A number of other sites around the internet are also celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of The…
Continue ReadingA number of other sites around the internet are also celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring this week, and/or The Lord of the Rings movie franchise in general. For the convenience of our readers, we put together this one-stop shop for a stroll down memory lane. We’ll bring more to you during the week as we find them. Enjoy!
Continue reading “FOTR 15th anniversary – a compilation of articles”
Mortensen plays a father who, along with his wife, decided to raise his children off the grid — way off. He wants to raise his six children to be self reliant in a way that LOTR character Aragorn would be proud of. His offspring can stalk and kill deer with knives, they climb mountains, harvest edible food, learn to make their own clothes and are self reliant in every way. And along the way read the best books.
They are, in short, philosopher kings.
So the actor did look back at that character and filming experience on “Lord of the Rings,” with Peter Jackson?
“I thought of it,” he said. “But I also thought of my time as a father in Idaho.”
He spent time with his son there and in the film he has more, but in both he said he was teaching to be aware of nature.
He said the cast spent time before filming getting to know each other and learning the skills needed to be authentic on screen. They camped and learned how to grow food and skin a deer and learned to play music together, all of which were important to the film.
The children’s performances are all excellent, as is Mortensen’s. The film captivated Sundance audiences and good news for Mortensen and film fans, it was also picked up for distribution by Bleeker Street. It specializing in specialty cinema and has this year’s “Trumbo” (Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame as lead actor) and should hit audiences in July. UPDATE: The film is slowly rolling out in theaters across the U.S. in July.
The audience at its premiere at the Eccles Theater, the largest venue Sundance offers with over 1,300 seats, responded mightily the film’s opening night. Director and writer Matt Ross, who you might know as Alby Grant from HBO’s “Big Love,” received a standing ovation, as did the children. But it was Moretensen who received the hottest reception. He is a pillar of the film. His character is sympathetic and yet outside societal norms.
Mortensen is perfect for the part and it is difficult to imagine the film working as well without him.
“Good movies ask a lot of questions but don’t necessarily answer them,” Ross told TORn just before the premiere.
In “Captain Fantastic,” Mortensen’s family must leave its forest paradise and journey into the highly-populated world with all its social expectations and demands. They all must face traditional society and family bonds and the children’s unconventional education are tested — to the limit.
“I am a dad and there is no such thing as a perfect father and mother. This character is doing the best he can,” Mortensen said.
The film wasn’t rated at Sundance but the unconventional cast isn’t afraid to use unconventional language that may earn it an R rating. And, Mortensen having a cup of coffee in his birthday suit probably erases any chance of it being anything else. Yes, Mortensen gives the film everything he has to offer.
“Captain Fantastic” is full of ideas, exploring family and fatherhood. Some parents will leaving feeling horribly inadequate but audiences will be fulfilled by the intelligent ideas and questions the film asks.
Fans of Mortensen will not want to miss yet another fascinating role in a fascinating film.
Viggo Mortensen has been doing a bunch of press at the Venice Film Festival for a new film called Far From Men — a story about two men, a schoolteacher and a murderer, caught up in Algeria’s 1954 war for independence — that opens in France in January next year.
In another tangential link to Wellywood, the score is composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who also did the soundtrack for the Peter Jackson-produced documentary film West of Memphis. Read below for an early review from Indiewire, but if the idea of Mortensen speaking French appeals, this is one you probably won’t want to miss. Thanks to Ringer Davidsenex for the heads-up. Continue reading “Viggo Mortensen’s Far From Men screens at Venice Film Festival”
Viggo Mortensen chats with The Age newspaper about his latest movie effort, The Two Faces of January.
The voice on the phone is husky, familiar, and just a little menacing. “I was told to call this number,” the speaker says. I give a little shudder before realising it’s Viggo Mortensen, calling as planned to talk about his new film, The Two Faces of January. Phew. Continue reading “The many faces of Viggo Mortensen”
Ringer Emma has sent us this interview by The Telegraph newspaper with Viggo Mortensen, where he talks about his latest movie The Two Faces of January. He also talks about filming The Lord of the Rings films saying that he felt that Fellowship of the Rings script was the “better organised” of the three films and discusses the use of CGI in the Middle-earth blockbusters.
Continue reading “Viggo Mortensen interview in The Telegraph”
Aragorn is an elusive man, who can avoid being seen if he wishes… For those of you who can’t get enough of actor Viggo Mortensen, you can at least hear him this weekend! This coming Sunday, Mortensen will be a guest on the show ‘Culture Club’ on Classic FM radio. According to Classic FM’s website, you can hear him talking about ‘his varied film roles – from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to his acclaimed new crime movie The Two Faces of January.’
The show airs 3-5pm BST (British Summer Time), and Mortensen joins fellow guest, composer Karl Jenkins. You can also listen to the show on the internet, with past shows available as podcasts.
Thanks to Ringer Huan for letting us know! [Check out Classic FM’s website here]
