The Playlist

5 "Unfilmable" Novels That Became Movies & 5 More That Are On The Way

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 17, 2012 11:59 AM
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22 Comments

Features

Like a red rag to a bull, the term "unfilmable novel" elicits about the same reaction for filmmakers as it does for Chief Wiggum in "The Simpsons" when he tells Ralph not to go into "the forbidden closet of mystery." Some of the greatest works of literature have been deemed, correctly or not, as unfilmable, and yet writers, directors, producers and stars keep trying, either developing such projects for years with no success, or very occasionally getting the films financed, usually with mixed success.

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David Cronenberg Calls 'The Dark Knight' Movies "Boring," Says Christopher Nolan's Best Film Is 'Memento'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 15, 2012 4:51 PM
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197 Comments

News

For those of you have queued up to see "The Dark Knight Rises" three or four times now, and are ready to proclaim it as a filmmaking masterwork, David Cronenberg has got a news flash for y'all. “A superhero movie, by definition, you know, it’s comic book. It’s for kids. It’s adolescent in its core,” Cronenberg recently told Next Movie. “That has always been its appeal, and I think people who are saying ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is, you know, supreme cinema art, I don’t think they know what the fuck they’re talking about.” Looks like the director brought some burn sauce with him from Canada on his press rounds for "Cosmopolis."

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Review: David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis' Is Both An Excellent Adaptation & A Rich, Complex Character Study

By Simon Abrams
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August 15, 2012 10:05 AM
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4 Comments

Reviews

"Cosmopolis," an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s typically provocative novel of the same name, is the first feature film since 1999's "eXistenZ" that filmmaker David Cronenberg has directed and scripted. This in part explains why "Cosmopolis" is such a triumph: it’s both an exceptional adaptation and a remarkable work unto itself. Cronenberg makes slight but salient changes to DeLillo’s source narrative. These changes, which are best described by one character as “slight variation[s],” prove that Cronenberg’s given serious consideration to what should and shouldn’t be represented in his adaptation of the author’s ruminative, conversation-driven narrative. For example, in Cronenberg’s film, Eric Packer (a surprisingly adequate Robert Pattinson), an ambivalent and self-destructive power broker, does not get to have sex with his wife like he’s wanted to do throughout DeLillo’s book. Other changes, like the fact that Packer is investing and studying the steady rise in the Chinese yuan in the film and not the Japanese yen, as in the book, are equally striking. These differences noticeably enrich DeLillo’s original story, making Cronenberg’s "Cosmopolis" that much more rewarding in its own dizzying way.

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Exclusive: Focus Features Pull The Plug On David Cronenberg's 'Eastern Promises 2'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 14, 2012 2:31 PM
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9 Comments

News

For a director as fearsomely original as David Cronenberg, he's hasn't necessarily shied away from sequels, they just haven't come to fruition. He penned a remake/reboot of "The Fly" for 20th Century Fox, although the studio scrapped it, and more recently, it looked like he was actually going to make the long-talked about "Eastern Promises 2," a sequel to his 2006 gangster picture, with original writer Steven Knight again penning a script, and Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassel both set to return.

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Exclusive: 2 New Images From David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis' Starring Robert Pattinson

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 13, 2012 4:37 PM
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0 Comments

News

It might seem like we're in the dwindling days of the summer movie season, what with selection at your local theater waning, but this weekend a brace of talented thesps and an acclaimed director will make their way to cinemas in one of the Cannes Film Festival's most talked about movies.

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Watch: U.S. Trailer For David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis'

By Edward Davis
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July 12, 2012 10:24 AM
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19 Comments

News

David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis" appears to be a curious film. It's certainly not a summer tentpole, but the picture is nonetheless being released in early August, the week after "The Bourne Legacy" hits theaters. Counter-programming, or does everyone just have faith in the drawing power of its lead, Robert Pattinson?

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Tim Roth To Star In David Cronenberg's Medical Drama 'The Knifeman'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 20, 2012 4:53 PM
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2 Comments

Television

Well, with "Eastern Promises 2" looking like his next feature film, David Cronenberg will take a quick break and move to the small screen first. He's already going to make a rare acting gig in the SyFy pilot "Rewind," and he's got his own TV show brewing in "The Knifeman" which has now found a lead star.

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'Eastern Promises' Sequel Moves Forward With Vincent Cassel Joining Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg Will Direct

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 12:24 PM
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10 Comments

News

Over the last five years or so, reports have kept cropping up of a relatively unlikely sequel: a follow-up to 2007's gangster thriller "Eastern Promises," which was directed by David Cronenberg, and starred Viggo Mortensen as a heavily tattooed low-level Russian mobster who helps a nurse (Naomi Watts) protect a baby targeted by the criminals, including his near-psychotic pal (Vincent Cassel). Given that the film had a slightly-too-neat twist whereby it was revealed that Mortensen's character was actually an undercover FSB agent, it was certainly set up for a follow-up, and recently, both Cronenberg and his star have both said that there's a script that they like, and that they were keen to make the film.

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David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis' Starring Robert Pattinson Hits U.S. Theaters On August 17th

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 7, 2012 12:22 PM
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16 Comments

News

Fresh from its red carpet premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, word was mixed to positive for David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis," his suddenly of-the-moment adaptation of Don DeLillo's acclaimed novel featuring a pretty good leading turn by Robert Pattinson. The film opens in Canada this weekend and the U.K. next week, but don't worry U.S. fans, you won't have to wait too long.

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David Cronenberg Talks The Bizarre Love In 'Cosmopolis' Between Paul Giamatti & Robert Pattinson; Discusses The Film's Timely Social Relevance & More

By Edward Davis
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May 29, 2012 3:49 PM
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0 Comments

Features

An adaptation of Don DeLillo’s titular and typically provocative novel, "Cosmopolis," is the first feature-length effort filmmaker David Cronenberg wrote himself since 1999's "eXistenZ." Cronenberg penned the screenplay in six days, and literally transcribed DeLillo's dialogue word for word in many scenes. Featuring an unlikely star in the lead, "Twilight" hearthrob Robert Pattinson, and set in the not-too-distant-future of New York, "Cosmopolis" centers on a 28-year-old billionaire and uncontested Wall Street king, Eric Packer. A financial golden boy living the dream, yet bored with his effortless existence, Parker's day takes a turn for the worse when a dark shadow is cast over the firmament of the Wall Street galaxy. As his empire potentially crumbles, an eruption of wild activity unfolds in the city's streets and Packer's paranoia intensifies during the course of his 24-hour odyssey and leads him to cross paths with a cast of characters that threaten to destroy his world.

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