The Big Picture David Cronenberg's 1991 surrealist science fiction drama Naked Lunch is nothing short of an attempt to make order out of chaos. The film is based on the infamous Beat-era writer William S. Burroughs's 1959 novel. The film stars Peter Weller as an exterminator named William Lee who becomes addicted to his insecticide and inadvertently murders his wife playing William Tell .
Release Date December 27, 1991 Director David Cronenberg Cast Peter Weller , Judy Davis , Ian Holm , Julian Sands , Roy Scheider , Monique Mercure , Nicholas Campbell , Michael Zelniker Runtime 115 Minutes Writers William S. Burroughs , David Cronenberg What Is 'Naked Lunch' About? David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch is a surrealistic science fiction journey into the mind of a nihilistic, sexually repressed drug user and professional exterminator, William Lee.
‘Naked Lunch’ Was Based on the Life of William S. Burroughs The screenplay for Naked Lunch was based partly on the same novel but also a film adaptation of the life and works of the novel's author, William S. Burroughs. In 1985, Burroughs and Cronenberg met in Tangiers to discuss the adaptation of the book. According to a book by Cronenberg's biographer Chris Rodley, Cronenberg on Cronenberg, Burroughs felt that Cronenberg was the only person fit to make the film.
Related The Hilarious, Brutal Story Behind the Head Explosion Scene in David Cronenberg's 'Scanners' Many fake heads were harmed in the making of this movie. Why Was the Book ‘Naked Lunch’ Considered To Be Unfilmable? Close The novel Naked Lunch was written as a series of reports about Burroughs' time spent in Tangiers. The writer moved to Tangier International Zone in 1954, spurned on by the country's reputation for lax laws regarding same-sex relationships and drug use.