Possible new projects for Viggo

From www.moviehole.net
A History of Dancing with Wolves?
Date : May 8, 2008 Writer : Ramius




Kevin Costner needs a hit like deodorant needs an under-arm. Not that he realizes it.
Had an interesting chat with someone today (she is someone who should know!) about the long-awaited "The Holy Road", the follow-up to book/film "Dances with Wolves", which Costner hit the big time with in 1990.

Seems the film, which again fixes on the character Costner played in the original, is progressing nicely. Just one hiccup, really : Um, Costner doesn't want to do it.

Yeah, I said the same thing. "What!?, is he crazy?! He'll do rubbish like Dragonfly and Mr. Brooks, but he won't reprise his best role?".

So, he's out.

Director Simon Wincer ("The Man From Snowy River", "Free Willy") is on the search for a new 'Dances with Wolves' and the name we've heard that's the favourite to play the role right now is Viggo Mortensen. If Mortensen can stand pulling himself away from David Cronenberg for a couple of months, the role might do him so good. I think he'd be rather super in it, too.

The producers seem to be treating this as a direct sequel to the original film so we can assume they'll be going after Graham Greene, Mary Mc Donnell and Wes Studi to reprise their roles from the film. Strongly doubt they'll, like Costner, knock an offer back.

"The Holy Road", which is on target to film sometime in 2009, picks up eleven years later, with 'Dances with Wolves' married to Stands With Fist - they have kiddies, too - and the white man encroaching further on the lives of the Sioux as they build a railway, the titular 'Holy Road'.
I'd say it's safe to say some subtitles are in order.

Dances With Wolves is one of my favourite movies. I would love to see Viggo play in a sequel as Dunbar. I think he could bring much sensitivity to the role.

From a review I found on the book:

Quote :

THE HOLY ROAD is a good, poignant read, telling an important story from the perspective of those who were in no position to tell their own story. It is a book of extraordinary insight and sympathy, explaining the vast cultural and psychological gulf that separated the warring forces on the frontier. Unfortunately, very few readers of THE HOLY ROAD will be looking forward to a sequel once the book closes. We know, only too well, where the story goes from here.

From here: http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0375760407.asp

Thanks for posting this Jennifer.

From www.cinemablend.com

Mortensen To Replace Costner In Dances Sequel


By Ed Perkis: 2008-05-09 01:01:48

I remember thinking, almost 20 years ago, that Dances with Wolves was one of the best movies I’d ever seen. Then I got some perspective and realized it was good, but not that good. I don’t even consider it Kevin Costner’s best directorial effort (that goes to Open Range). Still, it was a huge hit and a multiple Oscar winner, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Hollywood wants our favorite white man turned Indian to dance with those wolves again.

As we noted back in November of last year, Costner isn’t interested in reprising his role as Lt. John Dunbar in the Dances with Wolves followup, The Holy Road. That means a new pretend Comanche warrior is going to be needed. According to Moviehole, Strider himself, Viggo Mortensen is on the short list replace Costner and live on the plains with Stands with a Fist, Wind in his Hair, and Kicking Bird.

Mortensen would be a good choice to take the reins for the adaptation of Michael Blake’s book. Reportedly, Blake wrote the first book after staying with Viggo and Mortensen was considered for the role of Dunbar way back in 1990. In the sequel, Dances with Wolves and Stands with a Fist are married with three children and the white man is bearing down on the whole Comanche way of life. Something tells me that the white man won’t look so great in this movie. Simon Wincer is set to direct and if they actually get Mortenen on board, we could actually see this in theaters in the next couple of years.

From the cinemablend piece:

"Something tells me that the white man won’t look so great in this movie. "



Like he looked so 'great' in the first movie? Some reporters should really do their research before making such dopey statements.

If that is so Vigs, then there is no other choice to play the part. I totally agree!

It is too bad Viggo won't be doing the movie Vigs. I suppose he is too busy with other projects. I do like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau though. He was starring in a television program here, called New Amsterdam that was quite interesting. He was a police detective who was immortal and had lived through several lifetimes.

