*Mega post! I can only hope I didn't mess this up somehow. :o At some point everyone would report the exact same thing, so I started translating only whatever was new.

Viggo updates:

Pics

'Alatriste' premiere/press conference in Chile 26.3.07: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

'Alatriste' premiere in Argentina 28.3.07: 1, 2, 3

@ 'Alatriste' screening in LA, on Susana Gimenez, @ various events in Argentina

@ San Lorenzo match on Sunday 1.4.07 [candids]: 1, 2


Video

'Alatriste' promo in Chile: 1, 2, 3

showing his San Lorenzo love in Argentina, signing fan's shirt in Buenos Aires

'Alatriste' promo in Argentina: 1 [translated transcript], press conference [translated transcipt]


News

April reminders, 'Good' news, possible filming locale for 'Appaloosa'

'Alatriste' releases: Argentina & Hungary this Thursday, 5 April, France - 1 August


Interviews [click on original links for photos from their respective events]

from Miami International Film Festival:

1 [includes video] [Spanish film ‘Alatriste’ has already been released in Europe, but recently cruised the Atlantic to the U.S. and Latin America with a lead person who in real life considers himself very Argentine.

“Greetings to all the cuervos (‘crows’ - in reference to San Lorenzo) around the world. There are more than those of Boca say, whom we actually beat yesterday 3-0. It might be old news when this comes out, but we remember,” points out Viggo Mortensen, before conversing with BBC World about his acting.

Aside from being a fan of Argentine football team San Lorenzo de Almagro and having been raised in Argentina, his personal antecedents represent a perfect example of cultural globalisation.

He was born in New York of a Danish father, and feels perfectly comfortable in English or Spanish.

In Hollywood, he is more known for his role of Aragorn in ‘Lord of the Rings’, but in ‘Alatriste’ he plays a soldier of the Spanish interventions during the Golden Age who in his wandering hours takes on his sword for jobs of butchering.

Change of Accent

Mortensen had to adapt his porteño (Buenos Aires) accent and educate himself about the history of the novels by Spanish author Arturo Pérez Reverte, which portray life in King Phillip IV’s court.

“I arrived a month before. They had a person to help me (with the Spanish accent). I studied the paintings of Velázquez. I read everything I could on the history of Spain,” he says to the BBC, sitting in the patio of a hotel in South Beach.

The movie tells the story of those times from the Spanish perspective, but Mortensen considers that it can also interest the public in Latin America and U.S.

“One of the reasons I wanted to do this film - since I was raised in Latin America - was the history of what Spain was, of the Spanish empire. It's not well-known outside the academic world, not even in Spain, like it should be known,” he says while to his side rests a thermos to later drink a mate.

“That story was told by the next empire - the English - and then Hollywood which is more or less the same. Aside from being men dressed in black, cruel, the Inquisition, not much is known,” he adds.

Of Six Novels

The film condenses in less than two hours the six novels of Capitán Alatriste, and even Mortensen recognises it was a “difficult” adaptation for Spanish director Agustín Díaz Yanes.

“I think it’s a brilliant adaptation - a beautiful job. He deserves all the awards there are for scriptwriting, in my opinion,” he says.

Like in ‘Lord of the Rings’, in ‘Alatriste’, where the swordfights are countless, Mortensen acted without body double because his master of sword fighting so requires it.

“Bob Anderson wants the actors to do everything, so we had a good time,” he adds.]

2 [Viggo Mortensen, the elegance of a gentleman

Who has been the heroic Aragorn of ‘Lord of the Rings’ and swordsman of ‘Alatriste’, attributes his success to “working with very talented people”.

Viggo Mortensen is very clear: in terms of box office, it’ll be almost impossible to surpass the success of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, which converted him into one of the most famous actors in the planet, shoulder to shoulder with Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, amongst a select group of international leading stars.

“I’ve had a lot of luck with the quality of the movies I’ve been able to do lately, and that comes as a consequence of the luck I’ve had with the ‘Lord of the Rings’,” assures Mortensen in a Spanish with Argentine accent.

During the recently concluded Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), Mortensen was in the city to talk about one of his recent films, Spanish epic ‘Alatriste’, directed by Madrid’s Agustín Díaz Yanes, where he personifies the lead role created by Arturo Pérez-Reverte for a series of books that in Spain could easily be just as - or even more - read than J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy.

Regarding his own fame, Mortensen confesses that he is not sure how long he can last. But he says that because he is an elegant man, and of good taste, without one drop of arrogance. Obviously, the mega lucrative saga based on the books by Tolkien, directed by New Zealander Peter Jackson, did more than just throw him into superficial popularity: it made him, like others from the cast, into one of the main icons of 21st century cinema.

“I haven’t made many movies after ‘Lord of the Rings’, which is one of the biggest (productions) in Hollywood, so I don’t know if I’ll stay that famous, but at least I feel good, because I’ve been able to choose things of quality and work with talented people in very interesting stories, which is the most important to me,” the actor observes.

When we spoke with Mortensen in one of the bungalows of the Shore Club hotel, the infusion of yerba mate was not missed, which he savoured during the interview. Although he was born in the United States, he lived in Argentina during his early years, and speaks a Spanish more ample and polished than many natives of Latin America. In the contemporary film industry, he is one of the few big names, along with Antonio Banderas, who have worked in both Hollywood and Spanish productions.

