The David Cronenberg movie Francis Ford Coppola hated with a passion: “Totally against it”
There aren’t many directors in the world who can boast a better career than Francis Ford Coppola. The filmmaker behind some of the greatest movies ever made has tried his hand at almost everything.
But while he is certainly well-versed in many different genres, an out-and-out horror movie has never really featured in his lexicon. Bram Stoker’s Dracula might have all the hallmarks of a horror movie, but there is little content within it beyond being mildly chilling. No, Coppola must succumb to the greats of the genre when discussing scary movies.
The horror genre has gone through countless transformations since the silent era, as talented filmmakers have pushed the boundaries of the medium. Among them, the contributions of David Cronenberg will always stand out as his interpretation of body horror has resonated with thousands of film fans all over the world. Engaging with mainstream media trends as well as complex philosophical frameworks, Cronenberg’s cinematic vision is simply transcendental.
Within his illustrious filmography, Cronenberg’s 1996 erotic masterpiece Crash still manages to generate a lot of discourse about its incredible examination of human sexuality and the relentless onslaught of modernity. Based on JG Ballard’s fascinating eponymous novel, the movie stars James Spader as a producer who survives a dangerous car crash and finds himself drawn to a group of eccentric perverts who draw sexual pleasure from auto accidents.
Cronenberg’s immaculate method of framing the union between the human body and the mechanical skeletons of cars is astounding, drawing us into a unique vision of the post-human experience where the physical limitations of our mortality synthesise with our technological constructs. Crash received mixed criticism at the time of its release, but it ended up winning the Special Jury Prize at Cannes “for originality, for daring, and for audacity”.
That year, Francis Ford Coppola was the head of the jury, and according to Cronenberg, he didn’t like Crash at all and tried his best to prevent the movie from winning. Cronenberg said: “Coppola was totally against it… I think he was the primary one. When I’m asked why [Crash] got this Special Jury Award, well, I think it was the jury’s attempt to get around the Coppola negativity because they had the power to create their own award without the president’s approval. And that’s how they did it, but it was Coppola who was certainly against it.”
The Videodrome director added, “The strange thing is that I’ve run into him several times at various festivals. Always, the first thing he says is: ‘Remember, we gave you this award.’ I swore to myself that the next time he said that, I was going to remind him that he was not amongst those who wanted to give (Crash) a prize. In fact, during the final closing night ceremony, he wouldn’t hand me the award. He had someone else hand it to me. He wouldn’t do it himself.”
While discussing the issue with The Canadian Press, Cronenberg criticised Coppola’s petty reservations about Crash because such a decision is always based on the collective consensus of a jury. The Candian auteur cited his own experience as the President of the Cannes Jury, claiming that there were times when he disapproved of a decision but listened to the entire group. “You have to be gracious about it,” he added. “I don’t think he was very gracious.”
Filmmaking is a competitive sport. Vying for the next big budget or the studio’s approval means you are constantly having to measure yourself against others. Add to this the plague of box office returns and Oscars-awarded, and you have a recipe for unsportsmanlike behaviour. It doesn’t matter if you’re a horror genius like Cronenberg, you will always have your enemies, even if they are one of the greatest directors of all time.
