FEATURES David Cronenberg opfeatures@en The buzz is out, but will Canada’s “King of Venereal Horror” be at the Oscars? By Kevin Welsh, OP Features Editor When speaking of great Canadian filmmakers, the con- versation inevitably swings towards the incomparable Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof, Agnes of God, The Hurricane), who has been making Oscar-caliber films for decades, or Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter), whose films are always championed by critics yet ignored by Hollywood and the masses. An un-obvious choice, though, would be David Cronenberg, a man who’s been making grisly, far-fetched, biological horror films for decades. However, 2005 could finally be the year where Cronenberg claims his rightful place among Canada’s greatest filmmakers thanks to his film, A History of Violence. Starring Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings), Ed Harris (The Truman Show), and William Hurt (Dark Cit), A History of Violence revolves around the life of a mild- mannered storeowner (Mortensen), and how his and his life is impacted when he’s forced to use deadly violence to thwart an attempted robbery. family’s To date, Cronenberg has received seven nominations for A History of Violence, including nods from the presti- gious Cannes Film Festival and his first ever Golden Globe nomination. From the seven nominations Cronenberg has earned, four are Best Director nods from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Online Film Critics Society, the Toronto Films Critics Association, and the National (US) Society of Film Critics. Cronenberg is no stranger to awards and nominations. His films have frequently competed for the Golden Palm (Best Film) Award at Cannes, and though he has yet to win, his 1996 film, the controversial Crash, did prompt the organizers at Cannes to create a “Special Jury Prize for Cinematic Audacity.” He has also had fantastic results from the Canadian Genie Awards, where he has earned the Best Achievement in Direction awards five times for Spider (2002), Crash (1996), Naked Lunch (1991), Dead Ringers (1988), and Videodrome (1983-tying with Bob Clark who directed _A Christmas Story). Cronenberg was also nominated for the award in 1981 for Scanners. A History of Violence will not be up for any Genie awards this year as the film was heavily financed with American money, something that has rarely been the case in Cronenberg’s career. Cronenberg is known as the “King of Venereal Horror,” and for good reason. He began his film making career making low-budget, gory horror films obsessed with medical tampering and biological mutation. His first film, Shivers (1975) was about an experimental parasite that could enter the human body and take over the duties of ailing organs. Naturally, the parasites actually turn everybody into sex-crazed, bloodthirsty maniacs. After Shivers came Rabid (1977), where an experimental plastic surgery technique turns a young lady into a bloodthirsty, sex-crazed, mosquito-woman who spreads rabies when she has sex. The Brood (1979) was about an experimental anger management therapy that caused a woman to give birth to a group of killer, mutant children. Scanners (1981) nancy medication that caused children to be born with , was about an experimental preg- destructive telepathic powers. 7deodrome (1983) revolved around a mysterious television show that caused viewers to hallucinate and develop mortal tumours. Based largely on the surprising commercial and critical success of Scanners and Videodrome, Cronenberg was allowed an opportunity to direct mainstream American pictures. In 1983, he was offered the opportunity to direct Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but turned it down. Instead, he filmed Stephen King’s novel The Dead Zone. Cronenberg’s next picture wasn’t until 1986, when he remade The Fiy. Since then, however, Cronenberg has returned to his independent, Canadian roots. And though he has remained faithful to his obsession with biological and human tampering, he-has strayed from gory horror into psychological thriller territory. In 1988, he made Dead Ringers, a disturbing look at the psychological link between twins. After Dead Ringers, Cronenberg has made Naked Lunch (1991), M. Butterfly (1993), Crash (1996), eXzstenZ (1999), and Spider (2002). Despite the bizarre and, often, distasteful subject mat- ter of his films, Cronenberg has always been able to attract A-list actors to his sets. Throughout his career, Cronenberg has worked with Oliver Reed, Patrick McGoohan, James Woods, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Jeremy Irons, Peter Weller, James Spader, Debra Unger Kerr, Jude Law, and Ralph Fiennes. A History of Violence has benefited from fine per- formances by Mortensen, Harris, Hurt, and Maura Biello, and there’s Oscar buzz about the performances, as well. Though Cronenberg has always had his share of criti- cal praise, and has received a total of 54 individual award nominations and has won 30 of those awards, it is the Academy Awards that continue to elude him. Cronenberg and his films have been ignored before; perhaps most notably being Jeff Goldblum’s Oscar worthy performance in The Fy, and Jeremy Irons’ magnificent turn as the dis- turbed twins in Dead Ringers. Granted, horror films have never fared well at the Academy’s annual ball, but there is hope for A History of Violence. The Golden Globe awards, which are handed out a few weeks before the Oscar nominations are announced, are often accurate in predicting who will get the nod in what category. That Cronenberg received a nomination for directing A History of Violence would seem to bode well. However, the Oscars are often reserved for main- stream, commercially dominant directors that stray well away from the experimental biological and medical terri- tory. They like their subject matter more palatable and a little safer. Yet, A History of Violence is Cronenberg’s most univer- sally accessible film; dealing with the impact of violence on the human psyche, and not the impact of medical deviancy on the human body, and so it would come as lit- tle surprise if a nomination was earned. Then, perhaps Cronenberg, the un-obvious choice as one of Canada’s greatest filmmakers, could finally become an obvious choice.