An Oscar nomination is a huge feather in the cap of any filmmaker. Even though many would never gauge their success based on awards recognition, there’s a reason why directors are always excited when they get nominated for a trophy. But somehow, that chance has never been given to David Cronenberg, arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of the modern era. And Viggo Mortensen is just as confused as film fans why the filmmaker has never been recognized for his writing and/or direction over the course of his decades-long career.
Speaking to UPROXX, Mortensen talked about Cronenberg quite a bit. Not only are the duo attempting to work together this year on a new, mysterious film, but they have previously collaborated on three projects, “A History of Violence,” “Eastern Promises,” and “A Dangerous Method,” each earning strong reviews and awards recognition. Hell, Mortensen has earned nominations for his roles in those films, but Cronenberg himself has never been formally recognized.
“Well, we’re going to give it our best shot,” said Mortensen about the possibility of working with Cronenberg this year on a new film, which he also previously teased. “But the thing that I’ve never understood about Cronenberg is that he’s had almost a half a century of making movies, and many really good movies. He’s clearly one of the masters, right? Living masters.”
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He continued, “And yet this is a man who, every time out, struggles for years, usually, to raise minimal financing for his movies. Which are never really expensive. He always comes in on or under budget, on or before time on shoots. He doesn’t waste money. His movies don’t lose money. Sometimes they make some money. He’s incredibly reliable, professionally and creatively. Why should it be so difficult? I don’t understand. Why has David Cronenberg never, ever been nominated by the Academy for writing or directing a movie? I mean, that’s inexplicable to me, but such is life.”
Again, David Cronenberg probably doesn’t consider his career a complete failure because he doesn’t have Academy Award nominations or wins under his belt. But it is a sad state of affairs when someone who has contributed so much to the film industry has yet to see some of his work honored in that way. Remember, this is the guy who not only directed the features mentioned above with Mortensen, but also films such as “The Fly,” “Scanners,” “Videodrome,” and “Crash.”
Inexplicable, indeed.