Viggo Mortensen: Still here, still fantastic

Our celebration of Actors this month continues with Lynn Lee on Viggo

Is Viggo Mortensen the most interesting man in the world?  Based on his peripatetic history and eclectic interests, he’s certainly a contender.  In addition to acting, he’s a prolific painter, photographer, composer, and poet who founded his own publishing house.  A dual American and Danish citizen who spent his early childhood in South America and Denmark before returning to his native New York, he speaks multiple languages, with greatest fluency in English, Spanish, and Danish.  Oh, and his ex-wife is punk singer Exene Cervenko, with whom he has a son. 

As my husband put it, “Viggo Mortensen is who James Franco wishes he was.”

I can’t speak to the artistic merits of Viggo’s off-screen pursuits, but I do see him as a kind of anti-Franco in keeping them largely off the public radar.  And while he’s clearly driven by a need to express himself via many outlets, he still exudes a sense of some private, fundamentally unknowable core self.  It permeates his screen presence, too, and is part of what makes him so intriguing as an actor.  (Well, that plus the rugged Scandinavian good looks and dimpled chin don't hurt, either.)  More...

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Let My People Link

The Daily Beast the Coen Bros on diversity vs the Oscars. But they don't take kindly to complaints about Hail, Caesar!'s whiteness
Decider Joe Reid ranks the top 50 performances in Coen Bros movies. Much to argue with but also to agree with. The #1 is indisputable.
i09 Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) signed as the male lead of X-Men spinoff tv series Legion who may or may not be insane
Variety Jake Gyllenhaal's Boston Marathon bombing movie is a go  
Decider "Let My People F***" amusing piece on the conservative sexual morality of the Duplass Brothers filmography 

IndieWire Viggo Mortensen's new film Captain Fantastic, which sounds intriguing, will open on July 8th. It co-stars Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, and George Mackay (who played the young photographer in Pride)
Theater Mania Mark Rylance, fresh off his Oscar nomination, returns to the New York stage with Nice Fish (and possibly Farinelli and the King)
THR Bel Powley and Martin Wallström who both broke out this past year in Diary of a Teenage Girl and Mr Robot, respectively, will costar in WWII drama Ashes in the Snow
Playbill Oooh, look. They're putting up the marquee for American Psycho on Broadway. Benjamin Walker, currently in theaters in The Choice (and who is a singing charisma machine onstage) is playing Patrick Bateman 
Interview Peter Dinklage interviews Paul Dano 

DANO: I just did this film, called Youth, that Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda are in. And I have to tell you, Michael Caine is so happy. Happy and healthy. I think he enjoys life. I think he's 82 now, and I have no clue if I'll be working at that age, but it was amazing and inspiring to see him bring it, because you know that the search never ends. I talked to Jane Fonda about acting and about what we want to work on, and I was like, "Jane Fonda and I are talking about how to be better actors."

DINKLAGE: It never stops. 

DANO: Which I also find so beautiful and healthy to see in people who have had so much success. They still have skin in the game. 

Tribeca: Men in the Desert

Our Tribeca coverage is wrapping up. Here's Abstew on two new features starring Oscar Isaac and Viggo Mortensen respectively...

 

Mojave
You have to admire a film that trusts its audience enough to not spell things out for them. Writer/director William Monahan (who won an Oscar for his screenplay for The Departed) allows his film Mojave to unfold like a crazy fever dream as two opposing men in the desert (Garrett Hedlund and Oscar Isaac) wax on poetically about everything from Jesus' temptation to...god only knows what. As a drifter with a gravelly voice and tendency to call everyone brother, Isaac relishes the opportunity to play his unhinged character, making choices that are anything but safe. But Hedlund's straight man is overshadowed by Isaac's wild-eyed stalker, never making them feel evenly matched. And as the film plays out, it starts to feel like perhaps nothing has been spelled out for us because there's nothing actually happening - populated with indie movie eccentrics (Walter Goggins briefly shows up in his tightey whiteys to spout some random thoughts) and a story that can only be described as convoluted...

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Missi's Obligatory Self-Promotion

Editor's Note: We're thrilled to have Missi Pyle guest-blogging for a day. I made her do this topic!

Kim Dickens & Missi Pyle (GONE GIRL) at the Hollywood Film Awards last month

What I am working on now

-by Missi Pyle

So yes. I sing. 'You sing?' People often ask? Yes. I do. I write (mostly) silly songs and I sing them. For awhile I had a band with Shawnee Smith. We did a pilot together and we got to talking one day and she asked me what I really wanted. And I said. To be in a band. That would be heaven. and she said. "OK. I'll do it with you. But just know. Its not all its cracked up to be. You'll be disappointed."

And we did. We made an album with Chris Goss, another genius human I have been lucky enough to work with. Shawnee and I's band was "Smith and Pyle". The album is It's OK to be Happy and you can get it on Itunes. Since then, I have been writing songs with a few other people and I have been working on an album for 4 years again with Chris Goss and I have about 20 songs. Ranging from titles like "I wanna fuck you up" to "Armageddon Excited" and there are a few simple (hopefully) sweet ones in there, too. I am terrible at self promotion but I WILL get this album out in 2015. I am making a video for "I wanna fuck you up" in January and hopefully someone will watch it.

If you wanna check out some of my stuff, check out my youtube channel. I sometimes get drunk and record myself singing. Hmmm maybe you shouldnt check it out. but if you wanna...

I had a crazy busy year. I have done more movies this year than in the last five combined. It has been wonderful. My agents keep telling me to say no. but I'm scared of another dry spell I guess.

Viggo with this screen kids in CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

• Highly Functional ...is a sweet roadtrip movie about a kid with Autism and I have a couple scenes with Bruce Campbell. He is a trip. And the movie will be great. 
• Captain Fantastic ...is written and directed by another modern day genius Matt Ross. The script is so fucking good and I get to (almost) make out with Viggo Mortensen.
• Another Period ...is a new show coming out on Comedy Central starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. It spoofs period dramas. I play the local society queen bee Celery. It is soooo funny and I get to wear super great costumes and be a total bitch. I worked with Tom Lennon who is the greatest master of improv of all time.
• Bordertown ...is a new animated series on Fox. I think we got pushed so we are airing in the fall now? But it is the story of a fictional town called Mexifornia on the border of California and you know, Mexico. It is HILARIOus. I play a 200 pound 5 year old named Gert who is like honey boo boo on steroids. It stars Hank Azaria and Alex Borstein. It has been super dreamy!

previous Missi - advice for actors, gone girl & nancy grace

Podcast Leftover Pt. 2

Here's part two of our long delayed festival wrap in which we discuss favorites, celebrity run-ins and hilarious Q&A anecdotes. Enjoy the conversation with Nick Davis, Nathaniel R, and special guests Angelo Muredda and Amir Soltani and continue it in the comments

Discussion includes but is not limited to:

• It Follows
• Felicity Jones, Mike Leigh, and Viggo Mortensen
• Documentary greats from Silvered Water to The Look of Silence
• Iran's Oscar Submission
• Directors: Mike Leigh, Peter Strickland, Lav Diaz, Jessica Hausner, and Damian Chazelle

You can listen at the bottom of the post or download on iTunes tomorrow. 

Festival Leftovers. Pt 2