Director David Cronenberg on the set of A History of Violence Courtesy of New Line READ MORE: Cronenberg on Eastern Promises READ MORE: Naomi Watts on Eastern Promises

THE DIRECTORS: THE SOPHISTICATE
David Cronenberg

Cannes
David Cronenberg believes that sex and violence are as simpatico as bacon and eggs. But that doesn't mean you should attempt to view his borderline snuff film Crash on a full stomach. If car crash fetishism isn't your bag, he also delivered some sweet sexytime role-playing in 2005's A History of Violence. If there's such a thing as Method directing, Cronenberg is the DGA's Robert De Niro. He reportedly brought his wife of 30 years to the set of Violence and had his way with her to put Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello at ease and show them that long-term married sex doesn't have to be vanilla. Premiere salutes his ability to put his money — and likely several body parts —where his mouth is.

The Sexessentials: Crash, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises

Can you talk about the dark side of sexuality and violence:
Sex and violence have always got on very well together, like bacon and eggs. If you look at the history of cinematic violence, there is always a sexual component in violence and a violent component in sexuality. To me that's just a natural thing to explore. These things often reveal themselves in extreme situations; obviously dramatists are drawn to extreme and dramatic situations. As George Bernard Shaw said, "Conflict is the essence of drama." It is such a primordial question because it has ramifications at every level, including the political. So I find it almost a touchstone. You feel like you are dealing with some primordial basic truths about human nature when you are dealing with those things. And you always find that you are revealing new things about yourself and the human condition.

How did the studio react to the sex scenes in A History of Violence?
They loved the idea. I mean originally there was no stairway sex scene. When she says "Fuck you, Joey", she just runs upstairs and that was the end of it.

I've never seen that in an American movie.
That's because this isn't an American movie. I think it's a co-production creatively, [though] not financially. Yes, you don't see that. And what else you don't see is when a couple has been married for twenty years, usually it's not that sexy [onscreen].

Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello in A History of Violence Courtesy of New Line

But are the two sex scenes not about a form of perversion?
Yeah, but it's very playful, you have to admit. The first one and the second one are related because in the first they're playing with the role of teenagers and in the second they're playing with the role of a gangster and his girl. I've been married 30 years, you know. So you wouldn't even call that perversion. We just call it playful and entertaining ourselves and maybe if you want to enjoy having sex with your wife of 20 or 30 years, I wouldn't call it perversion. Maybe in America... To me it's very playful and the music is also suggesting that for them it's tender and fun. I think the real perversion is that they're married. For America, showing sex between a married couple is perversion.

Do you ever think about censorship when making movies?
I try not to. Because self-censorship is the ultimate victory of censorship. I like that point to be after you have made the movie.

MORE SEX ON FILM...
The Virgin: Daniel Waters
The Old Hand: Brian De Palma
The Dirty Dutchman: Paul Verhoeven
The Crossover: John Cameron Mitchell
The Punk Rebel: Larry Clark
The Big Buffalo: Vincent Gallo
The Buttoned-Up Brit: Richard Eyre
The Motherfucker: Christophe Honoré
The Shocker: Gaspar Noé