Viggo Mortensen should be happy. His past three movies have been critical smashes. He snagged a Best Actor Oscar nomination for one of them (Eastern Promises). And he played the title role in the 11-time Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the last in the most financially successful movie trilogy of all (current global box-office takings: nearly £2 billion). In short, he has finally arrived. And yet, ironically, just when he should, in his own words, “be making hay”, the 50-year-old star is abandoning the movie business. “In the past week I’ve been from LA to Japan to Korea to Poland to here,” he hisses, describing in near disbelief the travel itinerary for his current promotional tour. “It’s ridiculous! It’s not a healthy way to be. But, as it happens, I’m taking measures to change that.” Which are? “No more movies. I haven’t said yes to one in over a year. I’ve been in all these well-received movies and it seems like I should be doing some more, but there’s other things I want to do. It’s not the right time.” Viggo Mortensen: first Good – and then goodbye?
Category: LotR Cast News
deej sends this in: Viggo Mortensen is set to be a guest at “The People Speak” Opening Night Gala Screening on Thursday April 16th at 7:30. The event is being held at The Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University.
Tickets and more information about the Atlanta Film Festival can be found here. Continue reading “Mortensen Hears ‘The People Speak’”
Celevon writes: Sean Bean has been cast as Zeus in the new fantasy film: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It’s based on a series of children’s books by Rick Riordan. Sean Bean is Zeus
At this year’s Jameson Empire Awards, the winner of the “Empire Icon” award was kingly indeed. Viggo Mortensen was presented the award by non other than Boromir (Sean Bean) whom also became part of Viggo’s acceptance speech:
“Let’s talk about Sean Bean. Empire magazine was an early and ardent supporter of Lord of the Rings before it even came out. Now as far as I know we’re not in The Hobbit but they’re going to try and find a way, just for fun. I’m not necessarily against the idea. They may try to link that book to the book we were in. But I was looking at Tolkien’s version of the world. In order to do a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, I’d probably have to be changing Boromir’s diapers because I live longer or whatever. “
You can see a video of the acceptance speech as well as read it on Empire Online.
One of Horton Foote’s last works is adding cast and moving closer to production. Producers on “Main Street,” the late playwright’s new and final screenplay, are in negotiations to cast Orlando Bloom and have signed Andrew McCarthy ahead of the project’s planned April shoot. The pair join an ensemble that already includes Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson and Colin Firth. It has yet to cast the central character, a young-girl role. Foote’s drama centers on a group of people in a small town in North Carolina whose lives are shaken up when a stranger arrives. Bloom will play a small-town policeman, while McCarthy will play a Lothario business manager. Orlando Bloom heads to ‘Main Street’
TheOneRing.net is teaming up with Galatia Films to celebrate the DVD release of ‘Reclaiming the Blade’ by giving away the ‘Late 15th Century Bastard Sword’ from Albion Swords! A prize worth nearly $500! Entering the contest is super easy – you don’t even need to answer any questions! ‘Reclaiming the Blade’ is narrated by John Rhys-Davies and features appearances by many LOTR veterans: Viggo Mortensen, Karl Urban, Bob Anderson, John Howe and Richard Taylor of WETA Workshop. The DVD will be released on March 30th, but you can place your pre-order today at the Galatia Films website. So after you enter the contest, secure your copy of the DVD today! [Contest Page] [Pre-Order the DVD]