Moviefone Editorial

Tag: robert-eggers

  • Alexander Skarsgård Talks ‘The Northman’

    Alexander Skarsgård at the premiere of 'The Northman.'
    Alexander Skarsgård at the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features’ ‘The Northman.’

    Opening in theaters on April 22nd is the new historic action drama ‘The Northman,’ from ‘The Lighthouse’ director Robert Eggers.

    The movie stars Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, a Viking prince on a quest to avenge his father’s (Ethan Hawke) murder.

    In addition to Skarsgård and Hawke, the film also features Anya Taylor-Joy (‘Last Night in Soho’), Claes Bang (‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’), Bjork (‘Dancer in the Dark’), Willem Dafoe (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’), and Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman (‘Aquaman’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Alexander Skarsgård about his work on ‘The Northman.’

    bRd9o6HL

    You can read our full interview with Alexander Skarsgård about ‘The Northman’ below or watch our interviews with Skarsgård and director Robert Eggers by clicking on the video player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay when you read it? What were your initial thoughts?

    Alexander Skarsgård: I was very excited. I’d been part of the project from the very beginning, so it wasn’t like on most other movies, where you’re sent something and then you start reading it and you’re like, “Oh, this is the story. Okay.” I had met Rob five years ago when we started talking about teaming up and working on a Viking project together.

    That was a real privilege to be part of the whole journey. Even before the first draft was done, to be able to have those creative conversations with Rob and with Sjón, his writing partner on the movie, I learned a lot from that. Again, it was a treat that you don’t always have, or very rarely get as an actor.

    MF: Your director Robert Eggers mentioned to us that you were a Viking historian even before you signed on to this project. How did that knowledge help you prepare to play this role?

    AS: Enthusiasm is very helpful in a creative process because it makes you go deeper and absorb it in a deeper way than if you’re not genuinely excited and thrilled about it. Again, a couple of years before meeting Rob, I had an idea of trying to make a Viking movie. The fact that it came together in this way with such an incredible filmmaker like Rob, I was really over the moon. I couldn’t wait to actually sink my teeth into the material and start working on it, and on the character, and start reading the old Icelandic sagas and books on Norse mythology by different historians and Viking scholars.

    I had Neil Price‘s book, “Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings,” which was my go to source for any inspiration or knowledge about the life of a Viking, the world someone like Amleth would’ve existed in, and how he perceived the spiritual world around him, and the relationship he had to the gods. All that stuff was tremendously helpful again, in shaping the character.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about working with Robert Eggers and watching him execute his unique vision for this movie?

    AS: It’s imperative, and it is 100% historically accurate to Robert. Authenticity is crucial. He does a tremendous amount of research, and basically became a Viking scholar himself in doing research for the movie. He also had four or five Viking historians and archeologists working with him on the screenplay, and on building the sets in order for them to be 100% authentic.

    It made my job quite easy as an actor. When you step onto a set that is 100% a Viking village, everything you’re surrounded by is authentic. The clothes you’re wearing are not even remotely anachronistic. Everything is authentic to the time and the place, and that was very helpful.

    We wanted it to be a very visceral and an immersive experience for the audience. By throwing ourselves into the mud, literally, and being out there and not shooting it on a comfortable sound stage, but actually be out there in the elements, hopefully you can sense that or feel that when you watch the movie. That was at least the goal.

    Alexander Skarsgård in 'The Northman.'
    Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth in director Robert Eggers’ Viking epic ‘The Northman,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2021 Focus Features, LLC.
    BMwudcItLzkheYsPtSAHP2

  • New Trailer for ‘The Northman’

    Alexander Skarsgård in 'The Northman.'
    Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth in director Robert Eggers’ Viking epic ‘The Northman,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2022 Focus Features, LLC.

    If you thought the ‘Thor’ movies or the small screen ‘Vikings’ series were the only place to see Norse stories brought to life, ‘The Witch’ and ‘The Lighthouse’ director Robert Eggers’ latest would like to have a word. Or, more likely, scream in your face while dressed in animal skins before threatening you with an axe.

    ‘The Northman’ is the new movie from Eggers, and it stars Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, who at young age (played early on by Oscar Novak) sees his father murdered by his uncle, who carries his mother off and nearly succeeds in killing Amleth himself.

    Yet the young warrior manages to escape and ends up living with a group of brutal Vikings. When he learns that he’ll have an opportunity to wreak vengeance on his uncle, he goes all-in on the mission.

    Eggers has rounded up quite the cast for this one, with Ethan Hawke playing Amleth’s father, King Aurvandil War-Raven, who suffers a Boromir-like fate when his brother, Fjölnir the Brotherless, played by Denmark’s Claes Bang, decides to take a stab (and a slice) at the throne.