Yes, unfortunately New Amsterdam finished, and they did not think there will likely be any more episodes. Nikolaj's English is perfect, but he has a very soft and lingering accent, from his native home.

I got to thinking the past few days on Viggo doing the role of Dunbar in the sequel to Dances with Wolves and wondered if he would want to do it. I mean there would always be the questions of whether or not he should have done it in the first place.

To be honest I think that is a moot point. Mr. Costner did it. And Mr. Costner did an excellent job and brought to the role an innocence or naiveté that was necessary for the role - he was discovering these people, their ways of living, loving... Without having read the sequel, I think the Dunbar in the sequel would be someone more hardened, more worldly (jaded maybe) within that kind of context he would be living and a character far removed from the Dunbar we saw in Dances. As the audience we were like Dunbar living this 'progression' and by the ending we were disappointed and jaded as was Dunbar. So now we pick up the story, our feelings - a number of years later...

So should Viggo want to do it? Could he bring Dunbar to the screen with hommage to the audiences of the original while encapturing a new audience with sensitivity and wonder? I think he could do it. But as a fan I would understand whatever decision he would make. Sequels can be risky and Viggo certainly has a good handle on his career. If he does it I'll be there most assuredly with my popcorn, tissues and open mind.

The writing of the book was a wedding present to Viggo and Exene. The copy I saw in a local library is dedicated to her.

If he does it I hope it is not because of any other reason than he would do a good job.

I think there could be many rumors about Dances with Wolves too about the part being written for Viggo. Is that a sure thing?

The movie won Oscars for best movie, best director who was Costner and best adapted screenplay who was the author Michael Blake. Found this - read the part about the writing of the screenplay. If this is authentic then Blake wrote the screenplay with Costner in mind to play the role. In the 'Hollywood' world it is hard to know what is truth and what is rumor.

Quote :

"I come from the school of writing that doesn't really create characters so much, as much as they try to share their experience with people. That's what I did with John Dunbar (the Kevin Costner character); I was Lieutenant Dunbar. It was a way for me to have these experiences that I wanted so much to have. I had discovered so much spiritually in the lives that were being led at that time by the Indian people that I really wished I could have participated. So the only way I could participate was in a fictional way.

"When I first started thinking about Dances with Wolves, I went to the library and read mainly first-person accounts because I wanted to get the feel of that time and place. You have to go to the library to look that stuff up. So I started going to the library every day, spending hours going through the stacks, looking for something that looked like it was interesting, maybe something that was written by someone who experienced something at that particular time in the history of the frontier. I'm always fascinated by first-person accounts.

"One of the books I found became a very important book for me, the biography of Crazy Horse, written by a white woman, Mary Sandoz. She's dead now, but she wrote a lot of books about Indians, and this book about Crazy Horse was probably the most inspiring thing for me during the years it took to write the book. Crazy Horse was an Oglala Sioux and probably one of the greatest people who ever lived in this world. He was a lot like the great religious leaders, like Jesus, or Muhammad, or the Buddha. A great, great Being.

"When a Sioux Indian would take the pipe, for example, he would hold up the stem and offer it to the sky so the sun could take the first puff. Then he'd address the four directions; north, east, south, west, always. In that frame of mind, when you're addressing yourself to the horizon, to the world that you're in, then you're in your place in the world. It's a much different way to live that way.

"About halfway through this reading period I read a book called Plains Indian Raiders, about the Kiowas and Comanches and their wars with white people. And during the course of reading that book I happened to read an anecdote that talked about a wagon driver who had driven out on the frontier to supply an outpost in western Kansas. But when he arrived, he saw that no one was there; the only sign of life was a piece of canvas flapping in the breeze.

"That image somehow moved me, and I started thinking about it, filling it in with other images. I thought to myself, well, what if I was on that wagon, and that was going to be my new post, what would happen then? That was about as far as I got, but that was the seed that was planted, the origin of the idea for Dances With Wolves.

"As a novelist, I like to work in broad strokes, and pay close attention to dialogue and character development. But I have certain way of writing as a novelist that I don't have as a screenwriter. When I'm writing a script, I prefer to write in a linear way from the main character's point of view. I do some cross-cutting from time to time, but basically I just try to tell the story.