Father of one son, Mortensen was born in Manhattan, New York on the 20th of October, 1958. He is of Danish descent from his father’s side, and American from his mother’s. In an earlier interview, he told us that he decided to have a career in acting due to one of his innate characteristics: curiosity. But he didn’t take it lightly. He was formally trained by known acting coach Warren Robertson in the Big Apple, and later debuted in American television in a George Washington miniseries (1984), and years later, in one of the best films of the decade, drama ‘Witness’, with Harrison Ford.

Aside from ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hidalgo’, Mortensen worked with Canadian director David Cronenberg in the acclaimed psychological thriller ‘A History of Violence’ alongside Maria Bello and Ed Harris. Recently, he starred in another movie directed by Croneberg - still without approved title (‘Eastern Promises’)-, in which he shares honours with Naomi Watts.

It’s difficult, while talking with Mortensen, to ignore the passion he feels for the language of Cervantes, the Latin American culture, and his starring role in ‘Alatriste’, which had its Miami premiere in the MIFF, but still has no scheduled commercial release date in the U.S. That passion is evident when he talks about his preparation for the film.

“For me, the most beautiful thing about making films, of this career, is that it’s like going to school, to university, but with pay,” he asserts. “For example, with ‘Alatriste’, I dug deep into the history of Spain, the consequences of the Spanish empire for Europe, for Latin America. What the world is today has a lot to do with that Spanish empire, the good and the bad. It was a very rich period, so interesting, that I was afraid a lot, but also had a good time”.

About the strong Hispanic presence in the Academy Awards this year, Mortensen affirms “it would’ve been odd for that to not occur sooner or later”.

“There’s [many] people who speak Spanish in the world and in the United States, It’s a big market and it is interested in watching movies in their language,” he stresses. “I think that ‘Alatriste’ has the opportunity to be more than just an art house movie, or a movie only shown in a few cinemas in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, or Dallas and that’s it. I think many people in North America could watch it too. It’s a well acted and shot film in Spanish,” he emphasises.]

from 'Alatriste' promo in Chile:

1 [American actor Viggo Mortensen, who is in Chile to promote the release of Spanish film ‘Alatriste’, assured today that he would like to film in Latin America.

The actor, who rose to fame after starring in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy’, commented that he has already received a few scripts from Latin America but he hadn’t decided on any yet “because only a few of them are good”.

“I like Latin American cinema a lot, especially because I have a special connection with Argentina, and I would love to participate in a movie from there someday,” the actor confessed, having lived in Argentina for nine years.

[…] The actor assured that “many ‘Alatriste’ aficionados, like it happened with ‘Lord of the Rings’, had very set ideas on how the movie should be, and you can’t always please them all. At any rate, we succeeded in bringing the spirit of the novels to the screen.”

“A week before starting I was really scared. I thought: they will kill me if I don’t do it right,” confessed the actor, “but the spirit I found in the crew helped me a lot.”

Along the same lines, the director of the film, Agustín Díaz Yanes, remembered that “after the Bible and ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Alatriste’ is the most read book in Spain”, for which many people already had a preconceived idea of the story and its characters and this caused him “much apprehension” towards the project.

Even so, the director pointed out that “you have to have valour, and be a little bit suicidal. If not, you’ll never do anything.”]

2 [Speaking a perfect Spanish, which he learned after living a great part of his childhood in Argentina, and showing himself relaxed and imperturbable, although always with an irony rolling on the tip of his tongue, the actor who embodies captain Alatriste in the cinematic version of the literary saga of Arturo Pérez-Reverte conversed with the press just hours after arriving in Santiago.

Mortensen ensures he feels Latin American due to the great period of time he lived in Argentina, and assured that he’d love to film a movie in the country due to his connection with the nation.

He even admits to getting scripts for Latin projects, “some good, and others not so good, same as in United States. There are few very good movies, and few good scripts,” he said, referring to current cinematic industry, and added that “I’d love to work at home,” referring to the South American country.

About the way he chooses from the scripts he receives, he jokingly confessed, “I basically look for it having a pretty actress, and if the idea is to vaccinate many villains, and that’s it.” He then got serious and said, “I like to try different things, learn things I don’t know about. All actors are different. For me, every movie, every shoot; it’s a type of university, where you can learn everything you want, and they also pay you, and sometimes real well.”

‘Alatriste’ is the second film lead by Mortensen which focuses on the adventure genre, but the actor assures it wasn’t intentional, and that he has no predilection for this style, “after making ‘Lord of the Rings’, I wasn’t thinking ‘well, that one did well; I have to do another film with swords’. It wasn’t an idea I had. I just got the script for ‘Alatriste’ and was interested in the story and also the period.”

Mortensen says he doesn’t identify with the Spanish mercenary of the Golden Age, because the captain is less critical than his interpreter. “I don’t know if he criticises anyone. If they ask him something, he answers, but he doesn’t throw himself like I sometimes do foolishly to give my opinion about the things happening in the world. He is a bit more concise than me, and I think more clever,” assures the actor, making an allusion to his words against Bush and international policy in the U.S.

One of the things that you get from the movie is that it distances itself from typical hero stories. “Alatriste is a man who sometimes has luck and sometimes none; he knows how to lose. It’s not a fairy tale, not a musketeer, neither something we’re used to seeing,” Mortensen explains.

