Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen in London
The stars have arrived in London for the ROTK premiere at The Odeon in Leicester Square, London! Take a look! [More]
Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen in London
Day: December 11, 2003
Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen in London
Amy Longsdorf writes: As the regal warrior Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen finally fulfills his destiny and ascends the throne of Gondor in ”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” !!!SPOILERS!!! [More]
Though every fan will hate to admit it, the thought of what will become of the cinematic universe post-Lord of the Rings has at one time or another crept into the mind of many a hardcore fan ever since The Two Towers credits began to roll and we collectively realised that we only had one more film between us and the world after The Lord of the Rings. Hence, just like last year, we at TOR.n have decided to turn our attention to next year’s cinematic line-up and see what the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings have in store for us in 2004.
50 First Dates
USA: February 13th – UK: May 7th – SonyPictures.com/50FirstDates – IMDb – Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin, Rob Schneider
A story best described as what happens when a rom-com meets Groundhog Day, 50 First Dates sees Adam Sandler as the guy unlucky enough to fall in love with a girl who suffers from short-term memory loss and as a result must woo her over on a day to day basis. With Sandler riding high last year on the successes of Punch Drunk Love and Anger Management, critical and box-office respectively, could Sandler make it a hat-trick of hits? More importantly, can Sean Astin pull off some laughs with a script that contains not one reference to him as ‘the fat Hobbit’.
The Aviator
Worldwide: December 2004 – WBMovies.com – IMDb – Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Sir Ian Holm
If one were to look at the list of movies for the coming year and had to pick candidates for the Best Picture Oscar at the 2005 awards, it would be hard to look past Martin Scorsese’s bio-pic of entrepeneur Howard Hughes. Beginning with Hughes’ life in the early 1930s and concluding with the test run of the Spruce Moose in 1947, the film portrays both Hughes many and varied business ventures his many and varied romances, with celebrities such as Cate Blanchett’s Katherine Hepburn and Kate Beckinsale’s Ava Gardner. With an ensemble cast so stellar it has to be seen to be believed and a director who has so far been criminally ignored by the Academy, this film’s future looks blindingly bright.
The Bourne Supremacy
USA: July 23rd – UK: September 3rd – UniversalPictures.com – IMDb – Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Joan Allen, Karl Urban
After the success of the first installment, Matt Damon returns to reprise his role as Jason Bourne, the CIA operative who comes to terms with his past life as a trained assassin for the US government after he regains from his temporary amnesia. The second installment in the series sees Bourne’s life once again in danger as the Chinese government believe him to be the man behind the assassination of the Vice-Premier. Bourne soon finds himself in a race against time to prove his innocence and find the actual assassin who is killing using his identity – played by Karl Urban.
The Chronicles of Riddick
USA: June 11th – UK: August 20th – PitchBlack.com – IMDb – Vin Diesel, Dame Judi Dench, Colm Feore, Karl Urban
When Pitch Black completely snuck under the radar in 2000 and proved itself to be one of the best science fiction movies of 2000, it instantly gained cult status and a devout following. On that basis, Vin Diesel returns to star as the surgically enhanced anti-hero Riddick, in what will now be the second in a four-part saga. Based five years after the events of Pitch Black, Riddick not only has to contend with being once again on the run from the law but inadvertantly finds himself embroiled in the middle of a Galactic war between two rival factions, with Karl Urban featuring somewhere in all the chaos.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
US: March 19th (Limited) – FocusFeatures.com – IMDb – Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood
The latest masterpiece from the desk of Charlie Kauffman, who cemented his reputation as one of the finest screenwriters in Hollywood with recent efforts Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Adaptation, which was frankly robbed of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the Academy Awards. Focusing, on a man (Carrey), who after discovering his ex-girlfriend (Winslet) had all memory of him wiped from her mind, decides to undergo the same procedure, the movie is as intricate as you would expect from a Kauffman script, with the narrative constantly jumping from one timeline to another. With a quality cast, including Elijah Wood in his first role after Mr.Frodo as the memory-wiping scientist, ‘Sunshine looks certain to be a fantastic film, but can Carrey & Winslet bring Kauffman into the mainstream?
Check back tomorrow to see the second half of the must-see list, including Viggo Mortensen riding horses in Hidalgo, Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom doing battle in Troy and David Wenham fighting evil in Van Helsing. Nice to see the cast branching out after The Lord of the Rings, isn’t it?
By Amy Longsdorf
As the regal warrior Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen finally fulfills his destiny and ascends the throne of Gondor in ”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”
In real life, Mortensen is finding his destiny, as well, as a Hollywood A-lister. But being a star is about the fartherest thing from his mind.
”I only start to think about work when I run out of money,” he says quietly. ”Whatever I’m looking at when I need to pay the rent, that’s what I do. Then every once in a while you get lucky. Every once in a while you get a phone call about a movie in New Zealand.”
Ah, New Zealand. Mortensen has grown so found of the country where he and his fellow Middle-Earthlings spent 15 months filming the ”Lord of the Rings” trilogy that he’d rather rhapsodize about the Land Down Under than talk about himself and his career.
Not for nothing is this guy nicknamed ”No Ego Viggo” by his castmates. In person, Mortensen is unassuming. When he arrives for an interview at a Beverly Hills hotel, he’s carrying a backpack, a steaming cup of Starbucks and a big silver pipe filled with greenish tobacco.
He is wearing a Fruit-of-the-Loom tweed shirt carefully tucked into his brown Wrangler cords. His hair is a few inches shy of a buzz-cut.
