Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Elessar in director Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
Andy Serkis says they’re looking for a new actor to play Aragorn.
Viggo Mortensen is not returning to the role for ‘The Hunt for Gollum’.
The movie will shoot in New Zealand this year.
Though ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ features some of the familiar key creative types behind the scenes (including Andy Serkis directing and playing the titular creature and franchise overseer Peter Jackson producing), there will be a key change in front of the camera.
News arrives that Viggo Mortensen, who played the heroic, destiny-heavy Aragorn in the first three ‘LOTR’ movies, is not reprising the role for ‘Gollum’.
“I don’t know what’s out there at the moment, but I know there’s a lot of speculation, but let’s just say we are recasting the role and we are on the way to finding someone.”
While Mortensen won’t be back, Kate Winslet has joined the cast and original franchise stalwarts Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and others are all rumored to return.
When will ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ be on screens?
Warner Bros. and New Line currently have a December 17, 2027 slot ready for this one.
(L to R) Sean Austin, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
List of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Movies and TV Shows:
(Left) Kate Winslet stars in ‘Lee’. (Right) Andy Serkis as Gollum in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
Preview:
Kate Winslet’s in talks to star in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’.
Andy Serkis is directing and playing a spindly creature.
The movie will shoot in New Zealand this year.
There’s an exciting update following 2024’s news of Gollum acting veteran Andy Serkis stepping into the director’s chair for a new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie.
With the movie set to shoot across several months this year in New Zealand, Winslet will be relocating to film her scenes.
She joins Serkis (who is back in the performance capture gear once again to bring Gollum to life) and a rumored Elijah Wood (as Frodo) and Ian McKellen (as Gandalf).
What’s the story of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’?
Andy Serkis as Gollum in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
Deadline’s latest report brings fresh plot details: the new film follows Aragorn’s perilous quest to capture Gollum before the creature can reveal the Ring’s location to Sauron.
There’s no word yet on whether Viggo Mortensen will be back as Aragorn, but Peter Jackson’s involvement as producer will surely entice as many of the original cast (who make sense, and feature in the story) back as needed.
When will ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ be on screens?
Warner Bros. and New Line currently have a December 17, 2027 release slot ready for this one.
(L to R) Sean Austin, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
List of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Movies and TV Shows:
Jerry Bruckheimer says he’s developing a sequel to 1995 submarine thriller ‘Crimson Tide’.
Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman starred in the original.
A writer and director are involved in the new potential project.
Having seen big success wrangling a sequel to one of his previous hits via ‘Top Gun Maverick,’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer is looking to do it again.
Talking on a recent episode of ‘The Rich Eisen Show,’ Bruckheimer revealed that he was in the early stages of developing a follow-up to 1995 submarine thriller ‘Crimson Tide.’
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While the new project is still very much in its infancy, Bruckheimer did say that a writer and director –– who he did not name –– were already having discussions with the Navy as to the current state of undersea warfare, as a new scenario will be needed for this movie.
In the near future, Russian rebels have seized control of one of the ICBM bases in the USSR. Alarmed by the prospect of a rebel strike, the U.S. sends the USS Alabama, a nuclear ballistic missile submarine, to watch over the base and retaliate in case they launch.
While on patrol, the submarine is attacked and the radio systems are knocked out, but after first receiving an emergency message from HQ to launch nuclear missiles at the rebels. A second emergency message received during the battle is only partially recovered.
Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman) decides to carry out the first order to launch the missiles regardless while Executive Officer Hunter (Denzel Washington) wants to wait for a successful receipt of the second message once the radio systems are repaired. The conflict escalates into mutiny as Ramsey and Hunter fight for control of the Alabama’s nuclear missiles.
But it was perhaps more famous for the people behind the keyboard for the script; while Michael Schiffer’s name is on the screenplay, with Richard P. Henrick credited for the story, there was an extensive list of writers who did passes, including Robert Towne and Quentin Tarantino.
