Crimes Of The Future [Cronenberg]

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IndieWire wrote:Kristen Stewart and David Cronenberg Tease ‘Crimes of the Future’: Set in a World with No Pain
"Sex has changed quite a bit, and the new art form is growing organs," Stewart says of Cronenberg's latest wild world.

David Cronenberg has not wanted for work these last few years — with recurring roles in TV’s “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Slasher,” and “Alias Grace,” and a few short films in the can. But he hasn’t directed a feature since 2014’s “Maps to the Stars” won Julianne Moore the Best Actress prize at Cannes. He’s finally back behind the camera for “Crimes of the Future,” a speculative science-fiction film with a stacked cast including Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar, and Lihi Kornowski. The film shot in Greece earlier this year.

As revealed in a new interview with Document (via The Film Stage), Cronenberg is currently in the edit on “Crimes of the Future” and working closely with Stewart (whom he cross-interviews for the piece) on the post-production. If all goes well, this should show up at Cannes next year.

“I wrote this script 20 years ago, so it was almost like a script that somebody else wrote. Except for some of the roles that I cast in Athens, with Greek actors, I had never heard any of the dialogue spoken before. So to hear Kristen start to speak the lines of this character, it was a shock! I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is a living creature — out of control, in the sense that it has its life — and it’s coming to life right in front of me.’”

He continued, “I’ve been spending time with Kristen every day, but in the editing room. It’s a weirdly intimate relationship because you become so sensitized, as a director, to every hesitation, every body movement, every vocal inflection. So you have this strange relationship with an actor who doesn’t know that you’re doing that.”

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with Screen Daily hot on the awards trail for her role as Princess Diana in “Spencer,” Stewart offered more insight into the particulars of the movie, and it sounds like the stuff of classic Cronenberg.

“It’s set in a world where people have evolved to a point where we don’t feel physical pain,” Stewart said. “Sex has changed quite a bit, and the new art form is growing organs. Viggo [Mortensen] is a famous performance artist. Léa Seydoux is his partner who tattoos these organs and displays them. My character becomes enamored with Viggo’s artist.”

Read Neon’s previously released synopsis of the film:

Taking a deep dive into the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings. This evolution moves humans beyond their natural state and into a metamorphosis, altering their biological makeup. While some embrace the limitless potential of trans-humanism, others attempt to police it. Either way, ‘Accelerated Evolution Syndrome’ is spreading fast. Saul Tenser is a beloved performance artist who has embraced Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, sprouting new and unexpected organs in his body. Along with his partner Caprice, Tenser has turned the removal of these organs into a spectacle for his loyal followers to marvel at in real-time theatre. But with both the government and a strange subculture taking note, Tenser is forced to consider what would be his most shocking performance of all.

Re: Crimes Of The Future [Cronenberg]

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Bloody Disgusting wrote:‘Crimes of the Future’ – First Reaction to David Cronenberg’s New Movie Promises Something Special

David Cronenberg (Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly, A History of Violence) is on his way back into our lives with a new sci-fi/horror project titled Crimes of the Future that began filming last summer, with the cast including Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen. It’s expected to be a wild one, certainly if this first reaction is any indication.

World of Reel reports that Crimes of the Future has begun to screen for international programmers ahead of a festival debut, likely at Cannes, but that hasn’t yet been confirmed.

An anonymous person reportedly told the site, “I cannot say much, obviously, but if people thought “Crash” was divise back in 1996, this is going to create way more chaos and controversy for sure. The last twenty minutes are a very tough sit. I expect walk-outs, faintings and real panic attacks (I almost had one myself!) at the Lumière theatre. No hyperbole, I promise.”

They added, “[Léa] Seydoux’s role is way too bonkers and RADICAL to contend for a Cannes Best Actress award in my book, but I’d love to be proven wrong. I see no precedent in Cannes for a performance of that caliber/genre gaining momentum with a jury … I mean Seydoux basically plays a (very oft-naked) Gina Pane-like artist of the near future.”

Deadline recently detailed Crimes of the Future, “This is the first original sci-fi script by Cronenberg since 1999’s eXistenZ. It sounds just as ambitious, taking a deep dive into the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings. This evolution moves humans beyond their natural state and into a metamorphosis, altering their biological makeup. While some embrace the limitless potential of trans-humanism, others attempt to police it. Either way, “Accelerated Evolution Syndrome”, is spreading fast.”

In the film, “Saul Tenser is a beloved performance artist who has embraced Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, sprouting new and unexpected organs in his body. Along with his partner Caprice, Tenser has turned the removal of these organs into a spectacle for his loyal followers to marvel at in real time theatre. But with both the government and a strange subculture taking note, Tenser is forced to consider what would be his most shocking performance of all.”

The film’s cast also includes Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar, Lihi Kornowski, Tanaya Beatty, Nadia Litz, Yorgos Karamichos, and Yorgos Pirpassopoulos.

NEON is on board to release Crimes of the Future in the United States.
Source

Re: Crimes Of The Future [Cronenberg]

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As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.
Cannes Competition Official Selection 2022.

Re: Crimes Of The Future [Cronenberg]

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Finally saw this last night. Well, it was definitely a movie. It was a bit shy of 2h long. Viggo and Kristen were indeed in it. I have no idea what the hell any of the rest of it was. What The Fuck: The Movie would be a more accurate title. I don’t know who that was for, either. The “future” in Cronenberg films is always drab, depressing, destroyed, and no one is ever happy. That’s kind of his thing. But this was beyond. It starts with a woman murdering her child, if that helps you understand. If this idea was just something David had to get out of him to put on screen, ok - i can understand that compulsion. But for people to rave about how amazing this film is, come on. You’re saying what you think you’re supposed to say about a Cronenberg film, right? It’s some elaborate joke. If so, bravo. Well played, media trolls. There isn’t really anything rewarding, redeeming, or overly interesting in this. “People have consumed so much microplastic that eventually we have to consume plastic to survive, and we grow new organs and systems to process it.” That’s the big lesson. And yeah, probably. But David has some vague government conspiracy to cover this up, there are law enforcement agencies actively doing so and chasing anyone who tries to violate it. “Chasing” - I should have put that in quotes, as nothing actually happens in any active sense in this film. Also, just for fun, humanity has lost all pain sensations. Like, when he realized the plastics thing wasn’t a feature-length idea, he added this on so he can do weird “performance art” surgery and self-mutilation scenes. It’s quite ridiculous. I hope DC can make another good film before he’s done, but in the meantime, looks like his son is going to be doing the heavy lifting for the family from a creative standpoint.