Regarding the projects he is currently working on, he said, “I’ll be making a film based on a play, called ‘Good’ in England, about something that occurs in 1930s Germany, just after Hitler was elected”.]

3 [The week before last, Penélope Cruz had a chaotic press conference after arriving in Chile. Actor Viggo Mortensen shouldn’t have had to encounter a situation of that sort this morning on his first official event during his visit to our country to promote the release of ‘Alatriste’.

The actor was accompanied by his co-star Ariadna Gil y director Agustín Díaz Yanes, who had no trouble with answering the numerous questions the press had for them.

The main focus was, of course, Mortensen, who started by responding he didn’t know if he’d ever work with Pedro Almodóvar, because he defined as a myth the possibility of the actors choosing the roles to star in. And he added that he didn’t know if the Spanish director would one day offer him a good role.

The star of the story written by Pérez-Reverte commented he’d like to make films in Latin America, that he had gotten some scripts, but still doesn’t know if he’d do one, because “the good movies I get are few”.

The questions regarding his participation in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, where he interpreted Aragorn, were inevitable, but Mortensen recognised that his work in the productions based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien helped him, because they made him known and directors became more interested in him.

Mortensen complements his work as actor with his fondness for painting and literature, which he said can be combined, but that now “I am older and it takes more for me to do so,” because that means long nights of work.]

4 [includes video] [Viggo Mortensen’s passport and biography may say he is American, but the years he lived in Argentina left a deep imprint in him.

Two examples: before starting this interview, I received as a gift and box of alfajores (popular sweets in Argentina), and also, a cup of San Lorenzo of Almagro, his favourite team since he lived in that country, which transforms into an improvised mate that accompanies him on the extensive list of interviews he has to give.

He demonstrates his perfect Spanish. At no time does he slip or try to look for a word to express himself, a characteristic which helped him to interpret Alatriste, the star of the production inspired by the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte, whose release brought him to Chile.

Mortensen assures he feels no special predilection for these type of characters, like Aragorn in ‘Lord of the Rings’: heroic, lonely, of few words. “I don’t know. One thing is what you’re interested in doing and another is what you’re offered. Also, I think that Alatriste, aside from being a swordsman, is quite different. One has hardly anything to do with the other”.

This actor combines his passion for dramatic arts with his interest in literature (has an editorial in the U.S. - Perceval Press) and painting; that is why he recognises that he already knew the story of Pérez Reverte before they offered him the script for the film. “But I hadn’t read the novels of Alatriste, and I read them immediately - the five that were completed at the time - and I realised that Agustín (Díaz Yanes, the director) had done a great job in adapting them.”

Now he even has a memento that many fanatics of the character will envy: “I have the great honour of having the novels of Alatriste signed by Reverte”.

Brisk words

The artistic facet of this actor hasn’t been the only field in which he has excelled, he has also done so when the time comes for him to give his opinion about the war, Bush, or things he finds unfair. Like when he visited the mother of a dead soldier in Iraq who would camp outside the ranch of the American president.

But he says that the elements of social or political criticism that the adventures of the Spanish soldier have had no relevance when he accepted the role: “I pay attention, and sometimes I say things. It may be a better idea to be quiet and just do your job, but once in a while you see things that are obvious which aren’t publicised, or moments in which the leaders of today lie, like how governments always do, because it’s part of the way they survive. But that wasn’t the motivation for me to do this movie.”

“I accepted the script because I liked it, and because I found that the period had not been told well outside the academic world and the Spanish-speaking countries,” he adds.

During the press conference he gave yesterday, just hours after arriving, he talked various times about scripts and the amount of bad texts he got, but he is resigned.

“It’s how it’s always been, and also, it’s a subjective thing. I could read a script and find it good, but you could read it and not like it at all; it’s a very subjective thing. I’d say that those who work in cinema or read scripts recognise that the majority of what is written, even though it may be done with the best intentions in the world, is not well-written. There’s very few good scripts and it’s always been like that”.

“Writing a good script is an art; it can’t be done by just anybody, because when it’s done right it seems easy, but it’s not,” he adds.

Mortensen’s mafia

His next projects are clear: “I recently finished working with Croneberg in a movie that comes out this Autumn (‘Eastern Promises’), with Naomi Watts, which is about the Russian mafia in London. I’ll also star in a western directed by Ed Harris at the end of the year”.

He doesn’t close himself to the possibility of trying new styles and doing a comedy or a romantic story: “If there’s an opportunity. I choose watching what is there, what is offered to me, what I can find. If there’s any luck you’ll see me in one someday.”]

5 [includes video] [Viggo Mortensen is in Chile promoting his new movie[...] The actor said, "it was nice to participate in a Spanish production. They treated me so well there, and I like working there. It’s the third time I work in the country. It’s a beautiful movie, and I hope Chileans like it as much as I enjoyed making it”.

The actor has a busy schedule here, and upon his arrival he began with a press conference. Mortensen said that “thanks to the success of ‘Lord of the Rings’ is why I had the opportunity to make this film, if not, they wouldn’t have chosen me even if I spoke good Spanish”.]

6 [includes gallery of Viggo in Chile] ["AR" and "CQC" agitated the star of ‘Alatriste’, who had shown himself in good spirits on his first day in Chile.