According to Bruckheimer, the hope is to entice Washington to return (Hackman retired years ago and died in February of this year).
Here’s what he said about the possibility:
“If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it.”
Variety reached out to a source close to Washington, who brought word that the actor would consider the idea, but is certainly waiting to see any screenplay.
As to who is at work on the concepts for the new movie, Bruckheimer declined to name them.
There are no details, plot or otherwise, about this sequel, so we can only speculate what it might focus on. The technology behind nuclear submarines has moved on considerably from the days of the original, and yet the basics remain.
A nuclear submarine was a key plot point in the last two ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, and the concept of technology aboard such a vessel could well play into the new one.
And it’s worth noting that Disney, which has the rights to ‘Crimson Tide’, has yet to comment on the possibility of any sequel –– but given Bruckheimer’s long working relationship with the studio, he certainly has leeway to say what he likes about future projects.
Here’s what Bruckheimer told Eisen about a potential return for Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell:
“I can’t talk about [the story] yet, but it’s a real good one.”
What else is Denzel Washington working on?
Denzel Washington attends Netflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ LA premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on November 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix.
Though he has been making statements about retiring, at least from acting, he’s still keeping busy.
This is what he said about potentially stepping back from being on screen:
“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker. The things that are going on for me professionally behind the camera are as important to me now as in front of the camera. I think there’s less and less time I’ll be spending in front of the camera.”
He’s preparing to work on crime drama ‘Here Comes the Flood,’ and he’s talked up a potential role in the planned third ‘Black Panther’ movie, which director Ryan Coogler has confirmed could happen, and he has other possible roles coming up, including a project about the historical warrior Hannibal.
And even if he does decide that his days as an actor are numbered, he’ll likely to continue to produce and direct movies.
When might the ‘Crimson Tide’ sequel be on screens?
With the script not even written yet and no other details offered, we don’t expect this one to come together for a while yet.
If Denzel Washington does sign on to star, that’ll have this one moving a little faster and encourage the studio financiers to turn their keys and release the funds for this one to be made.
Viggo Mortensen’s second film as a director, writer, producer, and composer – not to mention, of course, actor – is about as far away from possible in time and place from his debut in those areas, 2020’s ‘Falling.’ But the themes of marginalization, brutality, intolerance, and the expression of violence remain the same, even as Mortensen transports them to the Old West. While this slow-moving and occasionally confusing film gets the period details right and creates a strong central female character, it takes a while to get to the heart of the story.
Story and Direction
Director Viggo Mortensen on the set of ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcela Nava.
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ opens in the 1860s, near the small town of Elks Flat, Nevada, where we are introduced to Danish immigrant and local sheriff Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) in the middle of a somber ceremony. Following a visit by Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston), Olsen heads into town and promptly resigns as sheriff following a trial held in what passes for the local courthouse.
From this point on, the story flashes back to how Holger and a French-Canadian woman named Vivienne (Vicky Krieps) first meet – after arriving in San Francisco – fall in love, and eventually settle on Holger’s small parcel of land outside Elks Flat. But as the American Civil War breaks out, Holger makes a fateful decision: he heads out to fight for the Union and doesn’t return for several years. In the meantime, Vivienne is left to fend for herself, getting a job behind the bar at the local saloon, where she catches the attention of the vicious, sadistic Weston Jeffries (Solly McLeod), son of the town’s wealthiest and most powerful landowner, Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt).
What happens from there basically brings us full circle, as Holger eventually returns from the war to find things are drastically different on his homestead. Nevertheless, he and Vivienne manage to find a way to rekindle their relationship and thrive as a family before things take one more dark turn.
(L to R) Solly McLeod and Viggo Mortensen in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcel Zyskind.
