Both CRIMES OF THE FUTURE and THIRTEEN LIVES featured the Aragorn actor in top fashion, yet there was no fan discussion nor viewership numbers worth reporting from any studio. Taking into consideration this was the year of the inescapable RINGS OF POWER, the most expensive TV season ever telling the story of Aragorn’s heritage, we have to ask: what happened?
source: THR
Crimes of the Movie Going
Viggo Mortensen re-teaming with Howard Shore should be enough to grab any LOTR fans attention, then add in that it’s David Cronenberg returning to his shock-scifi roots. There should be an ongoing buzz about this in 2022 right? But CRIMES OF THE FUTURE came and went with barely a whisper. According to Rotten Tomatoes it is a respectable 80% Fresh, and JustWatch says it is currently streaming on Hulu.
Not only does it have a new Howard Shore score (who has worked with Cronenberg on most of his films), CRIMES OF THE FUTURE is the fourth collaboration between the director and Mortensen – who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for their hit EASTERN PROMISES. Yet there’s been close to zero conversation on our message boards or twitter feed, as if nobody gave this film a try.
To be clear, Cronenberg films can an acquired taste and you the viewer should be prepared for full dark, body-shock genre storytelling. This movie was never going to be a blockbuster, but with a very fervent fanbase for both LOTR and Cronenberg and Shore, it’s surprising this film didn’t find its footing in cinemas or streaming.
THIRTEEN LIVES, NO THEATERS
The other Viggo Mortensen film that should have been a huge 2022 hit is THIRTEEN LIVES, directed by Ron Howard and co-starring Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton. Critics and audiences agree that this is a great movie! An all-star cast, story ripped from the headlines, with one of the top directors of all time. It also was the best test-scores in MGM studios history.
THIRTEEN LIVES tells the story of the cave-diving rescue of a team of kids stuck underground in a Thailand monsoon. There’s also a meta-cultural touchpoint since this is the rescue event where Elon Musk called rescuers horrible names and promised a technological solution that never materialized, and Elon is one of the most talked about persons on the internet in 2022 with his takeover of Twitter. So between cultural relevance, meme opportunities, a real human story of heroics, epic test scores, this had all the hallmarks of a huge box office hit. Plus, THIRTEEN LIVES is produced by Amazon Studios, home to RINGS OF POWER.
We can guess why this film was direct-to-streaming, as Amazon wants people to sign up for Prime Video. But this film is a perfect theatrical experience where every thrilling hold-your-breath moment would be shared with strangers in a dark cinema. Prime Video has stated it still believes in theatrical distribution with its recent acquisition of MGM studios, so why didn’t this get a summer release? Top Gun Maverick is Tom Cruise’s biggest film of his career, while WB released several blockbusters on both HBO Max and theaters simultaneously.
Why wasn’t THIRTEEN LIVES put in theaters?
Why didn’t Prime offer this movie after each episode of RINGS OF POWER?
Why did Amazon make a movie with Isildur’s heir, in a year with their show about Isildur, and not promote it?
Does this movie show up in your Prime dashboard after watching the entirety of Rings of Powers?
Viggo Mortensen is turning in some of the best performances in 2022. As the movie industry enters awards season, maybe these films will get renewed interest and some nominations. Fans of Viggo Mortensen should definitely give THIRTEEN LIVES a go on Amazon Prime, and if you can stomach a jaunt with CRIMES OF THE FUTURE on Hulu.
With many new Lord of the Rings projects on the horizon, maybe there’s room for Viggo Mortensen to direct, write, score or star in more Middle-earth. Amazon or Embracer, give him a call.
Last weekend we sat down again with our friend Daniel Falconer, to catch up on what he’s been doing, and all things Weta Workshop. We were able to steal two hours of Daniel’s time – and this conversation is a classic. I believe you all are going to love the topics we touch on. As always, thank you for the support!
