Back in 2019, David Cronenberg mentioned to me that he had recently pitched a project to Netflix, he didn’t specify what it was, but it piqued the curiosity of many online and got us all excited for his streaming debut.
Well, it turns out, Cronenberg went to Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles, they agreed to pay him to write two episodes, but, ultimately, ended up rejecting the project.
From a Globe and Mail piece:
“My experience with them was exactly my experience with studios,” Cronenberg said. “They’re bright, literate, they know stuff. But underneath they’re afraid. They say, ‘We love your work.’ Then you give them something, and they say, ‘We want to work with you, but not on this.’
Cronenberg, a maverick who has always flown by his own artistic free will, doesn’t adhere to the mainstream; he makes smart, urgent films about his deepest obsessions — parasite-filled, sexually taboo, and ultra-violent art.
He may have been hinting at retirement, with no film released these last six years, but the legendary 78-year-old director is not done. His next one, titled “Crimes of the Future,” just finished shooting in Greece and will star Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, and Scott Speedman. Expect it to World Premiere at Cannes 2022.