"I try to make my screenplays readable. I never approach them as a blueprint for a movie, I approach them as a piece of work in itself. One complete chapter in the book may only be a couple of sentences in the screenplay.

"Writing a movie is a much more linear process, and Dances With Wolves is less an epic book than it is an epic movie. As a film it's this big giant thing that plays all over the world, whereas the book is like a little gem. Kevin and I both felt that they only way we could present the book in movie form was as an epic, something larger than life.

"Screenwriting is a craft; it's something that has to be learned just the way a person learns how to be a lead guitarist. You learn the instrument and you play gigs and you get a lot of rejection and you have a lot of self-doubt and you think about giving up all the time. You go through all this stuff and you try to have a life at the same time. It's a discipline, something to be learned, it's not something you can just jump into and expect immediate rewards and gratification.

"I had first written the novel to be about the Comanches, but because of the locale, and other logistical problems, I changed it to be about the Sioux. But no matter what the differences between the Sioux and the Comanche, the spirituality of it is pretty much the same. And that's what I was writing about - the spiritual aspects of the way these people lived."

http://www.sydfield.com/featured_michaelblake.htm

Mostly what I have read is that Viggo wasn't famous enough at the time to do it. Hello? What does that have anything to do with it? It was Costner's directorial debut and at that time and maybe even to this day Viggo isn't interested in directing. What does everyone else think?

Viggo and Ed Harris directing together you mean? Hmmm.... not sure if that would work as good an idea as it is. I think in time Viggo might decide to direct he certainly has the creativity I just don't know if he is capable of being on top of all the logistics of directing. He's admitted to being a control freak and directing is about delegating as much as controlling. Maybe I could offer to be the person to pick up the chocolate?

He still has many good acting years in him to turn out some fine performances though and I wonder these days if he's not turning down script after script. I'd like to see him still acting when he's in his 70's - he could turn out some awesome roles.

I can't wait for The Road. That's all I can say.

From www.slashfilm.com

Viggo Mortensen in Stallone’s Poe?

Posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 2:17 am by: Peter Sciretta



CinemaBlend received an unconfirmed scoop that Sylvester Stallone has met with Viggo Mortensen and has offered him the role of Edgar Allan Poe in his upcoming biopic, Poe. According to the source, Mortensen is considering the role although he wants some slight revisions in the script. The film which is scheduled to go into production next year, chronicles the life of the legendary American writer, from his famous works and bouts with madness and depression, to his mysterious death in 1849. Mortensen is a talented actor and certainly an interesting choice.

From 1up.com:

Anime Expo: David Hayter Critical of Some MGS Moments

Event's guest of honor speaks openly about his starring role.
By Andrew Fitch, 07/05/2008

Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter was surprisingly candid at Anime Expo's centerpiece guest-of-honor panel, where he admitted to being frustrated at times with Metal Gear Solid series director Hideo Kojima's over-the-top scriptwriting and direction. He specifically called out the suicide scene highlighted in Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers, saying that Snake, a man who's killed thousands, shouldn't flinch at pulling the trigger on himself. "I didn't agree with that at all, and I begged them to change it, but I think it's still in the final game," he said. "I didn't buy it at all. I think it's weak for Snake to be killing other people and then not be able to kill himself when it's time. If he knows it's time, then it's time."

Hayter also revealed that wasn't the first time he's had issues with MGS scripts -- and one of the culprits should come as no surprise to longtime series fans. "It's a delicate thing to discuss love blooming on the battlefield with Otacon," he admitted, describing the original Metal Gear Solid's notorious unintentionally homoerotic cut-scene. Hayter also revealed that the actors "had a tough time" getting through the alternate ending of MGS, where Snake and Otacon are seen riding off into the sunset on a snowmobile. "It felt like it was written to be romantic," Hayter said. "It was just humiliating," He did mention that MGS3 and MGS4 had fewer script issues than the first two games, and he now has more power to veto particular lines. Still, he only has so much pull. "If I have a big speech about love on the battlefield, well, that's what I have to talk about," he said. "Some things are easier to say than others."