As with ‘Falling,’ Mortensen stages all this in deliberately-paced fashion – almost too deliberate, as several scenes feature extended silences that skate on the thin edge between uncomfortable and gratuitous. The time-bending early part of the film is not handled well either – the first act’s confluence of events past and present, as well as the introduction of the major characters, is confusing and jarring at first. But when the narrative focuses on the relationship between Vivienne and Holger – and more specifically, Vivienne’s journey as she adapts to life on her own and allows Holger back into her life on her terms – ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ comes to life.
Vivienne proves herself to be an incredibly resourceful, resilient woman, allowing this to join an esteemed but short list of Westerns featuring female protagonists that stretches at first glance from ‘Johnny Guitar’ (1954) to ‘Meek’s Cutoff’ (2011). Although Holger has his own arc as well, this is Vivienne’s story all the way, and kudos to Mortensen for making a film in which the ostensible male lead must ultimately adapt his life around the woman’s choices.
If ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ doesn’t exactly set the screen on fire, it’s because Mortensen chooses to unfold the story in a laconic fashion that matches the slow pace of life in Elks Flat. The languid passage of time may lend the film a lot of atmosphere, but doesn’t always reward the viewer’s patience. On a technical level, Mortensen does a fine job in expanding his visual palette on his second directorial outing, with an immersive, detailed setting and spacious, lovely cinematography by Marcel Zyskind.
The Cast
Vicky Krieps in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcel Zyskind.
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ is all about Vicky Krieps. The acclaimed French actor has never fully impressed us before in films like ‘Phantom Thread,’ ‘Old,’ and ‘Beckett,’ but she gives a truly impressive performance here. Although put through the wringer physically and emotionally, Vivienne never loses her humanity or sense of self, and her decision at one crucial point to remain on the homestead instead of fleeing is a brief, subtle, but powerful moment. Krieps underplays throughout, never resorting to showy melodramatics, while exuding a quiet, captivating strength that fuels the film’s second act.
A less generous writer-star-director might want his perceived share of the spotlight, but Viggo Mortensen is clear about who his main character is, and his Holger disappears from the film for much of its middle. Holger himself is humane and caring, and while his decision to go off to war may seem impractical and even selfish, it springs from a deep moral conviction. It’s that same moral grounding that leads him back to Vivienne and opens him to make a life with her where many less empathetic men might not even try. Mortensen is taciturn yet gentle in the role, and the actor’s natural warmth shines through as always.
The rest of the cast populates the town of Elks Flat with the usual assortment of recognizable character types, from a hard-bitten judge to Danny Huston’s duplicitous mayor, and Mortensen’s script gives everyone a brief moment or two to stand out. Only Solly McLeod’s Weston comes across as a pure, one-dimensional monster, making his character arc gratifying on the surface yet hollow.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps star in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Photo: Shout! Studios.
The best Westerns – from ‘The Searchers’ to ‘Unforgiven’ – live in a moral gray area, where the archetypes of good guys and bad guys are peeled away to reveal motivations that are more complex and ambivalent. ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ never quite gets there, thanks to the unredeemable nature of its antagonists, which renders the narrative spine of the movie somewhat stock. Yet the other half of the equation here – the emotional dynamic between the characters portrayed by Krieps and Mortensen, along with Krieps’ towering performance – manages to keep ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ compelling to the end even if one leaves the film somewhat unsatisfied.
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’?
Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) and Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) begin a life together on a homestead outside the town of Elks Flat in 1860s Nevada, but a fateful decision by Holger leaves Vivienne alone to fend for herself against the insidious, corrupt men of the town.
(L to R) Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps talk ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with filmmaker and actor Viggo Mortensen and actress Vicky Krieps about their work on ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt,’ developing the screenplay, the characters, Krieps’ experience being directed by Mortensen, working with the crew and why Westerns are fun to make.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Mortensen, Krieps, Danny Huston and Solly McLeod.
Viggo Mortensen in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcel Zyskind.
Moviefone: To begin with, Viggo, can you talk about developing the screenplay and the themes you wanted to explore as a director?
