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David Cronenberg delivers warning to up-and-coming filmmakers

David Cronenberg has told up-and-coming filmmakers to "be careful who you work with".
The 75-year-old director – who has helmed movies such as ‘Scanners’ and ‘Videodrome’ – once blasted the Weinstein brothers, Bob and Harvey, in a room of aspiring filmmakers before the latter was accused of sexual abuse and harassment by more than 80 women.
Asked whether he now feels vindicated, David explained: "What I was really trying to illustrate to them was that you have to really be careful who you work with.
"You have to do some research and you have to have a good fit with a producer. So it was in a context of discussing what you need to be aware of if you are going to be a professional filmmaker."
David worked with the Weinsteins earlier in his career and even though they were among the most powerful figures within Hollywood at the time, the relationship was far from successful.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, David shared: "They did distribute my film ‘eXistenZ’, but basically I had a contract with Bob Weinstein and his company to release my film in at least 700 theatres, and I think he ended up only releasing it in 30 and was very upset because we had a test screening that didn’t go well.
"And for guys who say they are marketing geniuses, they were acting very much like a standard studio, which is to say they have one bad test screening and they lose faith in the whole project.
"That’s not what you would expect from guys who promoted themselves the way the Weinsteins did. But to me that’s just normal movie anguish."