When David Cronenberg talks, it’s obligatory to listen, and when he describes the awards process as “all bullshit” well, quite frankly it’s hard to disagree. Sure, we all have a load of fun watching the awards from the outside but there’s always that nagging feeling that we shouldn’t really be ranking art. Cronenberg was asked by Movieline whether or not it bothered him that “Cosmopolis “isn't being discussed more as a contender" for the Oscars, and here’s what he had to say:
“Every year I try to be as disconnected as possible. This year it's been very easy because we haven't been nominated for any awards. It's not sour grapes, it's not compensation; it's a relief. It's very easy to get caught up in it if you are nominated. The people who are releasing the movie get excited, they want you to do more, and you understand it because the awards can maybe get more people to see the film. This, on its face, is a good thing. However, it is all bullshit, it is all annoying and it is all very problematical. But it gives people stuff to write about, gives structure, we understand. But I won't be watching any of the awards shows.”
What Cronenberg seems to appreciate more is the validation of critics. Hurray for critics! And don’t for one minute think that it escaped his attention that his film placed on both Cahiers du Cinema’s and Sight & Sound’s top ten of 2012 lists. He goes on to say that “you like the validation, especially when they are intelligent people who write beautifully and when they applaud your movie it is terrific and gratifying.” We imagine Cronenberg and Kevin Smith could have quite a conversation on this topic…
The conversation then moved onto 48 frames per second, and while Cronenberg is yet to see Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," he had some interesting thoughts on that format too.
“You see it on television all the time. Sports shows are 60 frames. Those flawless slo-mo playbacks with no smearing. I haven't seen 'The Hobbit' yet, but I do believe it would be nice to get away from 24 frames per second — even just to 30 frames per second. I don't have a nostalgic longing to stick with the smearing or strobing you get when you pan with a film camera. It's not nice. It comes from ancient technology that we don't need anymore. Even upping to 30 might get rid of that, I don't know why 48 as opposed to 50 or 60, frankly. In a weird way, 48, as double of 24, is still clinging to the old technology.”
You get the sense that you could ask him a question about anything related to cinema and a fascinating discussion would follow. Head over to Movieline for more from Cronenberg, in which he also brilliantly declares “I like cats.” Awesome.
Totally agree with him re: 48fps
Love this guy. He's always an eloquent speaker. Just got Cosmopolis in the mail, will have to watch it soon.