Viggo Mortensen: Well, I started out writing this. It was during the pandemic 2020, and then it took, as it always does with independent films, some years to find the money to shoot it. But I started writing a story about a strong independent woman and then decided to place it in the west, turned into a Western, which I like the idea of. I’ve been in some, and I grew up like most kids in my generation, seeing them on TV and going to the movies and seeing them. Themes, I did want to explore, for example, the character of Vivienne played by Vicky. She is our central character, which is unusual to have a woman be the central character in a Western, and even more unusual to stay with her when her male partner goes off to war or on an adventure of some kind. That’s what we do. It’s really her story.
Vicky Krieps in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcel Zyskind.
MF: Vicky, can you talk about your approach to playing Vivienne?
Vicky Krieps: Well, I’m a strong independent woman in a particular time. I think maybe that is why it was not so difficult to play because reading his script, I was really reminded of society today and how it’s all coming back and how everything is finally built on the structure of the western world, the western town. We’re still dealing with fighting over land. We’re still pushing borders. We’re still fighting our neighbor for being someone else. So, I really felt reminded of today. Playing her, I really was reminded of myself. I must fight myself a lot to try and become the woman I want to be, even if today it’s supposed to be easier, but I’m still struggling with the same preconceptions. If you’re a woman, you’re supposed to be this, and if you’re a mother, you’re supposed to be that. If you’re an actress, you’re supposed to be this. So, I struggle myself with this a lot. I think playing Vivienne was the first time I was able to let myself go in acting and let it happen and let it be close to myself.
(L to R) Solly McLeod and Viggo Mortensen in ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcel Zyskind.
MF: Viggo, director John Ford once said, “If they knew how much fun it was to make a Western, they wouldn’t let us do it.” Do you agree with that? Is it fun making a Western and what do you love about this genre?
VM: Well, it was a lot of work, but like Vicky, I knew how to ride horses before working on this movie. I think we both loved being in those landscapes and in that place. It was hard work, early mornings, long days of work, most scenes were outdoors, but getting to be on horseback and those landscapes was a treat. It was special.
MF: Vicky, what was it like working with Viggo as both an actor and director?
VK: So, it was my first time. I know we are all multiple people, but it was interesting because I always had to be on my toes and I always had to remind myself who I was responding to, not so much depending on if Viggo would be different or talk different. It was more me and myself, what I was expecting. What are my expectations, what am I projecting? What am I projecting onto the director to be and onto the actor to be? I always had to come back to reality or to the moment and connect with the true thing in that moment, which was if he was the actor in that moment, what did my actor partner just say to me and not think about what is the director maybe thinking about? If that makes sense. So, it was a great school.
Director Viggo Mortensen on the set of ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’. Credit: Marcela Nava.
MF: Finally, Viggo, can you talk about working with your cinematographer to set up shots? Did you storyboard your scenes before shooting?
VM: No, I don’t storyboard, but I do make shot lists and I’m careful about that. I mean, I think that’s what I’ve learned from the good directors I’ve worked for. Women and men who are very different and make different kinds of movies, but they all prepare. Even if you prepare perfectly, there’s always something more you can do and there’s going to be something that happens. Each day is going to be a problem, little ones, big ones. Making movies is about solving problems all the time and for everybody. The other thing is to just make sure everybody on the team, the crew, the actors, that they know that it’s clear from the beginning that their ideas matter, what they feel about things. I can disagree, but I want to hear it because a good idea can come from anywhere and we have one shot to make the scene. We have one shot to tell this story and let’s try to do it together. It makes people feel like it’s not just another job. It may be difficult, but we’re in it together and it’s special. It’s a special story, and their opinion is valued. It doesn’t matter who you are. So, we had a great experience in that regard. It was a good team.
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What is the plot of ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’?
Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) and Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) begin a life together on a homestead outside the town of Elks Flat in 1860s Nevada, but a fateful decision by Holger leaves Vivienne alone to fend for herself against the insidious, corrupt men of the town.