True to form, Mortensen points out that ”The Return of the King” is, like ”The Fellowship of the King” and ”The Two Towers,” an ensemble movie. But there’s no denying that in this grand finale, Mortensen’s Aragorn is king.
Aided by his buddies Gimli (John Rhys-Davies ) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Aragorn awakens the Army of the Dead and joins forces with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his traveling companions Sam (Sean Astin) and the duplicitous Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis) continue on their journey to destroy the ring. Only when the bauble is hurled into the Cracks of Doom can it be annihilated.
Based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, ”The Return of the King,” opening Wednesday, is the third and final chapter in a series that has netted 17 Academy Award nominations and six Oscars. ”Fellowship” earned $860 million globally, while ”Two Towers” raked in $919 million. ”Return,” the longest of the movies at 3 hours and 20 minutes, is an epic in itself.
In ”The Return of the King,” Mortensen assumes the mantle of leading man. With his long hair whipping in the wind, brandishing a sword forged by elves, Aragorn saves the world.
Leave it to Mortensen to illuminate Aragorn’s weaknesses along with his strengths.
”Aragorn is very unquestioning in his willingness to sacrifice himself for the common good, but nevertheless he’s afraid many times in the story,” notes the actor. ”It’s how he deals with his fear, and overcomes his personal reservations in order to do what’s right for Middle Earth — that’s what we can learn from.”
In many ways, Mortensen and his fellow cast members have become their own private fellowship. They vacation together, and visit each other on movie sets. Many credit Mortensen with imbuing the production with his one-for-all, all-for-one spirit.
”Viggo leads by example,” notes Dominic Monaghan, who plays the hobbit Merry. ”He was so physically good at everything he did, he raised the bar for all of us. He’s also unassuming and quiet, yet very commanding. He brims with dignity.”
Ironically, Mortensen was a last-minute addition to the cast of ”The Fellowship of the Ring.” Director Peter Jackson was three days into shooting when he realized that Stuart Townsend wasn’t working out as Aragorn. Jackson made a phone call to Mortensen, who was wary of the long commitment.
The deciding factor for Mortensen was his then 11-year-old son Henry’s comments that the trilogy was ”too cool” to pass up. Mortensen repaid Henry, whose mother is the actor’s ex-wife, punk rock legend Exene Cervenka, with getting him a role in ”Return of the King” as an Orc.
Jackson recalls Mortensen’s first day on the set. ”He arrived in New Zealand and had 24 hours to get over his jet lag before he had to shoot the Weather Top scene where he defends the Hobbits. It was one of the bravest things that I’ve ever seen any actor do.”
Not unlike Aragorn, who seems equally at home with humans, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and Hobbits, Mortensen considers himself a citizen of the world.
Born in Manhattan to a Danish father and an American mother, Mortensen moved with his family as a boy to Venezuela, Argentina and Denmark. When his parents split up, the actor, his two brothers and mother moved to upstate New York.
Before becoming involved in the Tolkien trilogy, Mortensen was best known for his supporting roles in diverse movies. He made his film debut as an Amish farmer in Peter Weir’s ”Witness” before playing a gas-station cowboy in ”Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and a troubled Vietnam vet in Sean Penn’s ”Indian Runner.”
Next, Mortensen landed a showy role as Demi Moore’s uncompromising sergeant in ”G.I. Jane.” He was the con-man artist who romanced Gwyneth Paltrow in ”A Perfect Murder” and the bohemian blouse salesman who swept Diane Lane off her feet in ”A Walk on the Moon.”
Up next for Mortensen is ”Hildago,” the $80 million real-life story of Frank T. Hopkins, a cowboy and dispatch rider who competes in a 3,000 mile race across the Arabian Desert. The film is due in March.
At 45, Mortensen has suddenly become a sex symbol, although he tries to downplay the buzz.
”Doesn’t the sex symbol business happen to anybody in a popular movie?” muses the actor, who’s single since his split from Lola Schnabel, 23, the daughter of painter Julian Schnabel.
An avid poet, photographer and painter, Mortensen recently started a small company called Perceval Press to publish artwork by himself and others.
Director Peter Jackson says Mortensen’s artistic ambitions are very much in keeping with his determination to live in the moment and create art out of everyday experiences.
Ian McKellen, who plays the Wizard Gandalf, was surprised at Mortensen’s degree of dedication. ”He was very protective of Aragorn. He slept in his costume and kept his sword in the back of his car on days when he wasn’t filming. It was quite remarkable, really.”
With ”The Lord of the Rings” at its end, Mortensen is unwilling to let Aragorn go.
”You hear a lot of actors saying, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to get rid of that character.’ Well, we’re all going to forget things. We’re all going to lose our memories. That’s just what happens in life, right?
”So why be in such a hurry to forget, especially if you’ve learned something valuable.”
Lissa writes: I am a Line Leader for the Cinemark IMAX of Tulsa Line and I can absolutely confirm that as of right now our print has been pulled. Which is causing absolute panic right now because our entire line had purchased tickets!! We are waiting on word from our theater contact who has said that NewLine is getting a lot of heat but we still don’t know that status or our line or our tickets.
At the end of the second Rings movie, The Two Towers, Jackson let us hang on the realisation the truly dark times were yet to come. Though the wizard Saruman’s army had been despatched at the Battle of Helm’s Deep and his fortress at Isengard laid to ruin, this battle had been merely a sideshow. !!!SPOILERS!!! [More]