He arrived to Chile during the early morning hours, after more than eight hours of flight from Mexico. But the weariness wasn’t an obstacle for the north American Viggo Mortensen (48) to show himself in good spirits during his first little rested day in Santiago.

The actor of ‘Lord of the Rings’ travelled here to promote his movie ‘Alatriste’, the biggest film production in Spanish history, debuting this Thursday, 29th of March.

Different from Penélope Cruz two weeks ago, yesterday the actor was a model for sympathy. He took all the photos they asked of him, and in the airport he even helped place his luggage in the van. But his good mood ceased upon arriving at the premiere of the film last night in the Showcase of Parque Arauco: the questions from the reporters of “AR”, channel 13, and “CQC”, of Mega, bothered him: his look, the Transantiago, and local politics were some of the topics. Mortensen stopped signing autographs and went directly inside the cinema, where he only came out to present the film.

“I came here many years ago, briefly,” he said upon arriving at the airport, referring to a holiday he took as a child with his family to ski in Portillo. Mortensen lived in Argentina between the ages of 2 and 11. This time, he was accompanied by the director of ‘Alatriste’, Agustín Díaz Yanes, and here he was reunited with his co-star, Ariadna Gil, who arrived minutes before from Madrid.

Mortensen didn’t hide his excitement at being close to Buenos Aires, final stop to this promotional tour: “We’re going to have a good time. Agustín has never been there, so it’ll be an honour to show him a little of it”.

In the hotel, dressed with the jersey of his beloved football team, San Lorenzo of Almagro, he ate breakfast animatedly with the actress and director. The trio went up to their rooms for the press conference midday: “I’d love to do an Argentine film. I’ve gotten a few good scripts, and others not so much, but, if I have any luck, of course I would love to work at home,” he said.

Mortensen lunched in “El Mercurio” for an interview, and upon his return to the Ritz-Carlton, he went out to see the shops of Isidora Goyenechea looking for a tie for the premiere. He didn’t find one. Last night, the group dined with the ambassador from Spain. Then, they went to the bar at the hotel to chat. The actor took the opportunity to give Gil and Díaz Yanes some gifts.

“There is no difference in filming in Spain or America. Every director is a different world, and the way of making films is very similar.”]

7 [includes photos from 'Alatriste' press conference in Chile] [Before a conference where important professionals of the big screen will be at, expectation overcomes you - if you’re interested, obviously.

Ladies who waited to see him with mussed up hair and ‘Lord of the Rings’ look. Somewhere, gay lads. Over there, more ladies. Over here, a middle-aged male journalist with hair that makes you wonder why; over there, mature female journalist with a lot of hairspray.

Minutes pass and the room is full. Cameras. Recorders. And they’re here: Ariadna Gil, Viggo Mortensen, and the director of "Alatriste" (film debuting in local cinemas this Thursday 29 March), Agustín Díaz Yanes.

Near, willing. The photographers throw themselves into their objective, many ‘clicks’. Many “capturing of images”.

The queries begin. One after the other they go. It’s now Ansia’s turn.

Viggo

-We talk about the courage of Alatriste. In contrary, what fears are projected in your photographic and painted work?

“In my photography, I suppose since I haven’t gone into digital, the fear of nothing coming out. With painting, especially if you have an exhibition, the fear of people being disgusted by it, that they don’t like it, and neither do you. You put it up, look at it, and say: I’m a fool.

Normal fear, fear in general that an artist has. Generally, in Alatriste, “we ate lentils in your home” (he says to Ariadna, and affirms she cooks good) a week before filming we were scared, and Ariadna was talking about theatre -the scene from the film where her character as an actress acts on stage- and how she was going to do that.

And I generally with the fear of playing a Spanish character, 'they will kill me if I don’t do it well'. Having made various films, you know there’s a way you’ll be able to do it. Tomorrow comes and somehow the work ends, more so if you have support like I did from Adriadna, Tano and the incredible cast of Spanish actors, an excellent crew.

The spirit I found there everyday was special. They were conscious of this very important period of time not having been told well, not only for Latin America, but also for the global empire, and that there was a lot to tell, not only the foul, the ugly, but also the art, the culture, everything you see in the movie.

It was a pleasure to be with them. They were so proud, and they didn’t want to lose any opportunity to do everything, every detail. Same with the fans that had set ideas on how the characters, places, clothes, and whatever else had to be. You can never please everyone; it’s impossible. Just like with Tolkien, the same with Alatriste, the spirit of the original story, of the novels, was brought to the screen and much more.”]

8 [includes audio from interview] [American actor Viggo Mortensen says that every visit to Latin America has a special meaning to him, given his strong ties with Argentina from being raised there.

The artist said he feels at ease in “all of South America, but especially in Argentina, logically because I was raised in Buenos Aires until I was 11, and as everyone knows, I lived my childhood in Argentina”.

“I feel at home when I return to Argentina, and generally when I speak Spanish, be it in Spain or here in Chile; it’s already a part of me that can’t be erased nor forgotten. And so I’m comfortable,” he said while sharing a mate with journalists Cecilia Rovaretti and Luis Hernández.

