According to the Hollywood Reporter, auteur filmmaker David Cronenberg's version of the DC Comics graphic novel, A History of Violence (written by John Wagner), has wowed critics and audiences at this year's Cannes Film Festival and is one of the frontrunners to win the festival's most prestigious award, the Palme d'Or.  With a stellar cast that includes Maria Bello (The Cooler) and Viggo Mortenson (Lord of the Rings), A History of Violence is an exciting thriller about a family threatened by mobsters (see 'Cronenberg to Film Graphic Novel').  The neo-noir thriller, with its thematic parallels to classics like The Killers, is slated to open in limited release in the U.S. on September 30th. 

A win at Cannes could provide the film with considerable momentum and help it reach a much larger audience.  While it won't be able to compete with the summer blockbusters in terms of box office totals, A History of Violence, like a number of other fall releases including Art School Confidential (which is based on a Daniel Clowes' Eightball story), could easily wind up selling a lot more books than some of the $100 million blockbusters from Tinseltown's summer season.  Key your eye on A History of Violence -- it could be the sleeper hit of 2005.

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