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Brandon Cronenberg

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Brandon Cronenberg
Cronenberg in 2023
Born
Brandon Cronenberg

(1980-01-10) January 10, 1980 (age 44)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma materToronto Metropolitan University
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Years active2008–present
FatherDavid Cronenberg
RelativesCaitlin Cronenberg (sister)
Denise Cronenberg (aunt)
Aaron Woodley (cousin)

Brandon Cronenberg (born January 10, 1980) is a Canadian director and screenwriter.[1] He is the son of renowned filmmaker David Cronenberg and the brother of Caitlin Cronenberg.[2] He is known for his science fiction horror films Antiviral (2012), Possessor (2020) and Infinity Pool (2023). He has won several accolades for his work.[3][4][5]

Early life

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Cronenberg was born in Toronto, the son of filmmakers David Cronenberg and Carolyn Zeifman, and the brother of photographer Caitlin Cronenberg.[2] He also has a half sister, Cassandra, from his father's first marriage. Cronenberg studied film at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada. He initially considered himself to be a "book nerd" growing up, who was interested in becoming a writer, painter, or musician. He came to realize that film contained all those elements and attended film school.[6]

Career

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Antiviral

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In 2008, Cronenberg directed a short film titled Broken Tulips, about people who pay to be injected with viruses that were harvested from celebrities. Cronenberg has stated that the genesis of the film was a viral infection he once had. More precisely, the "central idea came to him in a fever dream during a bout of illness," wrote journalist Jill Lawless.[7][8] It was further shaped when he saw an interview Sarah Michelle Gellar did on Jimmy Kimmel Live!; what struck him was when "she said she was sick and if she sneezed she'd infect the whole audience, and everyone just started cheering."[9]

The short was adapted from a script he was working on for his first feature, Antiviral.[10] Principal photography for the feature film adaptation took place in Hamilton, Ontario and in Toronto.[11]

Antiviral debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.[12][13] Cronenberg and his father both screened films at that year's Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time a father and son screened films together in the festival's history.[2]

Cronenberg re-edited the movie after the festival to make it tighter, trimming nearly six minutes from its running time. The revised version was first shown at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it tied for the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film.[14][3] It later won the Citizen Kane Award for Best Debut Feature at the Sitges Film Festival.[15]

Please Speak Continuously... and Possessor

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In 2019, Cronenberg's short film Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You, starring Deragh Campbell, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Critics' Week section.[16] The film won the Canal+ Grand Prize at L'Étrange Festival in Paris, and in December 2019 was included in TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for short films.[17][18]

Cronenberg stated that visuals for Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You came from experiments he and his cinematographer Karim Hussain were doing for a feature film he was making called Possessor.[19]

Possessor was released the following year, starring Christopher Abbott, Andrea Riseborough, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton and Sean Bean.[20] It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, where US distribution rights were picked up by Neon.[21][22] The film won awards for Best Feature Length Film and Best Direction at the Sitges Film Festival that year, as well as the Grand Prize at the 2021 Gérardmer Film Festival.[4][5] The film also received three nominations at the inaugural Critics' Choice Super Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category, for Best Movie, Best Actor, and Best Actress.[23] It was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's year-end Canada's Top Ten list for feature films.[24]

Infinity Pool

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At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival it was announced that Cronenberg's third feature would be a film called Infinity Pool, based on an original script of his.[25] Infinity Pool stars Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth, and will play at both the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.[26][27] Neon are distributing in the US, with a commercial release set for January 27, 2023.[28]

Upcoming work

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In 2021, it was announced that he would write and direct an adaptation of the J. G. Ballard novel Super-Cannes as a limited series for television.[29]

In June 2024, it was announced that Cronenberg is working with Sam Barlow and Half Mermaid on a sci-fi horror FMV videogame code named Project C. It will be published by Blumhouse Games.[30][31]

Filmography

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Short film

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer Executive
producer
2012 Antiviral Yes Yes No
2020 Possessor Yes Yes No
2023 Infinity Pool Yes Yes Yes

