Future is only a working title for this new one, though I suspect it might stick.

Suchwas McTeague wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 4:31 am Why does none of the press (nor anyone in his thread) for this new film mention his earlier film of the same name? I feel like I'm hallucinating. Is this a remake? Is the previous film unmentionable for some reason? What gives?

Uh, it was mentioned in this thread.

See my post back on May 1st.

Persona wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:38 pm I don't think it's being mentioned a lot because this is not really a remake and I don't think Cronenberg would want anyone to confuse it as such.

Then why on earth have the same name?

I don't care if it is or isn't a remake, it's just odd to me the lack of basic journalistic curiosity and due diligence.

Suppose Tarantino said "Hey fellas, my tenth and final film will be called Reservoir Dogs. It's based on a script I wrote thirty years ago about a heist gone wrong." Wouldn't and shouldn't people immediately wonder what was going on?

Perhaps the title is a general referral to his entire "oeuvre" - a summation of his interests. Lots of late-period films and other works seem to be just that. Eyes Wide Shut was Kubrick's most self-referential movie (quoting or paraphrasing almost every one of his earlier flicks; lots of biographical elements, etc.) for example.

It's been mentioned sufficiently by journalists, and the title's subject to change. If it hasn't been mentioned as much to your liking, then it's perhaps because it really doesn't matter and leads to futile speculation. Obviously, Cronenberg juvenilia that cannot sustain its own hard-copy release isn't tantamount to a Tarantino film that people base their entire personalities off of. After the great A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis and fun Maps of the Stars, I'm just grateful Cronenberg's back. This seems likely to debut at Cannes in May 2022; there'll be plenty of time to perform a side-by-side comparison then, if still desired.

Suchwas McTeague wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:32 am

Persona wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:38 pm I don't think it's being mentioned a lot because this is not really a remake and I don't think Cronenberg would want anyone to confuse it as such.

Then why on earth have the same name?

I don't care if it is or isn't a remake, it's just odd to me the lack of basic journalistic curiosity and due diligence.

Suppose Tarantino said "Hey fellas, my tenth and final film will be called Reservoir Dogs. It's based on a script I wrote thirty years ago about a heist gone wrong." Wouldn't and shouldn't people immediately wonder what was going on?

Perhaps the title is a general referral to his entire "oeuvre" - a summation of his interests. Lots of late-period films and other works seem to be just that. Eyes Wide Shut was Kubrick's most self-referential movie (quoting or paraphrasing almost every one of his earlier flicks; lots of biographical elements, etc.) for example.

I feel like Cronenberg explains it more than sufficiently towards the end of this interview.

IMDB lists the editor for this Crimes of the Future as Christopher Donaldson (instead of long-time collaborator Ronald Sanders). Aside from Take This Waltz, Donaldson is most known for his TV work on series like Penny Dreadful, American Gods, and Handmaid's Tale. I believe he has only worked with Cronenberg once before, as an assistant editor on eXistenZ.

I am increasingly intrigued by what this film is going to be like. A throwback to early and mid-era Cronenberg in terms of subject matter, some regulars still on board like Shore and Spier and Mortensen, but a whole lot of "new" faces in the cast and key crew and shooting in Greece.