Barry Levinson is going to direct ‘Assassination,’ a new film about the murder of President John F. Kennedy.
Writer David Mamet was initially set to direct the picture himself before stepping aside.
Starring Al Pacino, Viggo Mortensen, and others, the movie will focus on the theory that JFK was taken out by members of the Mafia.
The murder of President John F. Kennedy, along with one of the major conspiracy theories about who was behind it, is coming back to the big screen for the first time in over 30 years.
Announced earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie ‘Assassination’ has landed a director in Barry Levinson, according to Deadline.
David Mamet, who wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Celozzi, was slated to direct the film, but has now stepped away from that role and turned it over to Levinson. The latter is known for films like ‘Good Morning, Vietnam,’ ‘Bugsy,’ and ‘Rain Man,’ as well as more recent efforts like the Hulu miniseries ‘Dopesick,’ on which he executive produced and directed two episodes.
Who is in the cast?
Al Pacino at the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
And yes, in case you didn’t get the hint from that casting, ‘Assassination’ will focus on the theory that the Mafia, specifically Chicago boss Sam Giancana, was behind the murder of JFK in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
According to speculation, the Mafia wanted revenge after supposedly helping to get Kennedy elected, only to see his administration go after organized crime with increased fervor.
Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison in director Oliver Stone’s ‘JFK.’
The last major American motion picture to chronicle the assassination of President Kennedy and present it as the result of a massive conspiracy was Oliver Stone’s 1991 masterpiece, ‘JFK.’
The film, which was nominated for Best Picture, starred Kevin Costner as New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, who attempted to prove that alleged lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald did not shoot the president and was instead the fall guy for a plot – a coup d’état — that reached into the upper echelons of the CIA and the U.S. military.
Stone’s movie downplayed the involvement of the Mafia, suggesting that organized crime was at best a supporting player in the conspiracy. The controversial film launched a debate and outcry that actually led to the release of nearly all classified files related to Kennedy’s murder by 2017.
Since the release of ‘JFK,’ only a few fleeting films, such as ‘Ruby’ (1992), Stone’s own ‘Nixon’ (1995), and Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ (2019), have touched on the idea that others beside Oswald were behind the death of Kennedy.
As for ‘Assassination,’ this marks the third time that Levinson and Mamet have worked together, with Levinson directing 1997’s ‘Wag the Dog’ from Mamet’s script and executive producing the writer-director’s 2013 HBO movie ‘Phil Spector.’
Levinson has also directed Pacino in three earlier pictures, including ‘The Humbling,’ ‘You Don’t Know Jack,’ and ‘Paterno.’ There’s no word yet on when filming for ‘Assassination’ will begin, pending the resolution of the current SAG-AFTRA strike, and no release date or distributor has been set.
Oscar® nominee, Al Pacino arrives on the red carpet of The 92nd Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
Now playing in select theaters and premiering on August 5th on Prime Video is the new film ‘Thirteen Lives,’ which was directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard and is based on a true story.
The film stars Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, and Tom Bateman as a group of elite divers that help save a junior football team and their coach after they are trapped in a Northern Thailand cave for 18 days.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Ron Howard and actor Colin Farrell about their work on ‘Thirteen Lives,’ the real-life story that inspired it, and shooting the underwater sequences.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Ron Howard, Collin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Sahajak “Poo” Boonthankit, Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo, Weir Sukollawat Kanaros, Pattrakorn “Ploy” Tungsupakul, and co-producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ron what was it about this true story that inspired you to make this movie?
Ron Howard: It’s such a story for this moment because it’s about putting divisions aside, putting politics aside, and international people across borders getting something done. That requires a lot. That requires a spirit of volunteerism. It also requires that the country that is where the crisis is occurring has to also allow for this.
So, I thought on so many levels the story was inspiring, and informative, and set a great example. Also, it’s just a great movie story. It’s suspenseful, it’s emotional, and it’s all the things that I love to see in a film.