The actor who embodied Aragorn in ‘Lord of the Rings’ received Una Nueva Mañana at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where he conversed about diverse topics, among them his participation in ‘Alatriste’. Said Spanish super production will be released this Thursday (29 March) in Chile.

Mortensen appeared hopeful for the film to have a good reception in Chile, and as an anecdote he noted the success achieved with the Japanese.

He said that when ‘Lord of the Rings’ came out, the producers doubted the reception it could receive in Japan, but he always believed “the film would function in Japan, even though a literary culture linked to Tolkien didn’t exist there”.

“First, because the Elves are like Samurais and all that, and also, because it’s a story with universal values, and in fact, it was a complete success in Asia too,” he said.

So says the actor, when ‘Alatriste’ was released in Madrid - linked to the success of ‘Lord of the Rings’ - “a lot of Japanese people came to watch, and they didn’t speak Spanish or English, and it was really odd”.

“They would follow me from Madrid to Barcelona, León, and then they liked it so much that I no longer had anything to do with ‘Aragorn’, and they brought the books translated to Japanese,” he added.

Regarding Chile, quoting Argentine football coach Héctor "Bambino" Veira, he said, “the base is there, and with the Latin base I hope it’s successful, in Chile also - that at least people like it as much as we enjoyed making it”.

The follower of Argentine club San Lorenzo published a book titled "Ten last night", and prepares for another in which he will combine poetry with photography, another of his passions, aside from working on an instrumental record.

About his poetry, he said he writes “when I can, and we’re going to not only publish a new book, but also various books by other artists, and one of mine with new poetry and photos I’ve not published before - this Fall, and well, Spring for you guys”.

The text will have “poetry in English, and also some in Spanish,” he said.]

9 [Viggo wants to direct, and doesn’t like what they’re doing with ‘The Hobbit’

Without shoes, and with his San Lorenzo pin and drinking a mate, the relaxed image of Viggo Mortensen contrasts with the billboard that follows him, where he appears attached as the lead of his latest movie ‘Alatriste’[…]

Veteran of big productions, Mortensen feels no pressure about the historic budget behind ‘Alatriste’: “I’ve done small movies, big ones, in Spanish, English and other languages. I never think it’s more pressure for me. If I had one, it was me doing so: tell the story well and help the director pull off the project,” he says.

Among those “smaller” films he names is ‘La pistola de mi hermano’ (1996), directed by Spanish writer Ray Loriga. “Agustín gave him the script for ‘Alatriste’, and he in turn gave it to me. It’s a period of time which hasn’t been told all that well, and I knew beforehand that the cast had the best of Spanish cinema and theatre. It’s very easy to say yes to that”.

With cinematography paying tribute to the paintings of Velásquez, and tough cuts, ‘Alatriste’ also invests its minutes on the war fronts of the Spanish empire. Occupation and expansion, terms that for Mortensen are comparable to the American war front in the Middle-east. “As long as the people are human in a play or book, you will find a parallel with your life. It’s clear: a dying empire, with wars everywhere, soldiers who don’t know why they’re there, nor for how long. Flandes of ‘Alatriste’ could be Vietnam, or the Chileans against the Spanish in the old days”.

Mortensen lived between the ages of 3 and 12 (2 and 11 by most other accounts) in Buenos Aires. The mate and alfajores Havana (typical Argentine sweets) on his table give proof. It’s not that odd, then, that the actor who played Aragorn in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy participates in a Hispanic production, and he already announced on Monday in a conference that he’d like to do a Latin American film.

But before his visit to Chile, Mortensen had just finished filming ‘Eastern Promises’, his new collaboration with director David Cronenberg after the acclaimed ‘A History of Violence’. “I’ve worked with many directors, but with the last two, I’ve felt really comfortable, and I hope to do so again,” he remarks. Cronenberg and Díaz Yanes “have a similar obscure humour, and that’s funny to me, personally”.

And now that the ‘Rings saga has been passed to other hands - director Peter Jackson backing out due to monetary issues -, Aragorn also has something to say: “The ideal would be for the same director to direct ‘The Hobbit’ with the same crew”. He knows how far his power reaches as an actor, but as painter and poet he also is, he desires to try directing as well. “I’m interested. I like telling stories and working with actors. That’s why I like Cronenberg and Agustín Díaz Yanes: if there’s a good idea, they show gratitude. As director, I’d do the same”.]

10 [includes gallery of Viggo in Chile] [printed version] (my translation)

11 [translation - 'yellow' press = tabloids]

from 'Alatriste' promo in Argentina:

1 [Viggo Mortensen: "I feel proud of what I’ve done".

The star of ‘Lord of the Rings’ arrived to Buenos Aires to promote ‘Alatriste’, the Spanish super production debuting next Thursday, 5th April. And, like any good fan, before going on about his work, his sources of inspiration, and his favourite directors, he spoke of San Lorenzo, his beloved football team.

Apologies to all who are tired of reading about Viggo’s fanatic love for San Lorenzo de Almagro, but really, in his presence there is no way to elude the topic (unless you interview him with eyes closed or you’re a blind fanatic of Huracán). In the room of the five star hotel where the interview will take place, the actor comes dressed with an impeccable blue suit, an impeccable striped shirt with San Lorenzo’s colours, an impeccable sack with the badge of the Boedo club, and on his wrist, a San Lorenzo bracelet. Anything else? Yes: to complete the look, on the table there’s a pot (guess with what emblem) improvised as a mate. The first thing Mortensen says is “since you’re from Clarín, thank you very much for the beautiful note from yesterday”, and he takes out from a bag the sports pages of Tuesday, with the interview with Gata Fernández, one of the figures of the leading and undefeated San Lorenzo. “It’s nice. As you know, we’re not used to being news. But the players are talking too much, and last year Boca ended up scoring seven against us. You have to be a little careful”.