Hayter did offer unsolicited praise for Kojima, though, saying that the MGS boss has influenced his own day job as a Hollywood scriptwriter. "Kojima and I have different styles," he said, "but I've certainly learned things from him, especially about ambiguity and telling a story without giving all the answers."

Despite the fact that voicing Snake has surely opened more live-action acting roles for Hayter, he says he's reluctant to make that jump. "Over the course of the '90s, a few of my friends got to be fairly famous, and it got a little crazy," he said. "And I like to quote Michael J. Fox: 'I've been rich, and I've been famous, and rich is better.' I love acting, but I don't want to promote myself like that anymore." Hayter said he's content with his life as a voice actor and a scriptwriter.

Hayter also dismissed charges that Solid Snake simply apes Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken character from the film Escape from New York, claiming that he's simply using "the toughest voice I can muster. Besides, Kurt Russell's voice is more whispery." In fact, Hayter said he intentionally tried to stay away from any comparison to Russell when originally coming up with the voice. "Quite frankly, I didn't want [Konami] to get sued," he said -- and laughing, added, "I still don't know how they got around that!"

With Sony seemingly intent on making a Metal Gear Solid movie -- with Hayter petitioning to write the script -- one fan wondered who should play Snake on the silver screen. Hayter said that he's definitely out of the running himself, but that Hugh Jackman or Viggo Mortensen are the two best choices -- and frankly, I can't think of fans being disappointed if either suggestion comes to fruition.

Hayter was gracious and exceedingly patient with the fans, despite the fact that far too many seemingly waited in line simply to beg him to give shoutouts to their fansites. Hayter was smartly self-referential in some cases -- for example, he affected Snake's gruff growl and proclaimed that he wouldn't mention a site with "ninja" in its name because "I don't speak to ninjas!" To be honest, it was frustrating that questions weren't screened, especially since Hayter only had an hour to spend. Though I didn't mind the panel's egalitarian setup -- as press, I had to get in line like everyone else -- Hayter doesn't make many public appearances like this, and a few shameless self-promoters dragged down the electricity of the event and took up far too much valuable time.

Hayter intimated that he might be available for interviews over the course of the next couple of days, so we'll see if we can track him down for a one-on-one chat. Does Hayter truly have no place to hide(o) from 1UP? Stay tuned!

From slashfilm.com

David Cronenberg in Talks to Direct The Matarese Circle Starring Denzel Washington
Posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 5:49 pm by: Hunter Stephenson




Yeah yeah, we all wanted another killer gaping orifice movie. Celebrated director David Cronenberg is in talks to helm The Matarese Circle, a global conspiracy thriller based on the 1979 book by the late author Robert Ludlum (the Bourne franchise). Denzel Washington is already attached to play one of the leads in the MGM production, with an adapted screenplay to be written by the duo Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (3:10 to Yuma, Wanted, Wanted 2, CTK).

Set during the Cold War, the novel follows two rival spies—one U.S./CIA, the other a Soviet/KGB—who team to uncover and defeat a ruthless Illuminati-like organization called the Matarese that’s behind a century-old conspiracy to crush world governments. There’s also a “mysterious love interest.” Okay, this is where I’ll begin pasting…

“The spies share a genius for espionage—and a life of terror and explosive violence. Sworn enemies, they have vowed to terminate each other—yet now they must become allies.”

Though his name is not mentioned in the announcement or attached to the film, Cronenberg fave, Viggo Mortensen, told E! last month that they were discussing a possible third feature together. Is this it? Washington is signed to play the American, while an actor in the Soviet role was not given. In 2007’s Eastern Promises, Mortensen memorably played a Russian gangster/informant, which earned him an Oscar nod.

Though The Matarese Circle is poised from the get-go to reach a different box office level than Cronenberg’s previous works, it continues the director’s path away from hardcore genre classics like Videodrome, Scanners, Crash and The Fly. Over at CHUD, Devin pours out a bit of 40 oz. for those glory days, and even though Cronenberg exploring Alex Jones’s territory could be appealing, I dunno. I mean, did Denzel watch Dead Ringers and quip “my man“?