12 replies to this topic

[Nordic]

I have been told that David Cronenberg the film producer owns a 1961
Cooper F1 Car and a 1963 Cooper Monaco.

Does anyone know the history of either car or if he owns any more?

[Richard Neale]

Can't help, I've lost touch with him ~ Perhaps Doug N knows his whereabouts?

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Nordic
I have been told that David Cronenberg the film producer owns a 1961
Cooper F1 Car and a 1963 Cooper Monaco.

Does anyone know the history of either car or if he owns any more?

Don't know much about Cronenberg's collection but he's a definite petrolhead and there have been rumours about Cronenberg directing two racing-related projects - biopics of Gilles Villeneuve and Ayrton Senna.

Bear in mind that Cronenberg isn't what you'd call a mainstream director - his early films tend to feature a curious mix of soft-porn, sexual violence and cheap gory horror often starring people more known for their porn work (Marilyn Chambers!) - he was almost mainstream by the 80s (exploding-head scene in "Scanners"? Debbie Harry burning her boobs with a ciggy in "Videodrome"? Genevieve Bujold's errrr..... unusual anatomy!.... in "Dead Ringers"? ) - although some of his adaptations have been very rum and uncanny - he managed to make Ballard's "Crash" even more fetishistic than the original novel, and his take on "Naked Lunch" (which I watched with a regular user of hallucinogenic drugs...) was very odd.

So quite what he'd make of a motor racing film I don't know ;)

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

I haven't seen him recently but a few years back, I saw Cronerberg on the mock grid at Mosport for a vintage event at the wheel of a front-engined Ferrari coupe. Sorry, don't know the model.

I think that I read somewhere that he's largely retired from the vintage racing wars.

Edit: the model Ferrari was 50's vintage, BTW.

[Peter Morley]

Originally posted by Nordic
I have been told that David Cronenberg the film producer owns a 1961
Cooper F1 Car and a 1963 Cooper Monaco.

Does anyone know the history of either car or if he owns any more?

He also had the remaining Cooper drawings (mainly for the later cars). When Cooper closed down the drawings passed to a Canadian company and at some time had passed onto Cronenberg.

The drawings & cars were sold off at auction (rather quietly) in the UK a couple of years ago - I can't remember if it is the auction house that our esteemed My Nye is associated with.

I think that the Monaco was a built up car (e.g. from unused original bits).

[Criceto]

Funny his name should come up now. I saw "Crash" the day before yesterday and I've been pondering about the Porsche in the James Dean recreation sequence.

I know they managed to get through six 1963 Lincoln convertibles in the course of making the film, but what about the Spyder? They surely didn't use a real Porsche 550 in the making of the film did they? And yet the car folds up like metal in the incident, rather than splintering like fibreglass. So did they use a replica kit? Or is there one less 550 in the world...

[Doug Nye]

Originally posted by Peter Morley
The drawings & cars were sold off at auction (rather quietly) in the UK a couple of years ago - I can't remember if it is the auction house that our esteemed My Nye is associated with.

I think that the Monaco was a built up car (e.g. from unused original bits).

Nothing was sold off "rather quietly" by Brooks as we then were - but sadly for David Cronenberg too may people were not listening with great enthusiasm. The much trumpeted "complete set of drawings" turned out to be VERY incomplete - having, it would appear, been most comprehensively cherry-picked over a great many years. What remained was still of considerable interest but it was to be honest - a disappointment...

DCN

[dbw]

the urban legand among the replica 550 crowd is that cronenberg shot two crashes... one with a fiberglass beck 550 and one with a real car [chassis unknown]..he liked the way the alloy crumpled so he used that footage...[they say] he kept the real 550 and restored it.

so if you're in the mood for a warm- s&m, fetish[car, stainless steel orthopaedic sundries] kinky in-car sex, boy meets car wreck,and rosanna arquette as you've never seen her but rather are strangely attracted - rent cronenbergs "crash"...and for a bonus you get james spader at his weirdest....if you enjoy it..spader in "secretary"would make a keen double feature.

[Peter Morley]

Originally posted by Doug Nye


Nothing was sold off "rather quietly" by Brooks as we then were - but sadly for David Cronenberg too may people were not listening with great enthusiasm. The much trumpeted "complete set of drawings" turned out to be VERY incomplete - having, it would appear, been most comprehensively cherry-picked over a great many years. What remained was still of considerable interest but it was to be honest - a disappointment...

DCN

What I meant was:

The auction was not as heavily publicised as some - e.g. the Cooper content was not particularly publicised, none of the comics previewed it in any detail (no pics of any of the drawings, or road tests of the cars).

Of course that could simply have reflected your disappointment at the time - e.g. it did not merit much publicity.

I seem to remember that some of the more obvious candidates (Cooper specialists) were invited to inspect the goodies prior to their sale, and don't remember anyone getting excited by the contents.

BUT, it was the last remaining vestigies of one of the great British F1 teams and was not promoted as such.

[Magee]

David Cronenberg was also director of "Fast Company" back in the 70s. It is described as "A snappy, showy, no-nonsence drag strip racing pic." William Smith, Nicholas Campbell, John Saxon and Claudia Jennings (Playboy Playmate of 1970) appear in this film.

Along with the recent DVD containing the above film are two of his university project films -- "Stereo" and "Crimes of the Future". You can see the unique work of Cronenberg at its earliest stage.

[dmj]

Besides Villeneuve and Senna Cronenberg was related to a possible bio of Enzo Ferrari. It was supposed to be based on Brock Yates book on him.

[Muzza]

Originally posted by dmj
[...]It was supposed to be based on Brock Yates book on him.

Oh, no, please spare us of Brock Yates...


Muzza
(a Cronenberg fan)

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by dmj
Besides Villeneuve and Senna Cronenberg was related to a possible bio of Enzo Ferrari. It was supposed to be based on Brock Yates book on him.

Damn - can we revive this based on the Richard Williams one?