MF: Colin, the character you play, John Volanthen, was uniquely qualified as a diver for this particular rescue. Can you talk about his experience as a diver and the challenges of convincing the government officials to let him help?
Colin Farrell: The experience of the divers? I mean, it’s such a cottage industry, cave diving. There’re not many cave divers in the world. I think it’s becoming a little bit more popular through the years, but maybe that means the addition of an extra 20 divers globally every year. It’s something that they love to do.
I play John Volanthen and he mixes it up. He’s an incredibly measured man, incredibly bright, but he also has an extreme side to him. He runs ultra-marathons, and he’s been doing cave diving for 30 years. They make their own equipment as well, Rick and John, they’re just a one stop shop. They make their own equipment and they modify it themselves.
All this stuff, it didn’t look like it was high end technologically advanced gear that they brought to Thailand. It was all homemade stuff. They were just the only ones that were really equipped with a certain set of skills to do this particular thing.
Colin Farrell at Prime Video’s ‘Thirteen Lives’ premiere.
So, they, without hesitation, went over and they didn’t know. They didn’t know when they arrived. Nobody knew if the boys were still alive, even by that point. I do know that there was a stage where they believed that they were going to be finding dead bodies as opposed to alive children.
This story is very much about the coming together and the communal experience of shared care, focused in toward one direction of the rescue that was needed to take place. But of course, there were arguments and of course there were misunderstandings. Of course, understandably certain factions of the Thai government were suspicious about outsiders, as they should be. But at the end of the day, they worked it out on site.
I wasn’t there, but I know they worked it out and I know they all came together. It’s been very documented. Some of the tensions have also been documented. It’s already a two-and-a-half-hour film, so we didn’t have time. Ron didn’t want to explore that. It wasn’t the point of the story that we were telling. You have to make judicial cuts, of course.
But at the end of the day, everyone did come together, and they came together for one common purpose. That was the most beautiful aspect of being part of this film, in such a divided world. This was the opposite. It was people that looked beyond national division, looked beyond even cultural separation and said, “Okay, let’s do what’s right by these kids. The most important thing is to get them out alive.”
MF: Finally, Ron can you talk as a director about the challenges of shooting the underwater sequences and training the actors to be able to accomplish those scenes?
RH: Well, I was a little cavalier about it because I’ve done a lot of filming underwater, going back to ‘Splash’ and ‘Cocoon.’ Over the years, I’ve done a lot of filming underwater in the heart of the sea. It’s always been exciting and very productive.
But I underestimated the degree of difficulty when you create the caves. We built all of those caves and recreated the most dangerous spots along the cave system. But I underestimated how difficult it was going to be and how much the safety issues were going to factor into making sure we even could shoot on a tank with these caves. It was just so constricted and risky.
You’re still talking about trapping people in a space like that. The training was vital. Two of the actual cave rescuers were technical advisors on the movie and came not only to make sure we were getting it right, but they got in the water with our actors, our stunt people, and our stunt coordinators and made sure that we got it right. That the technique was right.
They did such a great job that the actors came to me and said, “We now believe we can do this safely. Please, let’s not use any stunt people. We want to do it ourselves. It’s literally part of the characters that we now have to create.” That’s the way it worked out. It was heroic.
Director/Producer Ron Howard at Prime Video’s ‘Thirteen Lives’ premiere.
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Bringing based-on-truth dramas to the screen can be a tricky affair – while you’ve got all that built-in tension and (usually) at least a happy ending to wrap things up. But then there’s the touchy subject of real lives being involved, and, in this case, also tragically lost.
Still, Ron Howard is an old hand at this sort of thing (‘Rush’, ‘Apollo 13’) and this time he’s bringing ‘Thirteen Lives’ the compelling tale of an international effort by divers to rescue a team of soccer players.
