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Quote of the Day: Why Viggo Mortensen Wasn’t in ‘The Hobbit’

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

"Before they started shooting, back in 2008, one of the producers did ask if I would be interested. I said, 'You do know, don't you, that Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit? That there is a 60-year gap between the books?'"

- Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen shares why he wasn't in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (in which LOTR castmates Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood appeared).

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | Huffington Post

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Viggo Mortensen Blasts Editing

Viggo Mortensen at the Golden Globe AwardsViggo Mortensen believes an actor's performance can be ruined by editing.

The A Dangerous Method actor revealed he was shocked when watching a film he had made to find that the director had cut his lines and put in a whole new sentence by putting together words he had said in other scenes.

''A director decided he didn't like me saying what he had shot and took words I'd said on other scenes and cobbled a new sentence together. I was stunned.''

Filmmaker David Cronenberg who has worked with Viggo on three movies, crime thrillers A History of Violence and Eastern Promises and most recently A Dangerous Method, admitted directors do have the power to completely change an actor's performance in the editing suite: "I spend weeks with the actor in the editing room, looking at every nuance. Even the rhythm of their breathing as they speak. It can really reshape a performance. You hear people say, 'My performance was destroyed in the editing room' It can actually happen."


David Cronenberg: ‘My Movies Are Irrelevant to Me’

A Dangerous MethodDavid Cronenberg feels his movies are "totally irrelevant" to him. The director - who is renowned for making films in the body horror genre, which explores people's fears of transformation - isn't worried if there are no links between any of his films because he sees them as standalone projects.

"The movies I have done are totally irrelevant to me - I don't worry about a connection because I'm making the movie and it will be there."

But in his latest directed movie A Dangerous Method - which tells the story of the intense relationship between psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and his psychoanalyst mentor Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) - David thinks there is an association between the graphic nature of the motion picture and his other films: "You could say, well, Freud insisted on the reality of the human body at a time when people didn't want to know about the body and covered it up with many layers of clothes. Freud talked about penises and vaginas and anuses and excrement and child abuse and incest. That connects this movie to my other movies."

Click to continue reading David Cronenberg: ‘My Movies Are Irrelevant to Me’


Kristen Stewart to Play Snow White?

Kristen StewartKristen Stewart could soon be moving on from fair-skinned vampires to play the fairest one of all.

The Twilight actress is one of several actresses reportedly being considered to star in Snow White and the Huntsman, a project for Universal.

If cast, Stewart could star opposite Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen. The two are up for the title characters.

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron is set to take on the role of the Evil Queen.

Read More | Deadline

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: September 28, 2010

Get Him to the GreekHere are some of the options available this Tuesday:

  • Babies: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Frozen: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Get Him to the Greek: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Good: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Iron Man 2: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Killer Inside Me: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Legend of the Seeker: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Private Eyes: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Thin Red Line: DVD, Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: September 14, 2010

Prince of Persia DVDHere are some of the options available today:

  • Delicatessan: Blu-ray
  • Jacob’s Ladder: DVD, Blu-ray
  • James and the Giant Peach: DVD
  • Just Wright: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Letters to Juliet: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Blu-ray
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Blu-ray
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Blu-ray
  • Monster House: Blu-ray 3D
  • My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?: DVD
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Seven: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: May 25, 2010

Dear JohnHere are some of the options available this Tuesday:

  • City of the Living Dead: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Clash of the Titans (1981): Blu-ray
  • Class of Nuke ‘Em High: Blu-ray
  • Dear John: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Django: Blu-ray
  • Rain Fall: DVD
  • The Road: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Seven Swords: Blu-ray
  • Spartacus (50th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
  • Stagecoach: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Tell Tale: DVD, Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: April 6, 2010

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans DVDHere are some of the options today:

  • Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Cocoon: Blu-ray
  • Dreamscape: Blu-ray
  • Flight of the Intruder: Blu-ray
  • Jade: Blu-ray
  • The Lord of the Rings (1978 animated version): DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy: Blu-ray
  • The Natural (Director’s Cut): Blu-ray
  • Poseidon: Blu-ray
  • The Relic: Blu-ray
  • The Thomas Crown Affair: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

Viggo Mortensen Relates to Character Worries, Exhaustion

Viggo Mortensen in The RoadViggo Mortensen has always been a worried father.

The 51-year-old actor plays a father struggling to protect his son as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world in new movie The Road and he admits he could relate to the fear of not being able to protect your offspring. The star - who has a 21-year-old son, Henry, with his ex-wife Exene Cervenka - said:

“You worry about your child’s future. You’re like, ‘What if I’m away from my infant son or daughter for a few hours, do I trust someone else to take care of them?’ Then, later in life, you’re more concerned about whether you’ll be around anymore to help your children when they’re out of the nest. This movie just takes all those concerns to an extreme.”

Viggo could also relate to his character because the exhaustion he feels in the movie mirrored the tiredness the actor experiences in his life. He told Parade, “This guy is at the end of his rope. He’s dying of tiredness. All that keeps him going is trying to keep himself and his son alive. I was tired, I’d been going from one film to another. I realized the fact I was really exhausted was appropriate for the character.”


Box Office Breakdown: New Moon Covers Its Blind Side

New Moon

What looked like a possible upset early in the game ended in another win for . Although the film pulled in another $42.9 million over the holiday weekend, the Twilight sequel dropped approximately 70% from its first frame and escaped second place by a mere $2.8 million.

The vampires were given a run for their box office dollars by The Blind Side, the sports drama starring Sandra Bullock. Unlike Moon, the heartwarming film actually saw improvement in its second week. The entry also managed to hold off the Chris Weitz-helmed project on Thanksgiving Day.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: New Moon Covers Its Blind Side

Read More | Variety

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