References

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  1. ^ "Brandon Cronenberg | La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes". Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Cronenberg family snapshots". The Globe and Mail. May 28, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "2012 Toronto International Film Festival Winners". Collider. September 16, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b de la Fuente, Anna Marie (October 18, 2020). "Brandon Cronenberg's 'Possessor Uncut' Wins the Sitges Festival's Best Film, Director Awards". Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ^ a b AlloCine (January 31, 2021). "Gérardmer 2021 : Possessor de Brandon Cronenberg et les sauterelles de La Nuée au Palmarès". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Stone, Jay (September 12, 2012). "I was a 'book nerd' not a cinephile, says Cronenberg son". canada.com. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  7. ^ Lawless, Jill (May 22, 2012). "Brandon Cronenberg Is a Chip off the Bloody Block". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  8. ^ "Cronenbergs Bring Father-Son Story to Cannes: Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral a Genre Film Like Father's Early Work". CBC News. May 22, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  9. ^ Johnson, Ron (September 2012). "Time for Cronenberg 2.0". Post City Magazines (September 2012). Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  10. ^ "Interview: "Antiviral" Director Brandon Cronenberg Talks the Horror of Celebrity Obsession". Complex. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Etan, Vlessing (November 3, 2011). "Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell Join 'Antiviral'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  12. ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  13. ^ "Cannes seeing double Cronenbergs". Toronto Sun. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  14. ^ Kirkland, Bruce (September 9, 2012). "Brandon Cronenberg brings first feature film 'Antiviral' home". torontosun.com. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "FESTIVAL ARCHIVES - Sitges Film Festival - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya". sitgesfilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (April 22, 2019). "Cannes Critics' Week Lineup Features 'Vivarium' With Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "L'Etrange 2019: VIVARIUM Wins Grand Prize, THE ODD FAMILY: ZOMBIE ON SALE Wins Audience Award". ScreenAnarchy. September 22, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  18. ^ Norman Wilner, "TIFF announces Canada's top 10 films of 2019". Now, December 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "Sloan Science & Film". www.scienceandfilm.org. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  20. ^ Ritman, Alex (February 10, 2019). "Berlin: Sean Bean, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stacy Martin Board Sci-Fi Thriller 'Possessor'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 27, 2020). "Brandon Cronenberg Sci-Fi Thriller 'Possessor' Acquired By Neon". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Patten, Dominic (December 4, 2019). "Sundance 2020: Angelina Jolie, Robert Redford, Riley Keough, Bruce Lee Docu, Lena Waithe & LGBTQ+ Rights Pack Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "Flights Of Fantasy". Watch Magazine. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  24. ^ Victoria Ahearn, "Toronto International Film Festival releases Top Ten lists for 2020" Archived January 4, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Squamish Chief, December 9, 2020.
  25. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie. "Celluloid Dreams boards Brandon Cronenberg's 'Infinity Pool'". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  26. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (December 8, 2022). "See Sundance First Looks for 25 Buzzy Films, from 'Cat Person' to 'Passages'". IndieWire. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  27. ^ Roxborough, Scott (December 20, 2022). "Berlin Fest Adds World Premieres of John Malkovich's 'Seneca,' Alex Gibney's Boris Becker Doc". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  28. ^ Squires, John (December 16, 2022). "Dip Your Toes into Brandon Cronenberg's 'Infinity Pool' With Official Poster for Mia Goth Movie". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  29. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (May 20, 2021). "Brandon Cronenberg to Adapt J.G. Ballard Novel 'Super-Cannes' as Series". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  30. ^ Carr, James (June 7, 2024). "Blumhouse Is Going All In On Horror Games, Including One From Sam Barlow And Brandon Cronenberg". GameSpot. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  31. ^ Melanson, Angel (June 7, 2024). "Brandon Cronenberg Made A Video Game And We Can't Wait To Play It". Fangoria. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
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