You might find yourself wondering quite why divers would need to rescue sportsmen outside of the likes of rowing or swimming, but ‘Thirteen Lives’ has a twist. In June and July 2018, the members of a junior football team were trapped for 18 days in Thailand’s Tham Luang Nang Non cave, after heavy rainfall flooded the cave system and blocked their way out.
As the team – who ranged in age from 11-16 years old – and their coach remained trapped for weeks, the situation attracted global interest and an international rescue team was assembled to locate them. Howard’s film will chronicle the events of the rescue, focusing on the efforts of the divers to save the trapped team members.
The event captured the world’s attention, and naturally several projects have either emerged or are still in developed. Suffice it to say, Howard’s carries a high profile.
“Like a lot of people, I was aware of what was going on,” says the director. “My wife, Cheryl, was really glued and paying attention, and of course, the outcome was a relief to the world. It was one of those tremendous moments. When I had a chance to read William Nicholson’s script, it not only delivered on everything I had recalled, but it suggested so much more. There were more levels and dimensions to the heroics and to the people involved, especially the Thai people, and there were surprises in the story.”
“I just felt like I could make something really visceral and immediate and do what a scripted version of a telling of a true story is supposed to do, which is to make it more engaging and engage the nervous system of the audience, in addition to trying to give all the information. It was a really exciting creative opportunity for me, and I knew I would learn a lot about Thai culture,” he adds.
Howard, who has also garnered plenty of experience on the factual side of things with the documentaries he’s either directed or produced, here errs on the side of heroics, but doesn’t discount the danger. And then there’s that cast – Mortensen in particular breaking out a pretty solid British accent.
While ‘Thirteen Lives’ was produced by MGM, the company’s deal with Amazon means the movie will arrive in select theaters on July 29th before hitting Prime Video globally on August 5th.
The result is a very David Cronenberg movie that feels like a cross between ‘eXistenZ‘ and ‘Crash,’ and features strong performances from its leads and some fascinating themes that ultimately get lost by the strangeness of the world Cronenberg has created.
‘Crimes of the Future’ takes place in a world where “Accelerated Evolution” is possible, physical pain has become a thing of the past, and “surgery is the new sex.” Saul Tanner (Mortensen) and Caprice (Seydoux) are performance artists that become famous for repeatedly removing Saul’s new organs. They soon meet Wippet (McKellar), from the National Organ Registry, and his assistant Timlin (Stewart), who becomes obsessed with Saul and his abilities.
(L to R) Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, and Kristen Stewart in David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future.’ Photo courtesy of Neon.
Meanwhile, an 8-year-old boy that eats plastic is murdered by his mother. His father (Speedman) takes drastic measures by begging Saul and Caprice to use the body in their act and reveal the truth about his death through an on-stage autopsy. Saul has become weak from his surgeries and the boy’s autopsy might hold the secrets to his own existence.
It’s worth noting that David Cronenberg made a film in 1970 also called ‘Crimes of the Future,’ which has no connection to this movie. The new film is neither a sequel or a remake to the original, they just share the same title.
Cronenberg has built a reputation of creating weird worlds in films such as ‘Scanners,’ ‘Naked Lunch,’ and ‘eXistenZ’ but in recent years has made more realistic movies like ‘Crash,’ ‘A History of Violence,’ ‘Eastern Promises,’ ‘A Dangerous Method,’ and ‘Maps to the Stars.’ With ‘Crimes of the Future,’ the director returns to his earlier work with a film filled with weird characters and visuals that examines our own world. However, the movie feels buried by the weight of its oddness, and often loses the idea of the themes that it is trying to express.
(L to R) Léa Seydoux and Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future.’ Photo courtesy of Neon.
What Cronenberg does well is create a creepy and disturbing world for his characters to exist in and his themes to be explored. However, exactly what themes is he trying to explore becomes the question. He’s established a fascinating world where pain is obsolete, and surgery and body manipulation has replaced sex as pleasure. I’d like to think this is commentary on our own world where face tattoos and body piercings have become the norm, but it’s hard to say since that idea is eventually muddied by the intricate plot.
