30 Fantastic Facts About David Cronenberg You Might Have Missed Before

David Cronenberg, one of the principal originators of the body horror genre, has earned critical acclaim while also sparking controversy for each and every movie of his. Best known for exploring themes like visceral bodily transformation, infection, technology, and the intertwining of the psychological with the physical, he was named as “the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world." He is the recipient of the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, a unique award given only at the request of the official jury. Here are some really interesting facts about the Canadian film director that will blow your mind:

"David Cronenberg, Genie Awards 2012" by Alan Langford is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

1.  Cronenberg was inducted onto Canada's Walk of Fame, awarded the Silver Bear Award at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, in 1999.
2.  He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, in 2002, and was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada (the order's highest rank) in the year 2014.
3.  In the year 2004, Science Fiction magazine Strange Horizons named him the second greatest director in the history of the genre.
4.  Cronenberg was the recipient of the honorary Golden Lion at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, in the year 2008.
5.  He was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in recognition for being "Canada's most celebrated internationally acclaimed filmmaker," in the year 2014.
6.  David Paul Cronenberg was born on March 15, 1943 to Milton Cronenberg and Esther Sumberg in Toronto, Ontario, in a middle-class progressive Jewish family.
7.  His father, a writer and editor, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, while his mother, a musician, was born in Toronto. All of his Jewish grandparents were from Lithuania.
8.  He was father also owned a bookstore, and was a columnist for the Toronto Telegram. His mother was a piano rehearsal accompanist for the Canadian National Ballet.
9.  His sister Denise Cronenberg, was a costume designer, with whom, he frequently collaborated for his movies. She died due to "complications from old age" in May 2020.
10.  He attended high school at Harbord Collegiate Institute and North Toronto Collegiate Institute. During his school days, he was very much interested in science – botany and lepidopterology.

"David Cronenberg With Phil Konstantin" by Officer Phil is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

11.  He first enrolled for the Honours Science Program at the University of Toronto, in the year 1963, but just a year into the program, he switched to Honours English Language and Literature.
12.  He is known to have started writing since his school days, mostly in the science genre. A voracious reader, he enjoyed reading science fiction magazines, encountering authors like Ray Bradbuery and Isaac Asimov, who were influential on his work.
13.  He has often citied “Bambi” as the “first important movie” he has ever watched, and that the moment when Bambi’s mother died, was particularly powerful in influencing him.
14.  The "David Cronenberg: Evolution" Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) exhibition opened on October 30, 2013, which paid tribute to the director's entire filmmaking career.
15.  In 1971, he spent about a year in the small medieval village Tourrettes-sur-Loup, France, possibly in the commune, trying to become a novelist.
16.  He often cities his 1981 movie “Scanners” as the most frustrating movie, he had ever made, as it was rushed through production, as filming commenced without even a finished script.
17.  In 2007, a remake of the movie was announced to be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, but was dropped out after some initial preparations. Bousman claimed in an interview that he would never make the movie without Cronenberg’s blessing, which was not granted.
18.  Cronenberg was awarded the Cannes Film Festival's lifetime achievement award, the Carrosse d'Or, in the year 2006.
19.  It was said that he was all set to direct the 1990 movie “Total Recall,” and even had a few drafts of the script ready, but Paul Verhoeven was hired at last.
20.  In fact, in order to direct “Total Recall,” he even turned down his chance to direct his most famous movie “The Fly.” But with “Total Recall,” being placed into a turnaround, he returned to direct “The Fly.”

"Curzon Q&A: Cosmopolis" by Eleanor Ford is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

21.  For the 2002 movie “Spider,” he received the screenplay from Patrick McGrath, out of the blue, just with a simple note attached that stated “Ralph Fiennes is interested in playing Spider.”
22.  He only read about four pages of the screenplay, before deciding to make the movie. He even deferred his own salary, to make this movie.
23.  He received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in November 1999.
24.  Before he accepted to direct the 1996 movie “Crash,” his agent begged him to instead direct another movie “The Juror,” as his agent felt it would ruin David’s career.
25.  But, David firmly believed in the movie “Crash,” and directed the movie. He went on to get himself a new agent, after this incident.
26.  Cronenberg received the he Légion d'honneur, the highest French order of merit, from the government of France, in the year 2009.
27.  Although the script of the movie “The Fly,” was extensively rewritten, Cronenberg demanded that Charles Edward Pogue still received onscreen credit for the screenplay, as he claimed that he would not have known how to write the script if not for Pogue’s version.
28.  In February 2021, Viggo Mortensen revealed that Cronenberg has refined an older script he had written, which he claimed will resemble the director’s earlier body horror movies.
29.  Two months later, in April 2021, Viggo Mortensen revealed the title of the movie to be “Crimes of the Future,” and stated that it will shot in Greece, during the summer of 2021.
30.  He was ranked at #9 on The Guardian’s list of “The World’s 40 Best Directors.” He was also named as the 17th Greatest Director of All-Time, by Total Film.
31.  David Cronenberg Net Worth: $15 Million