David Cronenberg is a novelist (or he would be if he finished the darn thing)

Lately, David Cronenberg seems to be the toast of the town: Viggo Mortensen loves him, the British Film Institute honoured him and TIFF is giving him a high-tech (and expensive) retrospective. Still, we’d hazard that at least one editor at Penguin Canada probably isn’t thrilled with the Toronto-based director. In an interview with Indiewire last week, Cronenberg admitted he signed on to write a novel for Penguin several years ago, but he still hasn’t finished a first draft—despite the fact that the publisher has already inked deals on the foreign rights. The novel, which would reportedly be partially set in Toronto, kept getting pushed aside—first for A Dangerous Method, then for Cosmopolis. As for Penguin, Cronenberg said they’re still waiting. “I hear novelists are often very late, so I’m banking on that.” For a rookie novelist, he’s got the “genius can’t be rushed” thing down pat.

• David Cronenberg Reveals He’s Writing a Novel and Explains How the Comedy ‘Twins’ Helped Finance ‘Dead Ringers’ [Indiewire]