Everything's said in perfect Argentine accent: for the deprived, you should know that Mortensen lived his infancy in Argentina, and since then he spreads the San Lorenzo cause throughout the world: “I’m like the monks that would go to the jungle to convert the untamed”, he joked. Or not that much: he arrived here midnight Tuesday, and the first thing he did yesterday was wake up early to go to a merchandising business he’d been referred to, to get shirts of different sizes and times to give to Ariadna Gil and her kids (you should’ve seen the incredulous face the Spanish actress sported while Viggo would get parcels out and would explain to her: “This one is the one the Matadores used”, “this one of the times of the Carasucias, the team where Bambino Veira used to play…”).

He’s here to promote ‘Alatriste’, the Spanish super production based on the novels by Arturo Pérez Reverte, which debuts next Thursday. But once the football subject is retired, the first thing he refers to is his editorial, Perceval Press, of the last books he published, and of the next ones he plans to publish; it’s an establishment he finances with his cinematic work, and which has grown - along with his fame - since he was Aragorn in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Mortensen also takes photographs, paints, writes poetry, and plays music with his band.

-You are interested in films as an economic support for your other pursues?

“For me, they are branches from the same tree, so I don’t devalue making movies. I get frustrated when it doesn’t come out good, but I have to say that in the last three years I feel very proud of what I’ve done. I’ve already done two movies with David Croneberg (‘A History of Violence’ and ‘Eastern Promises’) and ‘Alatriste’ with Tano. I like the way they work. They’re very clever, have great sense of humour, with a very analytic side and a Zen one: they’re not closed (to other ideas), and they don’t feel threatened if someone comes with an odd idea or does something unexpected. There are well prepared directors who can’t handle that; they get angry or nervous. They, in contrast, welcome new things, because they know that if they are useful, they will take them. And if they’re no good, they have no qualms about saying they think it’s a foolish idea. It’s comfortable: now I’m almost afraid to work with other directors.”

-Is it true that for your preparation for ‘Alatriste’ you included viewing paintings by Velásquez?

“The movie takes place in the 17th century, the Spanish Golden Age; outside of the little you learn in school, in the Anglo-Saxon world not much is known about the period. That’s why I was interested in re-reading texts by Quevedo, Lope de Vega, Calderón, and viewing the paintings by Velásquez. Instead of going as a tourist to the Museum of Prado and others places I’ve been to before, I would go asking myself where Alatriste and his companions were. And the movie is shot like a series of paintings by Velásquez. There’s not too much light, like there is in Hollywood’s big productions.”

-What other differences are there in working in a big European production to a Hollywood one?

“The atmosphere is created by the director, more than that, it’s either a big movie or not. I’ve done small movies where, due to insecurity, the director would create a tense atmosphere. We had a good time doing this one, like a family. But that doesn’t depend on the language or the culture, but the director.”

-This is the second movie where your character speaks Spanish only. Is there a difference between acting in Spanish or English?

“I’m sure I move differently and have a different aspect when I speak Spanish and when I speak English. The way I am, my presence is different. In this one I had to change my Argentine accent to a Spanish one. In the books you read that Alatriste is man of few words and few friends. And travelling around Spain I found a place in León, in the mountains, where you’d enter a bar and people would go quiet. It was like a western. So it occurred to me that Alatriste could have that type of accent, and I asked Pérez Reverte and he told me that yeah, it was perfect. So I used that accent, which gave the character another way of being.”

-You’re an activist against the war in Iraq, and recently you compared the situation in ‘Alatriste’ with the American soldiers there. How is that?

“That came from a question, but I didn’t make the film thinking about that. In a movie, you always think about connections to your life, and in this case you can see a parallel: there is a moment when Alatriste says that being in Flandes is “being in a strange land, dwelled by strange people who hate us”. If you think about Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq, it’s the same thing. During that period of time, Spain was a dying empire, just like the United States is now, although it doesn’t have the painters or poets that the Spanish had.”

-Alatriste is a great swordsman, like Aragorn. Did you fear people associating both characters?

“No, there's no way. Alatriste doesn’t always behave nobly, and he gets angry. Also, he loses a lot, and sometimes he wins… like San Lorenzo.”

Interesting mentions on the side:

Although he has a certain trajectory as scriptwriter and director (his debut was in 1995 with ‘Nobody will speak of us when we die’; also directed ‘Without news from God’), Agustín Díaz Yanes, alias Tano, isn’t a known name to Argentineans. But now he can be presented as the director with the most expensive film in Spanish cinematic history, thanks to the 24 million euros that ‘Alatriste’ cost. The situation doesn’t bring much hilarity to him: “This subject’s been torture. I’ve given two thousand interviews in Spain for this film, and they all started with the same: ‘you’ve made the most expensive film of Spanish cinema’, although the trailer for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is more expensive than all of ‘Alatriste’.

