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Tag: Viggo Mortensen

  • Pope Leo XIV reveals a very wholesome list of favorite films. You expected different?

    The “Purge” movies are missing from the list, as are the entries in the “Saw” franchise. There are no “Evil Dead” titles. “The Exorcist” is suspiciously absent.

    The list, in this case, is the favorite four films of Pope Leo XIV, f.k.a. Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago. The pontiff released the list via video ahead of a planned meeting Saturday with luminaries from the world of cinema.

    To avoid the risk of being played off the stage by the academy’s orchestra, let’s share the winners quickly:

    1. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946
    2. “The Sound of Music,” 1965
    3. “Ordinary People,” 1980
    4. “Life Is Beautiful,” 1997

    That’s it. No “The Agony and the Ecstasy.” No “Pope Joan” or “Spotlight” or “Conclave,” for obvious reasons. No “Sister Act” or “Oh, God!” or any of the associated sequels, for less obvious reasons.

    As a matter of fact, not a single comedy at all, much less a goofy comedy. And on either the drama or comedy fronts, the pope definitely could have chosen at least one flick set in his former neck of the woods. Think “The Blues Brothers,” “Home Alone,” “The Untouchables,” “High Fidelity,” “Eight Men Out” or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” (Think “Chicago,” for goodness’ sake.)

    Pope Leo will apparently be meeting Saturday with Hollywood types including, Variety reports, actors Monica Bellucci, Cate Blanchett, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Viggo Mortensen and Chris Pine, plus directors Spike Lee, George Miller, Giuseppe Tornatore and Gus Van Sant.

    Seems the pope “has expressed his desire to deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema, and in particular with actors and directors, exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values,” according to a statement obtained by CNN.

    That sounds all well and good, and a person can’t really go wrong with the movies on the pope’s list — two of the four are best picture Oscar winners, and the other two are best picture nominees.

    That said, let’s shed a tiny tear for the exclusion of “Bruce Almighty,” if only because Morgan Freeman could use a little papal recognition too.

    Christie D’Zurilla

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  • Viggo Mortensen on Why He Hasn’t Starred in Film Franchises Since ‘Lord of the Rings’: “Not Usually That Well-Written”

    Viggo Mortensen on Why He Hasn’t Starred in Film Franchises Since ‘Lord of the Rings’: “Not Usually That Well-Written”

    Viggo Mortensen recently told THR and others that scripts are key for him “unless I’m broke.” Now he has shared additional insight into why he hasn’t starred in another major Hollywood franchise following the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy.

    The actor, who played Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s films from 2001 to 2003, shared in a recent interview with Vanity Fair what he looks for in the movie roles he accepts, noting they need to have an interesting story and be well-written. However, he admitted that films in franchises are “not usually that good.”

    “I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories,” Mortensen explained. “It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”

    He continued, “That goes for franchises. If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”

    Though Mortensen is most known for his role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he told The Hollywood Reporter last month that he wasn’t sure if he would be reprising his role for Jackson’s new movie, targeting a 2026 release.

    “I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know,” the Captain Fantastic actor said of the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. “The script is the most important thing to me unless I’m broke, I have no money and I’m lucky to get any job. So it depends.”

    Carly Thomas

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