Prime Video has announced that Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Louise Hooper will each helm multiple episodes for Season Two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Readers will, of course, recall that Brändström directed a pair of Season One’s episodes: (1X06/“Udûn” and 1X07/“The Eye”).
Hamri, an acclaimed music video director who has collaborated with artists such as Mariah Carey, Prince, and Snoop Dogg, recently completed executive producing and directing The Wheel of Time’s second season. Hooper has directed episodes of The Witcher, as well the season finale of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.
The announcement states that Hamri and Hooper will each direct two episodes, with Brändström to oversee the remaining four and serve as co-executive producer for the eight-episode season.
Season 2 is currently in production in the UK.
The Rings of Power Season Two’s directors
Charlotte Brändström is an award-winning director and graduate of the directing program at the American Film Institute. She recently finished directing a pilot for Netflix Sweden titled The Unlikely Murder, and her other directing credits for television include The Outsider for HBO; Jupiter’s Legacy, The Witcher, and Away for Netflix; The Man in the High Castle for Prime Video; and Outlander and Counterpart for Starz. Brändström also directed the entirety of two European limited series: Conspiracy of Silence for Viaplay and Disparue for FR2, and has also directed over 30 feature films, miniseries, and movies-of-the-week. Additionally, Brändström is an international Emmy award nominee for Julie, Chevalier de Maupin.
Sanaa Hamri is a renowned film, television, music video, and commercial director from Tangier, Morocco. She recently completed executive producing and directing The Wheel of Time’s second season for Prime Video. Previously Hamri was executive producer/director for FOX’s hit series Empire, and her other episodic television directing credits include Shameless, Rectify, Nashville, Elementary, Glee, and Desperate Housewives. Hamri is also an acclaimed music video director, and has collaborated with numerous hip-hop/R&B musicians including Prince, Common, Lenny Kravitz, Rhianna, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Jay Z, and Mary J. Blige. She has also won an NAACP Image Award for India.Arie’s “Little Things” video, as well as an MTV VMA for Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass.” In addition, Hamri directed Mariah Carey’s sold-out five arena concert documentary, The Adventures of Mimi, and has also directed the feature films Something New, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and Just Wright.
Louise Hooper is an acclaimed British drama director, known for the 4-part limited thriller Flesh and Blood, starring Imelda Staunton and Stephen Rea; and Cheat, the 4-part drama starring Molly Windsor. Her additional directing credits include the first season finale of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, The Witcher, Inside No. 9, and Treason. Hooper began her career directing BBC Arts documentaries, working with David Lynch, Helmut Newton, Arthur Miller, David Attenborough, and Björk, and has also received a BAFTA nomination for directing Our Gay Wedding: The Musical.
Our friends at Weta Workshop have a couple of really amazing environments up for pre-order. We’re in the last five days of the timed order window for the amazing Helm’s Deep which is part of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 20th Anniversary. You can snag your pre-order right now for $899 USD, with shipping expected towards the end of 2023. This is going to be one of the must-have environments for any The Lord of the Rings collection.
We also get our first-ever mini-environment from the trilogy, with the new Mini-Orthanc. This version is Orthanc as seen after Saruman’s Orcs have destroyed the area around the tower. You can order this piece for $99.99 USD, with it shipping in quarter 2 of next year. This will be an open-edition piece.
It’s been a month since the final episode of Season 1 aired. TheOneRing.net staff have had time to reflect, to go back and binge-watch the whole thing, and to process thoughts.
As we begin the journey to Season 2 (which could be a long one!), here are some of TORn staffers’ reactions to the first season of Prime Video‘s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. As you’ll see, we’re an independent bunch with a wide variety of opinions!
We recently sat down with a fellow collector and friend, Brian, to talk about a wide range of topics in regard to collecting. Brian filled us in on how he got started, some of his favorite pieces, his philosophy on collecting, Rings of Power ideas, etc. We had an absolute blast sitting down with Brian, and we’re thankful for the time he was willing to take to chat with us. So we hope you enjoy this episode; and thank you all for the support.
