The king of twisted psychological cinema shows you why he's Hollywood's worst nightmare.

By Gabriel Alvarez; Photograph by Chris Woods

David Cronenberg is a rare breed of filmmaker. He’s birthed an exceptional body of work in (and mostly out of) the major studio system with films like The Fly (1986), Naked Lunch (1991), and A History of Violence (2005). For his latest film, Eastern Promises, the 64-year-old Canadian tells a story of London-based Russian mobsters, and explores concepts of family, organized crime, masculinity, and other deep ish. He may not do box-office numbers like Steven Spielberg, but he speaks real words.

You’ve been making daring, thought-provoking films for over 30 years. What’s the secret to your success?

David Cronenberg: Well, I suppose you have to define success. I remember talking to Oliver Stone, and he asked me if I was happy being a marginal filmmaker and having as small of an audience as I have. [Laughs.] I said, “Well, how big of an audience do you need?” I’ve never had a movie that made $100 million, and to do a movie that was a product—I wouldn’t enjoy it. You have to have the courage to do what it is that satisfies you. For me, it’s the experience of
making the films; each film is a philosophical voyage, an exploration.

Do you wonder how the Russian mob will react to Eastern Promises?

David Cronenberg: I’ve already got some reactions, and I think they love it. [Laughs.] It’s like the Mafia probably loved the kind of nobility and tragic heroism involved in a movie like The Godfather. I’ve gotten—through the grapevine—very good reviews from ex-criminals for portraying the mentality of a criminal who has tried to go straight in A History of Violence. I have a feeling that Eastern Promises will do the same thing on the other side of the Atlantic.

The film’s bad guys demand respect, but they don’t reciprocate. Is a lack of respect for underlings common with powerful people?

David Cronenberg: Like they say, “Power corrupts.” Especially in the criminal world, power is indicated by everything: what you wear, the car you drive. It’s all meant to exude an aura of power, and there’s easily developed a feeling that if you extend respect to a person that’s not on your level of power, it diminishes your power. In fact, showing no respect to underlings is a symbol of power. It’s a pretty brutal society, the criminal underworld.

How strong is the Russian mob’s presence in London?

David Cronenberg: The Russian mob in London was a subject that was pretty obscure until recently. Halfway through filming, we were suddenly not only hot, we were radioactively hot because a Russian in London named Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by a radioactive isotope called polonium. And some of that happened just literally half a block from my front door when I was living in London making the movie. So suddenly Russians living in exile in London, and the criminal activity around them became huge news. Home // CELEBRITIES // THE SHOTCALLER // David Cronenberg