A full agenda

As it always happens when he comes to Argentina, Viggo’s agenda doesn’t limit itself to promoting ‘Alatriste’. Of course, on Sunday he will be at the Nuevo Gasómetro to see the match between San Lorenzo and Lanús (until now, the team is undefeated in the presence of the actor: he saw, in Santa Fe, a 1-1 against Colón, and in Gasómetro a 5-3 against Tiro Federal). That day, the club celebrates 99 years; on Monday, Mortensen will participate in a press conference where they will announce the activities planned to celebrate their 100 years. Then, he will travel to Chaco and to Salta: in collaboration with a group of anthropologists. The actor has planned to publish a book with photos the wichís took in their community.

Also, at his 48 years, Viggo has various movies in line. He already finished filming ‘Eastern Promises’ with David Cronenberg, where he plays a Russian involved with the mafia of said country in Britain (his co-star is Naomi Watts). He also has ‘Good’, a film by Vicente Amorim about the Holocaust, and ‘Appaloosa’, of Ed Harris.]

2 [includes video] [Viggo Mortensen: "I’d love to tell the history of Argentina in a movie”.

The leading man came to Argentina to present ‘Alatriste’, an epic Spanish film. The actor didn’t forget about football, asked Ramón Díaz, “don't take off your jumper”, phrase he always uses in every San Lorenzo game, and praised the women.

He gave a woman a kiss and smiled before the beautiful female press writers who interviewed him. Just like a seducer, actor Viggo Mortensen talked with the media during the premiere of 'Alatriste', his latest movie relating historic Spanish events.

“I have a very good movie, and the crew was great,” the star of ‘Lord of the Rings’ said.

Moreover, Viggo maintained that “Ariadna, who is very beautiful, is great in the movie”. She’s his co-star in the film.

He also affirmed that he’d be interested in starring in a film related to our country: “Yes, I’d love to tell a part of the history of Argentina in a movie. I don’t have anything in particular. If I have any luck and I get a good script, like with ‘Alatriste’, I’ll do it”.

Mortensen didn’t forget two things he is passionate about: women and football. “The women of Argentina are the most beautiful”, declared the seducer actor, who in his visit to our country was reunited with Susana Giménez. One of the women who was left enchanted by the actor was our very own Nacha Guevarra.

The star of ‘Alatriste’ said that another movie he has done will come out in October (‘Eastern Promises’), and that he will soon film another of the western genre (‘Appaloosa’).

Regarding football, Viggo emphasised San Lorenzo’s effort against Independiente. “They played well, but we played better,” he said with a grin.

And posed with the question of if the Ciclón (San Lorenzo) would triumph, he responded: “Piano, piano, like Ramón says”.]

3 [Viggo Mortensen: The Lord of the Sighs

The girls screamed hysterically, and the women hobnobbed; yes, Viggo Mortensen is deserving of admiration, and also of a few sighs.

Dressed in a dark suit and swaggered hair, the actor, fanatic of San Lorenzo, arrived last night to Puerto Madero cinemas to head the Argentine presentation of ‘Alatriste’, the new movie he stars in, directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes. Aside from Mortensen and the director, the female lead was also there, the beautiful Spanish actress, Ariadna Gil.

There wasn’t a lack of local stars either. In the room, you could see the blond head of Susana Gimenéz, who wore a tight brown dress, the same she wore in her show, minutes before stepping into the red carpet of the cinema which accommodated tons of local celebrities like actresses Carolina Peleritti, Alejandra Majluf, director Ricardo Piñeiro, and former player Héctor "El Bambino" Veira[…]

Mortensen said that “Alatriste could’ve been a typical gaucho of Argentina without a doubt, just as well a cowboy from the United States; really, a tough person”.

“Every time I take on a script from a movie I feel scared for the character whose skin I have to get into, study its customs and its responsibilities, but when an actor gets a script so rich and without fissures like this one, well, you only have to worry about doing it the best way you can, and the fear stays a bit to the side”, the actor remarked.

“The adapted screenplay about the books by Spanish author Arturo Pérez Reverte can’t be any more adjusted to what he wanted to say, so I thought it perfect for it not to become a saga, but only one film, because if not, it should’ve been done for television”, he said[…]

In reference to the difficulties of the movie, Mortensen explained, “We all had to travel a lot because it was filmed in many places: Talamanca del Jarama, El Escorial, Cadiz, Sevilla, Baeza, but all that sacrifice was a benefit to the final achievement we intended: a movie which will reap a very interesting success and will be able to be viewed again in a few years, and not like other current movies that debut and then they are over”.

In reference to his projects, the actor assures that “I have the luck of having a lot of work, unlike great actor friends who can’t live off their career. Right now I have a finished film (‘Eastern Promises’ with David Croneberg), and two in preproduction (‘Good’ and ‘Appaloosa’), so until 2008, I don’t think I can take on something new”.

He didn’t pass the opportunity to show his love for San Lorenzo (he will be at the match on Sunday the team will play against Lanús), although he showed caution when talking about the moment the leading team is living, “because I don’t want to give them bad luck, but I think the base is there”, using the saying by Bambino Veira, who is also present in the room.

Meanwhile, with a grin, he teasingly named San Lorenzo players, like Sanfilippo, el loco Narciso Doval (already deceased) or el Gringo Héctor Scotta, he could play without doubt.