There is also an environmental theme, which involves the boy who eats plastic, a sub-plot that becomes the main-plot by the film’s end. But again, if Cronenberg is trying to say something about protecting the environment, it is lost amongst the colorful world and bizarre characters that he includes in the film.
But the film is worth watching for Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux’s performances, which are both layered and completely unique. Mortensen, who is a constant Cronenberg collaborator, physically transforms himself with this role. You never for a moment doubt the believability of his performance, while the deep emotion of his circumstance comes shining through.
Seydoux plays Caprice as a damaged soul trying to find her purpose in this world, and the actress makes her character’s feelings for Saul very clear. Yes, there is love between the two, but more importantly, a mutual respect.
(L to R) Kristen Stewart and Léa Seydoux in David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future.’ Photo courtesy of Neon.
While Mortensen and Seydoux give strong lead performances, the supporting cast stumbles, especially Kristen Stewart, who plays against type as the awkward Timlin. Stewart’s character seems out of place, even in this world, and never quite fits within the tone of the film.
Actor Scott Speedman, who plays a father who’s lost his son, fails to reach any level of recognizable emotion that you would expect from a character dealing with the loss of a child. The role does nothing more than service the plot, and the actor’s performance does nothing to elevate the role.
In the end, David Cronenberg has gone “Full-Cronenberg” with this film, and fans of the director’s classic movies will enjoy the weirdness that the filmmaker has created. But, the average audience member will be confused by the unique world and characters, and the film’s obtuse and confusing plot.
‘Crimes of the Future’ receives 2.5 out of 5 stars.
“The Return of the King” came out 15 years ago, which seems pretty crazy when you think back to how excruciating the wait between “Lord of the Rings” sequels seemed. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of the most popular fantasy sequels of all time with these interesting facts about “Return of the King.
1. Because post-production work didn’t wrap until the last minute, director Peter Jackson didn’t actually see the final version of “Return of the King” until its official premiere.
2. Both Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis were given One Ring props as gifts after filming wrapped, and both believed they were given the only copy.
WB/New Line
3. According to Philippa Boyens, Pippen’s song was only added into the movie after she experienced Billy Boyd’s singing voice during a night of karaoke.
4. While the climax of the film features Aragorn battling a troll, the original intent was to have him face a reborn Sauron. The Extended Edition DVD features a rough animatic that shows what this sequence might have looked like.
WB/New Line
5. Gimli actor Jonathan Rhys-Davies often broke out in rashes because of his makeup and prosthetics. On his final day of filming, he relished the chance to throw his mask in a fire. (But did he keep his AX?!)
6. The Oliphaunt carcass Legolas kills during the Battle of Minas Tirith is an actual, physical prop and is reportedly the single largest movie prop ever created.
WB/New Line
7. In English, the song Viggo Mortensen sings translates to, “Out of the Great Sea to Middle Earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.”
8. Jackson had to enlist the aid of the New Zealand army for the Black Gate sequence, both to serve as extras and to sweep the area for leftover landmines.
WB/New Line
9. “Return of the King” cemented the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy as the most Oscar-nominated franchise in history at the time. It also tied the record for the most Oscar wins that year.
10. Denethor actor John Noble played himself on an episode of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” with the time-travelling superheroes recruiting Noble in the midst of filming “Return of the King.”
The CW
11. Elijah Wood was hospitalized after the prop of Shelob’s stinger actually caused a puncture wound.
12. This movie, at the time, became only the second film in history to cross one billion dollars in global box office. Quite a few blockbusters have followed suit in the 15 years since.
WB/New Line
13. While “Return of the King” is often criticized for its multiple endings, there was actually even more material that didn’t make the final cut. Jackson originally planned to include an epilogue sequence — narrated by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel — that detailed the eventual fates of the various Fellowship members.
