4 March

Cronenberg's New 3-Minutes Short

The Toronto Star reports that David Cronenberg joined 32 other directors to make To Each His Own Cinema, celebrating the 60th Cannes Film Festival. Each director made a 3-minutes short for this movie, which will premiere on May 20th, at the festival. This project includes submissions by the likes of Atom Egoyan, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Jane Campion, Wim Wenders, Roman Polanski and Tsai Ming-liang. Cronenberg shot the movie in his own bathroom. "It's sort of funny and it's sort of not funny at the same time. There are definitely laughs in it if you're a certain type of person. I showed it to Viggo Mortensen and he laughed a lot", says Cronenberg. "It's actually a different kind of film that what you might expect from me", he adds, but declines to reveal its title or story. Cronenberg ruled out the possibility of a Cannes debut for his new feature film, Eastern Promises, which he just finished shooting in London. But it should be ready in time for either the Toronto Festival or Venice Festival this fall.

1 March

Scanners Remake Confirmed

Variety reports that Dimension Films has closed a deal to remake David Cronenberg's 1981 horror pic Scanners. The film will be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II & Saw III). David Goyer (Batman Begins, Blade series) will write the script. The story revolves around a scientist who infiltrates an underground movement of "scanners," whose telepathic abilities make them lethal weapons. The original was best remembered for an exploding head finale. Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein has earmarked an early 2008 production start; the aim is to release the film later that year. Bousman starts production on Saw IV on April 15 and then will move directly into the rock opera Repo. Goyer will have the Scanners script ready when he finishes.