Regarding his desire to film in Argentina, which he has already expressed previously, the lead actor of Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ said, “Actually, I’ve received various offers, one very interesting that I won’t mention out of respect, but that for lack of time I’ve had to postpone at least until the end of next year”.]

4 [The Lord of the Swords

Since it’s been known that he lived eight years in Argentina during his childhood, Viggo Mortensen became sort of like a national trophy. And every time king Aragorn of the marvellous ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy comes to Buenos Aires, the city stirs for him. This time is no different[…]

“I’m more than happy with the final result. Since we began filming, it was amazing how everything was created: from the costumes, to the battles, but mostly Tano’s attitude, whom I would call at one in the morning to let him know of my fears, which fit perfectly with what Pérez Reverte wrote”, the actor pointed out[…]

This is the second time this happens. First with ‘Lord of the Rings’, it was his son who pleaded with him to take the role of Aragorn. And Viggo, who until then had not come across the marvellous trilogy, ended up taking it. This time it appears he also hadn’t come across the books of Reverte. “Honestly, Tano’s script helped me create the character, because I hadn’t read the novels too intensely, and after accepting the offer, I bought the five books and read them in a short time to intensify my role. Now you will tell me if I’ve succeeded,” the actor said candidly.

To prepare for the role, aside from reading the texts, Mortensen went to the Museum of Prado in Madrid to look at creations by Velásquez, and also to bullfighting courts. “What I saw from the bullfighters in a plaza in Madrid also helped me shape Alatriste. I also had the advantage that the father of the director was a bullfighter, and there was something about learning their ways, their attitude; I learned a lot from them, and that helped me to see them similarly to the musketeers of the 17th century, with that idea about loyalty and not betrayal”, he affirmed.]

5 [includes video] (my translation)

6 (my translation)

7 (my translation)

8 (my translation)

San Lorenzo fanboy (my translation)


Mentions/Sightings

'Alatriste' premiere in Chile [The hook for the female fanatics was irresistible. Watching Viggo Mortensen up-close brought a great number of females to the ‘Alatriste’ premiere[…]

The function had a red carpet in which some fans tried to photograph the actor, who had no problems with posing and giving them autographs. With the same down-to-earth attitude he had demonstrated in the press conference, Mortensen answered the queries of the press that came in great numbers to cover the event.

The numerous guests, mostly women, also contributed their share of sighs for the idol, who briefly presented the movie, receiving screams and applause from the audience. Every time the actor appeared, the cameras wouldn’t stop flashing.]

Viggo's support of Exene's art

at event honouring Andrés Calamaro 29.3.07 [Someone tells me from behind: “So many people! It’s so tight!” I replied, peacefully, “Well, we have to take it calmly”. It was Viggo Mortensen. And it took me a while to recognise him. It’s just that… said with all due respect, the bloke’s a bit wrecked. He had on a shirt that was opened down three buttons, and a gold necklace with the badge from San Lorenzo you can buy in the subway train.]


PP updates: 1, 2, 3, 4

~*~*~*~

OB updates:

Pics

some cleaned shots from Vman scans, with Stevie Wonder at Mentor LA's Promise Gala

candids: in LA 29.3.07, in New York 30.3.07 or the day before [another], leaving NYC hotel 30.3.07

@ Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards 31.3.07: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7


Video: Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards [other download options]


News

PotC4 updates: 1 [Costar Orlando Bloom says he too has heard the rumors. "But they haven't said anything to me," he said with a laugh during an interview, "so I guess I'm not coming back."], 2 [That said, I have it on good authority, granted from one source, that filming for Pirates IV is scheduled to begin in August with Depp on board. According to the source Bloom and Knightley will not return.]

PotC3 trailer's unanticipated success

According to Bol.com, 'Haven' is to be released 26th of April in The Netherlands


Articles: SGI President Ikeda's Dialogue With Actor Orlando Bloom [under Lighthouse]


Mentions/Sightings

Orlando to scale Everest?, Orlando Bloom, 21st century swashbuckler, Cause Marketing interview with Company and Cause, Boutique adds flare to vintage clothes

in Dominica while filming PotC2 [Marie Fredrick, the local artist I like so much, told us about when they were filming Pirates of the Caribbean II on the island recently. Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp came to her studio and bought art! She asked them what they were doing with the film and they replied, "We're starring in it." Marie has no TV and only sees films when she goes back to France so she did not know them. They were charmed by her and invited her family to their yachts and gave her gifts.]

in Kentucky while filming 'Elizabethtown' [Actor Orlando Bloom, July 2004, The Dame, 156 West Main Street. Although the Elizabethtown star declined to have his picture taken, Marie Wilson said Bloom was gracious and chatted easily with her and a friend. They played it, she said, like celeb encounters were an everyday thing. But, after the night was over, they got into their car, and "we squealed and giggled like 13-year-old girls."; Bloom also was spotted dining at Le Deauville, 199 North Limestone, with his dog.]

at 'Talk Radio' in NY 29 March [Mar 29th, 2007 @ 10pm. Sat behind ORLANDO BLOOM at "Talk Radio." After the show, he, Naomi and Liev walked down 48th Street together and talked about going to Bond 46 for a drink. Orlando and Naomi are practically the same height!]