    And with the throne also comes Amleth’s mother, Queen Gudrún, played by Nicole Kidman. And let’s not forget Eggers’ ‘Lighthouse’ star, Willem Dafoe, who here shows up as court jester/soothsayer Heimir the Fool, who helps guide Amleth on his path in more ways than one.

    Dafoe isn’t the only Eggers veteran reuniting with the director – there’s also ‘The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays Olga of the Birch Forest, who becomes important to Amleth. And finally, there’s Icelandic music legend Björk, here playing a Seeress who dresses in weird clothing. Or, for her, a typical Wednesday.

    TmQC0CUL

    If the idea of a prince whose father is murdered and mother married by his uncle sounds familiar, that might be because Eggers and Icelandic author Sjón draw from the same Danish legends that inspired Shakespeare to write ‘Hamlet’. Yet even Shakespearian scholars would agree that the tale of the troubled Dane can’t match ‘The Northman’ for sheer brutality and gore.

    From the looks of this trailer, Eggers has truly unleashed himself, upping the scale and scope of the story from his previous movies while never losing the careful curation of characters and allowing performances to breathe.

    The new promo also shows off the staggering visuals of the movie, which switches between dark and moody and vibrant, fiery scenes without ever feeling like they clash. Violence is at the heart of the story here, but so too is mythology, Eggers seemingly unafraid to dive deep into religious battles and mystical imagery.

    With luck, this will be something quite different from many of Skarsgård’s previous roles, and from what we can see here, he’s thrown himself into the part with gusto.

    ‘The Northman’ promises to be unlike most movies you’ll see this year, but it won’t be for the faint of heart.

    If you want more from the director and others who worked on the film, you’ll also be glad to hear there’s an official podcast about it, which you can find here.

    ‘The Northman’ will open in theaters on April 22nd.

    Ethan Hawke in 'The Northman.'
    Ethan Hawke stars as King Aurvandil in director Robert Eggers’ Viking epic ‘The Northman,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2021 Focus Features, LLC.
    BMwudcItLzkheYsPtSAHP2
  • More Black-and-White Weirdness Unfolds in New ‘The Lighthouse’ Trailer

    More Black-and-White Weirdness Unfolds in New ‘The Lighthouse’ Trailer

    A24

    Robert Eggers’ “The Witch,” released back in 2015, was one of the most audacious and assured debut features in recent memory, a film whose relatively modest budget didn’t hamper the scope of its ambition. Well, Eggers is finally back with his sophomore feature, and if you thought he was going to abandon his stylistic boldness and commitment to esoteric, historically accurate speech patterns, well, the new trailer for should dispel those notions completely. The second trailer for “The Lighthouse,” starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, doubles-down on all of its weirdness. And we couldn’t be more excited.

    TRAILER HERE

    Wow.

    It’s unclear what is happening, exactly, but a bizarre, black-and-white two-hander with Pattinson and Dafoe is just what the world needs right now. Consider us intrigued.

    Produced once again by the folks at A24, “The Lighthouse” (an award winner at Cannes) opens on October 18th.

  • ‘The Lighthouse’ and a (Gasp!) Netflix film Debuting at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight

    ‘The Lighthouse’ and a (Gasp!) Netflix film Debuting at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight

    A24

    New films from “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino,and Robert Rodriguez, along with “The Lighthouse” (from “The Witch” helmer Robert Eggers) will debut at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Oh, and a Netflix film.

    That’s notable because the official festival just banned Netflix films for the second year in a row. Although the Directors’ Fortnight runs concurrently with the Cannes Fest (May 15-25), it’s been run independently by the French Directors Guild for 50 years.

    The Netflix entry that will be showing at Directors’ Fortnight is the horror film “Wounds” by Babak Anvari, whose previous film was “Under the Shadow.” It premiered at the Sundance film festival and will be distributed internationally by Netflix.

    The fest’s new director, Paolo Moretti said this year’s lineup showcases 16 films from directors who have never presented a film at Cannes before. “That’s what Directors’ Fortnight is meant to be doing — be a launchpad for new auteurs who are making fresh, bold choices,” he told Variety.

    He was particularly fond of “The Lighthouse,” which stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, calling it a “hypnotic two-hander.”

