David Cronenberg's Shivers to be remade for modern, digital sex fiends
David Cronenberg’s first feature-length film, 1975’s Shivers, received a special commemorative screening at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which was presumably all just a ruse to find the last remaining copy and burn it, so it could make way for a remake from producers Michael Baker and Jeff Sackman. (“Don’t need this anymore,” Baker and Sackman presumably said, as the acrid smoke of roasting acetate filled the theater.) Adding to the list of the many Cronenberg films rumored for remakes in recent years—including Videodrome, Scanners, The Brood, and The Fly—Sackman and Baker will partner on Shivers with Danish filmmaker Rie Rassmussen, known for her appearances in Brian De Palma’s Femme Fatale, her feature film Human Zoo, her erotic paintings, her stint as a fashion model, and the fact that Quentin Tarantino really likes her. Rasmussen will direct from a script by Ian Driscoll, known for horror-comedies like Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and the Sasha Grey-starring Smash Cut, let’s say.