    Here are the films scheduled for Directors’ Fortnight:
    “Alice and the Mayor” (directed by Nicolas Pariser)
    “And Then We Danced” (directed by Levan Akin)
    “Blow It to Bits” (directed by Lech Kowalski)
    “Deerskin” (directed by Quentin Dupieux) – opening film
    “Dogs Don’t Wear Pants” (directed by Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää)
    “First Love” (directed by Takashi Miike)
    “An Easy Girl” (directed by Rebecca Zlotowski)
    “For the Money” (directed by Alejo Moguillansky)
    “Ghost Tropic” (directed by Bas Devos)
    “Give Me Liberty” (directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky)
    “The Halt” (directed by Lav Diaz)
    “The Lighthouse” (directed by Robert Eggers)
    “Lillian” (directed by Andreas Horwath)
    “Oleg” (directed by Juris Kursietis)
    “The Orphanage” (directed by Shahrbanoo Sadat)
    “Les Particules” (directed by Blaise Harrison)
    “Perdrix” (directed by Erwan Le Duc)
    “Sick, Sick, Sick” (directed by Alice Furtado)
    “Song Without a Name” (directed by Melina León)
    “Tlamess” (directed by Ala Eddine Slim)
    “To Live to Sing” (directed by Johnny Ma)
    “Wounds” (directed by Babak Anvari)
    “Yves” (directed by Benoît Forgeard) – closing film
    “Zombi Child” (directed by Bertrand Bonello)

    Special screenings
    “Red 11” (directed by Robert Rodriguez)
    “The Staggering Girl” (directed by Luca Guadagnino)

    [Via The Guardian]

  • Robert Pattinson Nearly Punched ‘The Lighthouse’ Director Over Brutal Filming Conditions

    Robert Pattinson Nearly Punched ‘The Lighthouse’ Director Over Brutal Filming Conditions

    Robert Pattinson
    Cinedigm

    Filming has wrapped on “The Lighthouse,” Robert Eggers‘  follow-up film to his horror hit “The Witch.” And it might take until its 2019 release for star Robert Pattinson to forgive Eggers for the brutal conditions on set.

    Talking to his costar Willem Dafoe for Interview, Pattinson said that making the film about an aging lighthouse keeper nearly broke him.

    “That’s the closest I’ve come to punching a director,” Pattinson told Dafoe. “However much I love Robert [Eggers], there was a point where I did five takes walking across the beach, and after a while I was like, ‘What the f**k is going on? I feel like you’re just spraying a fire hose in my face.’ And he was like, ‘I am spraying a fire hose in your face.’ It was like some kind of torture. It definitely creates an interesting energy.”

    Dafoe agreed, “the conditions were so harsh, that we hardly talked outside of scenes.”

    The film, which takes place in Nova Scotia in 1890, will be released by A24 in 2019.

    And another great item from Interview: When Dafoe asked Pattinson about how he handles fame, Pattinson responded, “You have definitely known the same level of celebrity. I saw you walking through Halifax with people chasing you down at the organic grocery.”

    Dafoe responds, “Well, that’s my crowd.”

    Dafoe’s “At Eternity’s Gate,” in which he plays Vincent Van Gogh, opens November 16.

    Pattinson’s sci-fi arthouse film “High Life,” also from A24, opens sometime in 2019.

    [Via Bloody Disgusting, Interview]

  • 11 Best Indie Horror Movie Gems of the Last Decade

    Horror movies are big business, but that doesn’t mean you need big-name directors or stars. All it takes to make an effective horror film is a great premise, a bold vision and many, many late nights.

    Among the greatest recent additions to the genre are “It Follows” and “The Babadook,” low-budget movies that created a big, disturbing impact.

    Here are 11 indie horror films you might have missed.

    20054384 64022

  • ‘The Witch’ Director Robert Eggers’s 5 Favorite Horror Movies

    %Slideshow-365202% Director Robert Eggers knows horror.

    His horror movie, “The Witch,” has been earning raves since its premiere more than a year ago at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Now, on Friday (February 19th), the rest of the country will get to sample Eggers’s brand of horror when “The Witch” is unleashed in theaters nationwide.

    To celebrate the release — and to get you amped for all things horror — we asked Eggers to reveal his five all-time favorite horror movies. If this list is any indication, “The Witch” is going to hit you right in your horror-loving heart. 2015 Sundance Film Festival Portraits - Day 4

  • First Trailer for ‘The Witch’ Is Here: Let the Horror Buzz Begin!

    If “The Crucible” and “The Village” had an evil, terrifying, but critically-adored baby … it might look something like “The Witch.”

    And then that baby might get stolen by a witch, as teased in the horror film’s unsettling first trailer.

    “The Witch,” the feature film debut of writer-director Robert Eggers, was a smash at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and won the Directing Award. It promises to be a hit with the horror set when it arrives in 2016, although we’ll have to wait for a more specific release date.

    “The Witch” follows a 1630s colonial New England family who are forced to leave their town due to the parents’ devout religious beliefs. They create a new home on the edge of a wood, but when their newborn son goes missing, religious hysteria takes over, and the family members turn on each other as they unravel.

    As Entertainment Weekly noted, director Robert Eggers previously worked as a production designer, costume designer and art director, and you can see the influences in the stunning visuals of the trailer:

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

    %Slideshow-313594%